Mangiapane scores twice, leads Colts over Steelheads
Article courtesy of www.mississaugasteelheads.com
Written By: Acorn, Kevin
The Steelheads were forced to contend with the Colts power play early on, as Sean Day served for a minor penalty. Kevin Labanc put Barrie on the board, following up on his own rebound after Cameron Zanussi made the first save. Nearing the midway point of the opening frame, the Steelheads would get their own opportunity with the man advantage. Before the first penalty was a minute old, the Colts sent another man to the box, opening up a Mississauga 5-on-3. Devlin did not let the chance go to waste, netting his 20th goal of the season to tie the game. The Trout poured on the shots as the period grew on, and took a 15-7 lead into the intermission.
A penalty to Blackwood early in the second sent the Trout to the power play, but before the man-advantage was a minute old, the teams went to 4-on-4. With extra room to skate, Nathan Bastian fed Jimmy Lodge who backhanded one past Blackwood as the Steelheads took their first lead of the game. A pair of offsetting penalties left us with more 4-on-4 hockey in the second. Mangiapane tied the game with a rifled shot over the blocker of Zanussi. A hefty scrum in Zanussi’s scrum after a whistle led to a slew of penalties to both sides. The refs had their work cut out for them tonight. Following the extra-curriculars, however, they all got back to hockey. Later on, and with his second of the period, Mangiapane regained a lead for the Colts. Shorthanded to end the period, the Trout had the makings of a spectacular kill, with Jared Walsh blocking multiple shot attempts.
Barrie claimed the first goal of the final period; Josh Carrick beat Zanussi for his third of the season. Now facing a two-goal deficit, the Steelheads needed to hustle. A couple of great offensive shifts from Mississauga gave them hope of closing the gap, but the pucks weren’t bouncing their way. Nick Zottl rang a post on a point shot most notably. The Trout took a penalty at the 14-minute mark of the frame, shifting their momentum. With just a second remaining on the power play, Barrie converted on their second power play of the night. The Colts would skate to a 5-2 victory, sweeping the season series against the Steelheads 6-0.
The Barrie Colts (40-23-1-1) now sit five points ahead of the North Bay Battalion for the Central Division lead with three games remaining on the season. The Colts will look to make it three wins in a row tonight when they host the 8th place Peterborough Petes, a potential first round playoff match-up. Click here for tickets.
3 STARS
1 – Andrew Mangiapane
2 – Brandon Devlin
3 – Jimmy Lodge
