Feb. 4/25 vs Kingston: Highlights & Recap
The Colts and Frontenacs clashed in Barrie on Tuesday night, they occupied the first and second seeds in the Eastern Conference respectively heading into the game. Kingston trailed Barrie by just two points and had a game in hand, a win on Tuesday would see them surpass the Colts in the standings for first place in the East. Barrie entered this pivotal matchup playing excellent hockey, they had won seven of their previous eight and rode an eight-game point streak. For Kingston, they’d won three straight and amassed 20 goals in that span. The Colts beat the Frontenacs 5-4 back in December, their only other meeting this season. Ben Hrebik got the nod in goal for this one, he’d allowed three or fewer goals in his prior four starts entering Tuesday’s contest.
Barrie struggled out of the gate, they had trouble gaining traction in the opposite end, Kingston took advantage and largely held play in the Colts’ zone. The Frontenacs’ control of play in the first was evident in the shot totals, in which they led 12-7. Hrebik kept Barrie afloat, turning away multiple breakaways and holding Kingston scoreless despite them hemming the Colts into their own end for much of the period. All told, neither team found the back of the net in the opening frame and the game moved into the first intermission 0-0.
The middle frame opened with a multitude of chances at each end, both teams had breakaways in the opening minutes but neither cashed in. The goaltenders continued to battle to see who would flinch first throughout the middle minutes of the frame, but both appeared composed and steered aside anything that came their way. The game took on an uglier look in the latter half, big collisions and rough stuff after the whistle were plentiful as it appeared that those involved had looked at the standings and were aware of the magnitude of this game. When the buzzer sounded there were still no goals on the board, just many more shots. Kingston added to their shot lead in the second period, they outshot the Colts 13-9 in the frame and led in shots 25-16 through 40 minutes.
Both teams bucked the trend in the third, with either side scoring early. It was Barrie on the board first, scoring right at the five-minute mark to take the game’s first lead. Kingston responded just 1:35 later with a goal of their own, tying the game at one. The Colts then took ownership of this game, captain Beau Jelsma scored his 17th of the season to retake the lead just after the midway mark of the frame. Cole Beaudoin put the finishing touches on this one, scoring with under two minutes remaining to take a 3-1 lead. The Frontenacs would get one more tally late, but it wasn’t enough to change the outcome of the game as the Colts walk away with a 3-2 win.
In the end, Hrebik and the Colts threw cold water at a Kingston offence that had been red-hot entering this matchup. Prior to the third, the style of play in this game looked very similar to that of a playoff game, low-opportunity and tight-checking. The goals would eventually come and when they did, the Colts scored more of them. Barrie’s win keeps them atop the conference, while Kingston’s loss fades them back into the rest of the field. The Colts and Frontenacs are still slated to play twice more this season, those games will prove significant in the race for the top seed in the East.
