Round 1 Game 3: Apr. 1/25 at Niagara: Highlights & Recap
Following the Barrie Colts’ victories in games one and two on home ice, their first-round series against the Niagara IceDogs moved to the Meridian Centre for the third and fourth contests. Game three took place just 22 hours following the conclusion of game two, which was an anxious 7-5 win for the Colts. The third game in this series presented Barrie with a chance to take a stranglehold over the series, as 3-0 series deficits are seldom overcome. Ben Hrebik got the nod for Barrie, setting the stage for his first playoff appearance in his OHL career.
The first remained scoreless through its initial seven minutes, Niagara goaltender Owen Flores was a catalyst of the low-scoring start. The IceDogs netminder made miraculous save after miraculous save as the Colts took the first seven shots of the night. All it took was one for Niagara, who scored on their first shot attempt for the second game in a row. The IceDogs settled in after taking an early 1-0 lead, keeping Barrie off the board until the intermission despite being heavily outshot.
Riley Patterson gave his Colts a jolt when he scored 64 seconds into the middle frame, tying the game at one. After a brief hiatus, he goal scoring continued 10 minutes later with a Niagara goal to retake the lead 2-1. Owen Van Steensel promptly responded with his second of the playoffs just 39 seconds later, tying the game at two goals apiece. Van Steensels goal was followed by another Barrie goal two minutes later, the scorer was Emil Hemming and the goal gave the Colts their first lead. Their lead was short-lived though, 31 seconds to be exact, that’s all it took for the IceDogs to knot the game back up a fourth time. The game would head to intermission tied at three while Barrie led in shots 29-22.
The final frame of play was the most important of the series thus far, and would change the series drastically either way it fell. Barrie got off on the right foot when Anthony Romani found the back of the net for his OHL-leading sixth playoff goal this season. Romani’s goal put the Colts up 4-3, their second lead of the night. This game refused to let either team keep a lead for very long, and Barrie’s was cut short once again as Niagara found twine less than five minutes after Romani’s tie-breaking tally. The IceDogs then fostered a lead of their own, scoring again three minutes later to take a 5-4 lead. The Colts scratched and clawed in the final five minutes, desperately trying to even up the game as time ticked away. They’d ultimately come up short and give up an empty netter in the dying seconds to seal a 6-4 win for Niagara.
Barrie falls in this one despite outshooting their opponent 39-33. For a Colts team that had been predicated on low-scoring, low-event hockey all season, this series has been the polar opposite, featuring high-flying, action-packed play. The home team has won all three games so far, Barrie will look to buck that trend in game four on Thursday in Niagara.
Game five will return to Sadlon Arena on Saturday night, click here for tickets.
