Barrie’s top lines too much for Sudbury as Colts win 6-3
Article courtesy of www.thebarrieexaminer.com
The Barrie Colts had the trade deadline firmly behind them now.
So once again, the focus was on winning.
Barrie controlled the game at times and that allowed it to defeat the Sudbury Wolves 6-3 at home on Saturday night.
“There were a lot of penalties, but it was good that we stayed together and were persistent,” said Colts defenceman Ben Harpur. “We got the two points, so we’re happy.”
It was a bit of a slow start, but by the end of the first, Barrie’s skill had taken over.
The Wolves kept things pretty neutral in the early going, and even got the game’s first goal, when Danny Desrochers took a shot from well out that appeared to hit something and beat Barrie starter Mackenzie Blackwood.
That goal against seem to motivate the Colts, who were the far stronger team from then on out.
Barrie got a mismatch when its top unit was on the ice against Sudbury’s fourth line, and after controlling the puck down low for 15 seconds, the Colts would strike.
Kevin Labanc knocked the puck free behind the net for Joseph Blandisi, and the Barrie captain would circle the net and beat Wolves goalie Troy Timpano to the far side, tying the score at 1-1.
That assist extended Labanc’s franchise-record point streak to 25 games.
During this stretch, the San Jose Sharks draft pick has put up 53 points, having not been held off of the score sheet since October.
“They’ve got a lot of firepower here,” Harpur said. “Labanc keeps joking about his point streak, which is crazy.
“You know they’re going to score a lot on any given night, so they brought me in to solidify the defence.”
Andrew Mangiapane would give Barrie the lead shortly after, when he pick-pocketed a Wolves defenceman, cut in front of the goal, and beat Timpano through the five hole.
“We knew we had to come out hard, get pucks deep and do the little things right,” Mangiapane said.
The Colts were featuring three new additions to their lineup, as trade acquisitions Harpur, Chadd Bauman and Stephen Nosad made their Barrie debuts.
