A Forgetful Friday
Oshawa, ON- The Brampton Steelheads fall in Game 1 of the playoffs 7-4 to the Oshawa Generals as Colby Barlow puts up a hat-trick performance.
Round One. Game 1. After four regular-season games ending in a series tie, it was anyone’s game as the Steelheads and Generals kicked off their playoff run. The tide could turn for either side as both teams had star-studded lineups entering Game 1. Despite the hard-fought battle, Game 1 went to the Generals after Barlow brought home four points (3G, 1A).
Unfortunately for the Trout, Period 1 favoured the Generals as they established an early three-goal lead. Colby Barlow got the game’s icebreaker, which set the pace for Oshawa for the remainder of the period. While Jack Ivankovic made the initial save off Zackary Sandhu’s shot, the puck slipped behind him, leaving Barlow with a loose puck and an open net to easily secure the Gens’ first goal.
Not all hope was lost as the Steelheads quickly returned the favour by getting a goal of their own. Angus MacDonell got his first goal of the playoffs unassisted after picking up a loose puck just inside the Gens’ blue line. Driving in deep, MacDonell brought the puck up the right side before going on the backhand to sneak it past Jacob Oster on the glove side.
While the Trout had other scoring opportunities, Oster redeemed himself after the first goal and would not let any pucks sneak by him. Alongside the strong performance from the Oshawa netminder, the Generals kicked things into high gear to go five unanswered for the remainder of the first and into the second.
Barlow followed MacDonell with his second of the game. Simon Wang took the initial shot from the point, which Barlow tipped in while waiting out front. Ben Danford shortly got Oshawa’s third goal on a rush into the Brampton zone, where he fired it from the top of the faceoff circle to sneak it over Ivankovic’s shoulder.
Oshawa’s final goal of the period came from Brooks Rogowski after a failed clearing attempt, which allowed Ethan Toms to get the loose puck from the corner and send it out front for Rogowski. With no one covering him off, Rogowski got the shot, which initially missed the back of the net, but an unfortunate deflection off traffic gave the Generals their fourth goal.
After ending the first, down by three, things worsened for the Trout as multiple bouts of special teams put them on the back foot. In the closing seconds of the first, MacGregor Richmond was called for hooking, sending the Steelheads onto the penalty kill for the remainder of period one and into the second.
While the Trout covered off what was left of the first, Barlow secured his third goal of the game in the opening minutes of the second. Calum Ritchie set Barlow up for the one-timer, securing him the hat-trick.
Barlow followed up his three-goal stint by assisting on Bennett Sennecke’s first goal of the game. Rushing in on a 2-on-1, Barlow took the initial shot attempt, which hit Sennecke instead of the net. Picking up the loose puck, Sennecke drove towards the net before beating Ivankovic on the glove side.
Despite the 6-1 score, the Steelheads did not back down and attempted a battleback to make it within three by the end of the second. MacDonell got his second of the game off a 2-on-1 play with Carson Rehkopf. After Porter Martone set MacDonell up for the breakout, Rehkopf followed his teammate up the right side. Instead of passing it over, MacDonell beat Oster on the glove side.
Things began to turn around for the Trout as a round of special teams gave them their third goal of the game. Luke Misa got the initial shot on Oster on the power play, but the Oshawa netminder quickly blocked it. However, he did not account for Rehkopf waiting out front to bury the rebound home.
Ending the second within three, the Steelheads could see a tie game in sight, but with another penalty kill sent their way combined with another Oshawa power play goal, it seemed this was not the Trout’s game to win. Konnor Smith’s roughing penalty gave the Generals the man-advantage, which was quickly utilized as Owen Griffin set Sennecke up for his second goal of the game with a tip-in.
As the remaining minutes ran out, the Steelheads gave one last fighting attempt as MacDonell got his third of the game after Martone set him up for the shot. However, with less than two minutes left in the period, Game 1’s victory would fall to the Generals.
The Steelheads look to tie the series in Game 2 this Sunday in Oshawa before capturing Game 3 at home on April 1. For tickets, click here.
