Close but no Cigar. Steelheads fall 4-3 in final home preseason game
Brampton ON – Slow starts and odd-man breaks were the themes of tonight’s loss at the hand of the Barrie Colts.
The Steelheads came out flat in the first and second periods, falling behind 3-1. They fought back to keep the game within striking distance, but fell just short of comeback, losing to the Colts 4-3.
The Colts wasted no time getting the scoring started. Tai York silenced the crowd just thirty seconds in on an odd man rush. Later in the frame the Colts first line doubled down, as Riley Patterson took advantage of another three on two break.
Not looking to be outdone, Luke Dragisuca wired one upstairs through a screen to get the Steelheads on the board. There were a couple of firsts on the play as Dragisuca buried his first goal in a Steelheads uniform, while Carson Rehkopf picked his first point with the Trout.
Five minutes into the second Martone narrowly missed the equalizer off a wraparound feed from Rehkopf.
Sam Hillebrandt stole the show in the second, as he made save after save to keep the Colts in front. It started with a sprawling save to deny Rehkopf his first goal as a Steelhead and Hillebrandt later followed with a flurry of saves to preserve the lead again.
Built off the energy from Hillebrandt, Barrie extended their lead back to two. A scrum in the Barrie end resulted in a Colts powerplay. This proved costly for the Steelheads, as Nolan Newton deflected one by Gibbons on the man advantage.
Tempers boiled over to start the third with a major penalty from Troy Patton, and the scrum that followed. The Steelheads fought back to kill off the extended man deficit.
Just before halfway through the period Angus MacDonell picked up the loose puck and buried it to cut the lead to two. Rehkopf picked up his second point of the night on the MacDonell tally.
With just over five minutes to go Porter Martone made a strong drive to the net before slipping the rebound five hole on Hillebrandt to bring the Steelheads within one. Jacob Gibbons kept the Trout alive with a huge breakaway, followed by a goal line robbery to deny the Colts of an insurance marker.
The Colts survived a late six on four push from Steelheads to secure the win.
The Steelheads look to start the season off strong at their home opener September 27 against the Brantford Bulldogs. Secure your tickets here!
