Colts Shutdown the Generals 4-0
The Barrie Colts were able to get back in the win column Sunday evening with a 4-0 shutout of the Oshawa Generals.
Colts overage goaltender Leo Lazarev made 26 stops in his first career shutout in a Barrie Colts uniform.
Barrie was coming into Oshawa following their worst loss of the season and the first regulation loss on home ice 7-2 against Sarnia.
The first real good chance of the game came before the midway point of the opening frame. Lazarev who got the nod in goal force the puck along the side boards before being intercepted and nearly tipped into an open cage, but the Barrie defense was there to stop it.
The scoring would be open late in the opening period. Curtis Douglas forced a turnover just outside the Oshawa blueline before firing a shot towards the Oshawa net minder Kyle Keyser that lead to a huge rebound that found the stick of Luke Bignell to tap it in. It was a nice touch for Bignell as he was back in the lineup after missing some time due to injury.
The Colts would look for more. After another Oshawa turnover Joey Keane of all guys got a partial break but after a move to the backhand he was stopped by the left pad of Keyser to keep the game at 1-0.
The second period brought on a flurry of chances for the Generals. It all started with a couple chances on a Gens powerplay that Lazarev was forced to stop before coming up with another handful of opportunities that the Colts overage net minder was forced to come up big, keeping the boys in the lead.
After being outchanced for most of the period, it was Barrie who would be rewarded with a goal late in the period. On a play that looked like it wouldn’t turn into anything Jason Willms threw the puck towards the Oshawa goal. It bounced off a couple defenders before bouncing off Lucas Chiodo’s leg and into the back of the net to extend Barrie’s lead to 2-0.
The late goal in the second really sparked the Colts to be ready for the third. Less than two minutes into the final frame Alexey Lipanov was sprung on a breakaway and he made no mistake extending Barrie’s lead to three. Ryan Suzuki and Zach Magwood added assists on the goal. Magwood’s assist extended his point streak to six consecutive games.
Moments later, the boys in blue would get their first powerplay of the game and they would make Oshawa pay. It was Lipanov once again finishing off a one-timer that squeaked past Keyser to make the game 4-0. Suzuki and Chiodo picked up helpers.
Barrie gets a weekend split and will be back in action with two games at home next weekend. First off a battle with the Hamilton Bulldogs on Thursday night followed by the first matchup against the Mississauga Steelheads on Saturday night.
