Jan. 31/25 at Oshawa: Highlights & Recap
The Colts looked to extend their win streak to seven games while on the road in Oshawa on Friday night. Barrie has gotten the better of the Generals in all three of their appearances against them this season. The Colts came into this contest sitting in first place in the Eastern Conference, Oshawa sits in fifth despite trailing Barrie by just 4 points. It’s normally a heated battle between these two squads as they’ve played a lot of hockey against each other in the last calendar year, having met in the first round of the playoffs last season.
The game got off to a rather physical start, which was anticipated considering not only the recent history of these two teams but also the stakes in this game. Oshawa opened the scoring before the two-minute mark, taking an early 1-0 lead. Things didn’t get any better for the Colts as first-line centre Dalyn Wakely received a match penalty for slew-footing just minutes after the General’s goal. Barrie, who came into this game rolling 11 forwards, was now down to 10 in the absence of Wakely. Although they were outshot 17-6, the Colts managed to escape the first period without allowing any more goals.
Barrie struggled to get out of their own way in the second period, frequently taking penalties and giving the puck away. By the midway mark of the frame, the Colts were outshot 25-8. The period was underlined by the Generals’ inability to finish on their many scoring chances. Oshawa’s lack of finishing of course boded well for the Colts who again narrowly escaped the period with only a one-goal deficit. Through 40 minutes of play, the Generals outshot Barrie 31-12 and led 1-0.
The Colts came out of the second intermission with energy and finally got on the board with a Kashawn Aitcheson goal just 41 seconds into the final frame. The Generals would eventually respond, scoring to take a 2-1 lead six minutes after the Aitcheson tally. Another match penalty was assigned to a key offensive player when Oshawa’s Beckett Sennecke was ejected for a headshot, leaving Barrie on a five-minute powerplay with just three minutes remaining. Emil Hemming cashed in on the powerplay with just 45 seconds remaining to tie the game at two and send the game to overtime.
The Colts opened overtime still on the man advantage but failed to capitalize on the opportunity. With the Colts controlling most of the possesion in the extra frame, the Generals only needed two shots. With less than a minute remaining, the Generals stepped into the offensive zone and fired home the winner.
Ben Hrebik continued his stellar play of keeping the Colts in it all night, stopping 38/41 shots and earning second star honours.
