Attack edge Barrie on Nick Suzuki Bobblehead Night

The Owen Sound Attack picked up a big two points on home ice on Wednesday night, defeating the Barrie Colts in a game that wasn’t as close as the 4-2 score indicated.

Tallies from Jackson Doherty, Brett McKenzie, Maksim Sushko, and Kevin Hancock, while a pair of assists by Cole Cameron powered Owen Sound to the win, while netminder Olivier Lafreniere turned aside 23 shots in the win.

Owen Sound dominated the first period, holding a 12-1 lead on the shot clock near the midway mark of the frame.

That unbelievable pressure paid off too.

With 9:31 gone in the period, Jackson Doherty capitalized on a scramble in front of the Colts net, banging home his 5th of the season while standing nearly in the blue paint. Cole Cameron and Daylon Groulx assisted on the play, which staked the Bayshore Boys to a 1-0 lead.

The Attack held onto that  lead into the 1st intermission, holding a substantial 21-5 edge in shots on goal after the game’s opening 20:00.

Owen Sound continued their barrage in the 2nd, even taking advantage of a miscue by the Barrie Colts’ powerplay to score a shorthanded goal.

With Ethan Szypula in the box for goaltender interference, Brett McKenzie forced a turnover near the Attack blueline before streaking into the Barrie zone and roofing a forehand past Leo Lazarev at the 5:39 mark to make it 2-0 for the home side.

The Attack nearly made it a 3-0 lead with 8:22 gone in the 2nd after Nick Suzuki was awarded a penalty shot, but just before the Vegas Golden Knights’ prospect could get the shot off, the puck bobbled on him and Lazarev was able to make the save to keep Owen Sound’s lead at just two.

That score is how things stood after 40:00 of play, with Owen Sound’s McDougal Energy Penalty Kill getting a lot of work as time wound down in the frame.

The Attack were assessed four straight penalties in the middle stanza, successfully killing off three of them with the 4th carrying over into the 3rd.

In fact it was on that 4th penalty that Owen Sound scored their 3rd of the game less than 60 seconds into the period.

A good clear by Cole Cameron allowed Maksim Sushko to go streaking up the boards before the Belorussian native elected to shoot on a two-on-one, putting the puck through Lazarev for his 22nd of the year and a 3-0 Attack lead.

Ethan Szypula also assisted on the play, which came at the 50 second mark of the 3rd.

Barrie wasn’t going to be denied though, and after a failed clearing attempt by the Attack with about 8:00 gone in the period, the Colts struck.

Andrei Svechnikov ended Olivier Lafreniere’s bid at a shutout by tipping home an Aaron Luchuk point shot with 11:44 left in regulation to make it 3-1.

Just under 6:00 later, Svechnikov cut into the Attack’s lead even further capitalizing on what seemed like an endless stream of Attack penalties to make the Bayshore faithful nervous in the midst of a 3-2 game with 5:47 to play in regulation.

But the Attack responded, and a goal by the team’s big guns put to bed any Barrie ideas of a comeback.

With 17:06 gone on the clock and the puck deep in Colts’ territory, Kevin Hancock swatted at a loose puck to bury his 14th of the season and restore Owen Sound’s two goal lead. Jonah Gadjovich and Nick Suzuki assisted on what was ultimately the game’s final goal, as Barrie was unable to score with their net empty and an extra skater on the ice.

The Mark McDade Chestnut Park Shots on Goal finished at 47-25 on the evening, with both netminders picking up Mac Taylor Corporation Star of the Game Honours.

Olivier Lafreniere’s 23 stops earned him 3rd star, while Barrie’s Leo Lazarev turned aside 43 attempts to be named the game’s 2nd star. Attack rearguard Cole Cameron was named the game’s 1st star with a pair of helpers, while forward Brett McKenzie rounded out the post game awards by picking up the Hatten Home Building Centre Hardest Working Player of the Game.

Owen Sound will now head to Guelph for a tilt against the Storm on Friday, Feb. 2 before returning home to take on the Kitchener Rangers on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 7:30pm.

Tickets for Saturday’s game are available at the MacVicar & McComb ReMax Attack Box Office, online at www.attackhockey.com, or by calling 519-371-7452.

This season of Attack Hockey is brought to you by Lerners Personal Injury Lawyers and Bertrand & Muzzell Paralegal Services.