Colts blank Storm 3-0
by Matt Pelkey
The second half of the season did not begin the way the Guelph Storm were hoping it would.
The Storm were blanked 3-0 by the Barrie Colts Sunday afternoon at the Sleeman Centre. The game was the final meeting of the season between the two squads.
Sunday’s game was the first time both teams returned to the ice after each enjoyed a week off for the holidays. After winning their last game before the rest period, a 4-3 overtime victory over Erie, Guelph was shut down by the Colts.
Justin Nichols made 37 saves in the loss, while defenceman Levi Tetrault made his Ontario Hockey League debut. Tetrault became the 11th player to play his first OHL shift this season with the Storm.
For Barrie, Garrett Hooey, Chiwetin Blacksmith, and Andrew Mangiapane chipped in with goals. Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 26 shots for the shutout.
Barrie came into the game with the league’s second-best power play on the road, succeeding on 28.0% of their opportunities. They also entered with the most goals in the league by an away team with 81.
That’s exactly how the game started.
The Colts would get on the board first 4:48 into the contest. Hooey opened the scoring in the final seconds of Barrie’s first power play of the game. Hooey, standing at the right side of the net, banged in an easy goal when the puck took a funny bounce off several players before landing on the goal line after a Labanc point shot.
With an assist on the goal, Labanc, who finished the afternoon with two helpers, extended his league-best point-streak to 19 games.
The Colts would add to their lead 1:26 later as Blacksmith finished off a 2-on-1 break with Givani Smith. Blacksmith took a pass from Smith before raising the puck over Nichols’ blocker to make it 2-0, recording his first career OHL goal.
The Storm had their best chance late in the period with an aggressive push that resulted in a bouncing puck near the crease with Blackwood out of position.
Despite the late attack, the Storm trailed 2-0 after the first period, outshooting the Colts 14-13.
The second period saw a flurry of penalties and four Guelph power plays. The Colts, who rank first in the league with an average of 17.7 penalty minutes per game, killed off all of them.
Guelph’s Chadd Bauman did his best to generate some momentum for the home team. Bauman threw numerous hits and was a physical presence every time he stepped onto the ice.
The middle frame featured a tight-checking game with little offence generated by either team. After 40 minutes, the score remained 2-0 despite Guelph outshooting Barrie 6-5 in the period.
Early in the third period, the visiting team continued where they left off in the first period. On their fourth power play as a result of a Guelph penalty at the end of the second period, Mangapiane deflected a shot past Nichols to cushion the Colts’ lead and make it 3-0.
The Storm could never find their footing during the game and it remained that way in the third period. The Colts would outshoot the home team 21-6 in the final frame en route to a 3-0 win. The eastern conference Colts outshot Guelph 40-26 in the win.
Guelph finished the game 0-for-8 with the man-advantage while Barrie went 2-for-4.
With the loss, the Storm dropped to 20-13-1-1 overall and 11-6-1-0 at home. The Colts improved to 19-12-1-1 on the season.
Guelph will get a chance to get back in the win column when they visit Erie on New Year’s Eve for a 6:00 PM puck drop. They return home two days later on Friday, January 2 when they welcome the Owen Sound Attack. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 PM.
Barrie Colts 3 at Guelph Storm 0 – Status: Final
Sunday, December 28, 2014 – Sleeman Centre
Barrie 2 0 1 – 3
Guelph 0 0 0 – 0
1st Period-1, Barrie, Hooey 9 (Labanc, Laser), 4:48 (PP). 2, Barrie, Blacksmith 1 (Smith, Hawerchuk), 6:14. Penalties-Dickinson Gue (closing hand on puck), 2:59; Andersson Bar (slashing), 6:48; Hawerchuk Bar (check from behind), 15:24.
2nd Period– No Scoring.Penalties-Dickinson Gue (slashing), 2:53; Stevens Gue (high sticking), 4:46; Hooey Bar (inter. on goaltender), 6:00; Blandisi Bar (high sticking), 9:03; Lemieux Bar (high sticking), 11:13; Lemieux Bar (unsportsmanlike cnd., roughing), 18:39; Leslie Gue (unsportsmanlike cnd.), 18:39; Blandisi Bar (cross checking), 20:00; Bertuzzi Gue (roughing, unsportsmanlike cnd., 10-min. misc.), 20:00.
3rd Period-3, Barrie, Mangiapane 20 (Webster, Labanc), 1:39 (PP). Penalties-Hooey Bar (10-min. misc.), 4:56; Prophet Bar (roughing), 4:56; Stevens Gue (10-min. misc.), 4:56; Lemieux Bar (roughing), 18:28; Leslie Gue (roughing), 18:28; Andersson Bar (cross checking, slashing), 18:52; Stevens Gue (high sticking), 18:52.
Shots on Goal-Barrie 13-6-21-40. Guelph 14-6-6-26.
Power Play Opportunities-Barrie 2 / 4; Guelph 0 / 8.
Goalies-Barrie, Blackwood 13-6-1-0 (26 shots-26 saves). Guelph, Nichols 19-9-1-1 (40 shots-37 saves).
A-4,863
Referees-Andrew Thompson (36), Brent Coulombe (2).
Linesmen-Dustin McCrank (68), Aaron Neely (81).
3 STARS
3) GUE Chadd Bauman
2) BAR Mackenzie Blackwood (26 saves)
1) BAR Kevin Labanc (2 assists)