Gibl’s 26 saves leads Barrie to 3-0 shutout win over Mississauga
Article courtesy of www.thebarrieexaminer.com
The game was far from beautiful.
But the Barrie Colts will still think the tick in the win column looks pretty enough.
A pair of second-period goals and 26 saves from Daniel Gibl lifted the Colts to a 3-0 victory over the Mississauga Steelheads on Saturday.
“I think tonight wasn’t really our best effort, but it’s nice to see that even on a day where we’re not playing too well, we can still get the win,” said Colts defenceman Jonathan Laser.
Gibl was making just his fifth start of the year and first since November 23, but still managed to get a shutout, the second one of his career.
“My teammates started helping me right from the first minute,” Gibl said. “They were helping me clear pucks and get (rid of) rebounds.
“I was just working hard in practice, staying (focused), and waiting for a chance.”
Neither team could get one past the goalies in the first period, although there were a few chances.
Everett Clark took a pass from Bobby MacIntyre and tried to slip a puck past Gibl, who drew the assignment with regular netminder Mackenzie Blackwood out.
The attempt actually did go through Gibl, but by time it did, he had turned 180 degrees, and the puck dropped in the crease rather than the net.
At the other end, Garrett Hooey had a couple of solid opportunities, with a deflection off of a Ben Harpur point shot and later on a partial break, but both times, Steelheads goalie Cameron Zanussi turned him aside.
The Colts moved the puck around pretty well on their first few power plays in the first period, but couldn’t bury their chances.
Mississauga killed off a 5-on-3 and was rewarded with a breakaway, as Stefan LeBlanc came out of the penalty box and wound up on a breakaway.
Gibl would stick with the defenceman and close the five-hole to make the save and keep the score at 0-0 through a period of play.
“Stopping the breakaway helped for sure,” Gibl said. “I put 100% into (saving) the shot.”
