Nov. 28/24 vs Sudbury: Highlights & Recap
The Wolves and Colts did battle in Barrie on Thursday night, already the 5th meeting between these division rivals this season. Barrie has bested Sudbury in each of their 4 previous meetings in 2024, winning the most recent game by a whopping 7 goals. Needless to say, the Colts have had their way with their opposition from the north this season, and Sudbury was eager to buck the trend Thursday night.
The Wolves let the air out of the building when they opened the scoring just 31 seconds into the contest, opening the door for another Sudbury goal 3 minutes later. The Colts found themselves in a 2 goal hole in the early goings of the game but managed to settle in and string together some scoring chances, none of which translated into goals however and the score remained 2-0 into the final quarter of the first period. The Wolves managed to add to their lead before the period came to a close, scoring on a breakaway with 4 minutes to go in the first, extending their lead to 3-0.
The Colts were looking for a spark to start the second and made a goaltender swap, switching Sam Hillebrandt in favour of Ben Hrebik after Hillebrandt allowed 3 goals on 8 shots. Regardless of whether or not the fresh legs in net played a factor, the Colts came out of the first intermission with more energy than they had displayed prior and were able to get on the board by way of a Dalyn Wakely goal, cutting Sudbury’s lead to 2 and making it a 3-1 game. Barrie kept applying pressure and creating opportunities to score, racking up 20 total shots in the period and outshooting the Wolves by 11. Despite winning the shot battle, the Colts entered the final frame at a 3-1 deficit and looked to work their way back.
Barrie continued its slow build 4 minutes into the the third when Cole Beaudoin scored to narrow Sudbury’s lead down to 1, the Utah Hockey Club first-round pick from last year’s NHL draft now has a team-leading 10 goals this season. This now tightly contested game would continue without any additional goals through the majority of the third all the way down to the final minutes of the game. Chaos ensued in front of the Sudbury net with under a minute remaining, when the dust settled it was Emil Hemming celebrating in the corner. Multiple long video reviews determined that it was a good goal, tying the game at 3 and sending this one to overtime.
In overtime, Riley Patterson picked up a fortuitous bounce in his own end, worked his way down opposite ice and scored on a breakaway to complete the comeback and seal a 4-3 win for Barrie. An amazing game that saw the Colts come back from down 3-0 and win in overtime in an exciting fashion. There’s no doubt that the Wolves were hungry for this one given their lack of success against the Colts this season, ultimately they weren’t able to get it done. Fortunately for Sudbury, depending on how you look at it, Barrie will head north to pay them a visit on the 29th for their 6th meeting this season.
