ROUND 2 GAME 4 RECAP: 67’s late push not enough, drop 3-2 to Colts
Despite a late-third-period comeback attempt, the Ottawa 67’s fall 3-2 to the Colts, giving Barrie a 3-1 series lead.
“Another battle,” said head coach Dave Cameron. “Two teams that left nothing in the tank.”
“I thought we played good,” said overager Cooper Foster, who picked up an assist. “Stuck with them the whole time.”
“It’s unfortunate that we started to get going at the end, but I thought our effort tonight was very good.”
Looking to right the wrongs of past games this series, Ottawa came out energized to start the period, outshooting the Colts 8-2 over the first five minutes.
“I thought we played better than we did the other night,” said Nic Whitehead who also got an assist. “I thought our start was a little better.”
Barrie would begin to find their bearings defensively as the period wore on. Both teams’ penalty kills would get tested, but Barrie’s Carter Lowe would break through on the power play to give them the 1-0 lead.
The Colts would finish the first, outshooting Ottawa 20-12.
Ottawa got a break in the second period, with Barrie getting called for holding early in the period, but the Colts would kill it off. However, Ottawa would get a momentum boost from it, outshooting Barrie 7-4 over the first half of the second.
Yet, it’d be Barrie who would find the twine off a cross-crease pass from Cole Beaudoin to Emil Hemming for the 2-0 lead.
Cameron really emphasized the team’s work ethic in spite of the result.
“It is what it is in terms of creating,” said Cameron. “But we don’t back down.”“A loss is a loss,” he added. “When you play your heart out, a loss’ sting doesn’t last as long.”
Ottawa would once again start the period outshooting Barrie, but got caught with a lack of discipline and would once again let one in shorthanded.
The 67’s would finally get on the board with just over three minutes left with a net-front scramble finished by Nic Sima. The ensuing chaos would also give the Barber Poles a lifeline as Barrie would get called.
Frankie Marrelli would finish off a screened shot from the blueline to put the team within one.
“That’s the kind of game we can play; we had them on their heels a bit at the end of the game,” said Foster. “It gives us a little bit of confidence knowing we can play like that.”
Ottawa would get one last chance late in the game, but ultimately Spencer Bowes just could not time the shot, cementing the 3-2 score in favour of the Colts.
“I told him after the game, if that’s the worst thing that happens in his life; he’s had a pretty good life,” said Cameron.
“That’s hockey,” said Foster. “I am sure if he took that shot a thousand times in practice, he might not even miss it.”
“There was a ton of different chances where other guys could have buried it at the start of the game, so you can’t just pinpoint that missed goal on our loss.”
Ryder Fetterolf had himself an impressive night despite the result, stopping 40 of 43.
“I think he was huge,” said Foster of his goaltender. “You can’t play perfect defense all the time, you’re gonna need saves at important times, and I think he did that for us.”
Looking ahead, Foster once again believes that discipline will be key.
“I think we took too many penalties again, they scored a few on the power play, but I thought we played good.”
“We know we can beat them,” said Whitehead. “We just showed we can score really quick, but for us it was too late.”
Box score
| Teams | Score | Shots on goal | Power plays |
| Ottawa | 3 | 35 | 1/4 |
| Barrie | 2 | 43 | 2/5 |
First period
#85 Carter Lowe (3) scores. Assists: #28 Emil Hemming, #77 Kashawn Aitcheson
Second Period
#28 Emil Hemming (7) scores. Assists: #29 Cole Beaudoin
Third Period
#15 Joe Salandra (2) scores. Assists: #14 Calvin Crombie
#16 Nic Sima (5) scores. Assists: #12 Spencer Bowes, #8 Frankie Marrelli
#8 Frankie Marrelli (3) scores. Assists: #29 Cooper Foster, #10 Nic Whitehead
Up next
Facing elimination, the Ottawa 67’s head back on the road to take on the Barrie Colts for Game 5, Saturday, April 18th, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
Continue to keep up with the playoff run with Playoffs Central presented by Gabriel Pizza.
