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BARRIE, ON – After taking a late lead, the Brampton Steelheads fell victim to some last-second heroics, as they were outlasted by the Barrie Colts.
Just five minutes into the game, tensions began to flare when Kashawn Aitcheson went after Steelheads captain Porter Martone. The scrum resulted in an Aitcheson roughing call to send the Trout to the power play, but they were unable to capitalize on the early chance.
The Colts had the first high-quality chance of the frame when Beau Jelsma found his way behind the Steelheads’ defence. The Barrie captain burst in on a breakaway, but he could not beat Ivankovic.
In the final minute of the frame, the Steelheads pressed for the ice breaker. The Trout tested Sam Hillebrandt with four shots in the last 60 seconds, but the American netminder held strong.
It was a relatively quiet start to the game, with neither time finding the back of the net through the first twenty minutes.
Luke Misa came out flying to start the second period, as he cut between the Colts defence. The Calgary Flames prospect soared in on net, but he was unable to get a good shot off on Hillebrandt.
Around the four-minute mark, the Steelheads created a flurry of chances. First, Porter Martone broke into the zone and dropped a pass to Angus MacDonell. The Dallas Stars prospects wired a shot, but it was blocked before it could make it to the Barrie net. After collecting the loose puck, Porter Martone found Carson Rehkopf in the slot. The Vaughan native ripped a shot but it was gobbled up by Hillebrandt.
The Trout kept the foot on the pedal, as they tested Hillebrandt again. Carson Rehkopf found Luke Misa in the slot who wristed one on goal, but Hillebrandt got a piece, knocking it to the corner.
Barrie responded with a chance of their own when Beau Jelsma received a pass and cut on goal. The overager chipped the puck across the grain, but Jack Ivankovic snared it out of the air.
Just past the halfway point in the frame, the Colts pressed for the icebreaker on the man advantage. First, Emil Hemming was inches away from tapping one home on the backdoor, but the puck bounced just out of his reach. Then, Jack Ivankovic was forced to make a flurry of saves to help kill off the penalty.
The Trout nearly took the lead at the four-minute mark when the third line broke in on a three-on-two. Lucas Karmiris found Gabe Chiarot on his strong side. Sophomore kicked the puck to his stick where he quickly snapped one on goal, but yet again Hillebrandt was there to make the save.
Just over three minutes into the third period, the Barrie Colts took the lead. Emil Hemming sent a cross-ice feed for Grayson Tiller who one-timed it wide of the goal. The puck had a lively bounce off the boards to Carter Lowe on the backdoor who made no mistake, burying it into the empty net to put Barrie in front.
The Colts nearly doubled their lead when Dalyn Wakely picked off a clearing attempt from Parker Von Richter. The overager looked pass before ripping a shot just wide of the Steelheads’ goal.
Carson Rehkopf nearly found the equalizer with just under thirteen minutes to play. The Seattle Kraken prospect took the puck from the corner before cutting across the crease, but he had the puck knocked from his stick.
After Beau Jelsma and Kieran Witkowski were calling for matching penalties, the teams headed to some four-on-four action. The pace picked up with the extra ice. First, Steelheads’ defenders Jakub Fibigr and Spencer Sova found themselves up ice, as they broke in on an odd-man rush. Fibgir found Sova whose shot soared just over the Colts’ net. Kashawn Aitcheson found the loose puck, which he lofted for Cole Beaudoin to skate into. The Utah prospect settled the bouncing puck and quickly snapped a shot that was turned aside by Ivankovic.
With just under five minutes to go, the Steelheads found their way onto the scoresheet. Angus MacDonell cut down the left wing. With pressure from the defence MacDonell stopped up and slid a pass across the ice to Vilmer Alrksson. The big Swede dangled to the front of the net and wired a shot through Hillebrandt to tie the game.
Just a minute later, the Steelheads took the lead on the power play. Jakub Fibigr received a pass in the Trout zone before slicing through the Colts’ defence. The Czech defender went backhand, then forehand before roofing it on Hillebrandt to give Brampton their first lead of the night.
With the net empty, Barrie amped up the pressure to tie the game. Beau Jelsma flew down the right wing before cutting across the crease, but he could tuck it past Ivankovic. Less than a minute later, Beau Akey’s stick snapped on a shot attempt, but the puck slid to Emil Hemming. The Finn quickly ripped a shot on goal, but it sailed just wide.
With just two seconds to spare, the Barrie pressure paid off. Emil Hemming threw a shot on goal from the point, which bounced off traffic in front. The puck fell to the slot where Carter Lowe tapped it under Jack Ivankovic on the backhand to force overtime.
The extra frame lasted just fifteen seconds before the Colts buried the dagger. Barrie broke in on a two-on-one where Riley Patterson sauced a feed behind the defender to Kashawn Aitcheson. The draft-eligible defenceman fought through a hook to deke to the backhand and jam the overtime winner past Ivankovic.
The Brampton Steelheads are back in action Saturday when they travel west to face the Flint Firebirds.