Colts crunch Steelheads
Article courtesy of www.thebarrieexaminer.com
Things hadn’t been going right for the Barrie Colts this week.
But they found an opponent upon which to take out their frustrations.
Barrie’s top guns kept producing as the Colts knocked off the Mississauga Steelheads 5-2 at home on Saturday.
“It was a confidence booster for us,” said Colts winger Kevin Labanc. “It was a big two points that helped us in the standings.”
The Colts were a stronger, deeper team than the Steelheads, and that showed in the first.
Barrie held puck possession for most of the opening period and even though there weren’t too many chances to be had, the Colts were able to strike twice.
“In the first period, they were on us, but you can’t take any game lightly,” Labanc said. “They battled hard, but we stuck to our structure and it really helped us.”
After cycling the puck deep in the Steelheads end, Barrie’s third line produced the opening goal, as Roy Radke, while being pulled down, sent a pass to Cordell James, who beat Mississauga starter Cameron Zanussi on the short side.
“They come hard on the forecheck,” said Colts forward Joseph Blandisi. “But we know they’re not too deep on the back end, so we have to forecheck hard on them and hem them in their own zone.”
Barrie doubled its lead on the power play, as Labanc, Andrew Mangiapane and Blandisi played tic-tac-toe, with the latter blasting a puck into the open cage to make it 2-0.
Blandisi’s 48th of the season tied him with Sheldon Keefe for third in Colts franchise history for goals scored in a season.
Barrie added to its lead early in the second, as Labanc set up Brendan Lemieux for an easy tap-in to extend the lead to 3-0.
“We all made good plays, didn’t turn the puck over, and played well defensively,” Labanc said. “We stuck to our structure and that’s the main reason for our success.”
