Round 2 Game 5: Apr. 19/25 vs Kingston: Highlights and Recap
The second-round series between the Colts and Frontenacs headed back to Barrie for game five on Saturday night. The series was evenly split at two wins apiece before Saturday, and both squads carried perfect playoff home records into game five. The Colts were left licking their wounds after a bad loss in game four that saw them cede nine goals for the first time this season, regular season or playoffs. Sam Hillebrandt presided over Barrie’s crease, marking his second straight start and fourth of the series.
There was hardly a dull moment in the opening frame as both teams burst out of the gates, immediately creating opportunities to score. Despite a multitude of chances in the early goings, nobody lit the lamp until late in the frame. It was Kingston who eventually opened the scoring, they did so with just 3:28 remaining in the period, their lone goal would be the extent of the offence as the Frontenacs hung onto a 1-0 lead into the first intermission. On the positive side for the Colts, they nearly replicated their shot total from game four (20) through 20 minutes of game five (17) but had yet to solve a hot Kingston netminder.
Barrie continued to sustain pressure out of the intermission and into the middle frame, they maintained their dominance in the shot battle and even had a goal overturned. The Colts finally broke through when the Van Steensel – Wakely – Romani line, who were victims of the previous video review, tied the game at one. Wakely was the one to tally, but both of his linemates factored in with assists, extending both Romani and Wakely’s point streaks to 10 games. The game-tying goal came a little before the midway mark of the period and was its only goal. Barrie grossly outshot Kingston 31-16 through 40 minutes, yet the game remained tied at a goal apiece heading into the third.
The final frame was full of chances at either end and was wildly entertaining for the near-capacity crowd at Sadlon Arena. Barrie put themselves in a tough position, taking a four-minute major in the back half of the period. To make matters worse, the Colts took a minor penalty just 1:30 into the major, making it five on three for a full two minutes. With some help from Kingston, they warded off their powerplay efforts and ushered the game into overtime.
If it wasn’t tense enough in the lead-up to overtime, you could cut the tension with a knife by the extra frame. Barrie kept their foot on the gas pedal, keeping the Frontenacs at arm’s length while generating a majority of the fourth period’s opportunities. Right on cue, Kashawn Aitcheson employed his clutch gene, as he has countless times this season, rifling a wrist shot home from just inside the blue line to seal game five as a Colts’ victory.
Kash’s seventh game-winning goal of ’24-’25 was undoubtedly his biggest as it pushed Barrie to within a game of an Eastern Conference Finals berth. The series returns to Kingston for game six on Sunday.
