November Recap
The Colts continued their upward trajectory throughout November and proved that they are a legitimate competitor this season. After a strong start to the year, the team has only gotten better and appears to be playing with more and more continuity every time they step onto the ice This year’s Barrie Colts have displayed grit and determination in comeback victories, they’ve also shown their ability to perform in the biggest moments, as evidenced in their 4-0 record in extra time, and their 4 come-from-behind victories in November alone.
The team kicked off the month on the road that featured three stops in Niagara, Erie and Sudbury. They came away with wins in 2 of 3 and set the tone for the remainder of the month as they would go 7-3-0-0 the rest of the way. One can’t summarize the month of November for the Colts without touching on their dominance against the Sudbury Wolves. Barrie saw a lot of their rival to the north this month. Of their 13 games played, they shared the ice with the Wolves in 4 of them. The 4-game series broke the way of the Colts as they won 3 of 4, making it 5 wins in the 6 games versus Sudbury this year.
What’s unique about this team is its ability to contrive offense from up and down the lineup. The Colts lack a singular offensive driver and instead produce scoring opportunities across all 4 lines. By November 30th, the Colts had just one player in the top 50-point scorers of the OHL; that player was Cole Beaudoin, who ranked 50th. Despite this, Barrie is still scoring at a respectable rate (3.68 goals per game), which is a testament to their depth as a team. Also worth noting is the offensive output from the backend, Beau Akey (16) and Kashawn Aitcheson (17) both rank in the top 25 for points by defenceman.
With success on the ice comes milestones for individual players and there was no shortage of milestones for Colts players in November. Captian Beau Jelsma scored his 100th career OHL goal on November 9th at home against Sudbury, it took him just 209 games to do so. He then went on to eclipse the 200-point mark just 15 days later in Sarnia. Jelsma has established himself amongst Colts royalty this season, he now ranks 10th on the team’s all-time scoring list with 206 career points. Other notable milestones include Dalyn Wakely hitting the 200 point mark. Dalyn’s 200th point came from an assist on a Carter Lowe goal at home on November 16th.
The 2025 NHL draft-eligible Kashawn Aitcheson was invited to the CHL vs USA top prospects challenge where he manned the blueline for team CHL in their two-game series against the U.S. National Development Program. Aitcheson put forth a stellar performance by all accounts and had his two-way game on display, chipping in offensively with a goal. Aitcheson continued his style of shutting down the top talent, this time against the Americans with his physical style of play. Kashawn missed just one game for the Colts as a result of being selected for team CHL and was an assist shy of a Gordie Howe hat trick in his return on the 29th in Sudbury.
Upon the conclusion of another positive month, the general sentiment surrounding the team is belief. As attendance continues to rise, the energy in and around Sadlon Arena on gamedays has become palpable. The Colts’ 17 wins are good for third-most by any team in the OHL this year. The team now sits atop the still very competitive Central Division and ranks 2nd in the Eastern Conference. The Colts trail the conference-leading Frontenacs by just 1 point and have two games in hand. Barrie kicks off their December slate of games at home against Flint on the 5th.
