Barrie earns overtime win in return to Guelph
The Barrie Colts earned a 3-2 overtime victory over the Guelph Storm on Friday night in their first game at the Sleeman Centre in 1,106 days.
Roenick Jodin potted the game-winner in overtime when he put a back-handed shot past Guelph goaltender Brayden Gillispie in front of 4,351 fans in attendance.
With the victory, Barrie improves to 14-9-3-2, while Guelph drops to 11-15-3-1 on the season. With 33 points, the Colts move into fourth place in the Eastern Conference and have won four of their last six games. The Storm earned a point, moving into ninth in the Western Conference, ahead of the Erie Otters.
Evan Vierling opened the scoring with a power play goal 6:30 into the second period, when he fired a wrist shot into the top corner of the net. The goal was his 12th of the 2022-23 season and his team-leading 34th point of the campaign.
The Colts initial lead was short lived, Max Namestnikov got the Storm on the board just 51 seconds later with a power play goal of his own. Namestnikov is averaging over one point per game since being traded to Guelph on November 17, the goal was his eighth as a member of the Storm and his team-leading 12th of the season.
In the third period, Jacob Frasca scored on an odd-man rush when he cashed in on a cross-crease pass from Colts captain Declan McDonnell. The goal was his 10th of the season and gave Barrie their second lead of the night.
Valentin Zhugin tied the game at two when he beat Barrie goaltender Sam Hillebrandt with a wrist shot that went past his blocker-side shoulder and into the back of the net. Zhugin has scored eight goals in 2022-23, the marker was his 25th Ontario Hockey League goal.
Brayden Gillespie made a career-high 32 saves on 35 shots to help Guelph extend the game beyond regulation, earning third star of the game honours.
Gillespie spoke highly of his teams efforts in front of him.
“They blocked a lot of shots on the penalty kill, they did a great job when we took a couple penalties,” said the rookie goalie, post-game.
“They battled for me.”
The Storm will look to get retribution in a rematch with the Colts on New Years Eve in Barrie at 7:30pm.
Next Up:
The Storm are back in action at the Sleeman Centre on Saturday when they take on the Soo Greyhounds at 2:00pm in the annual Brent Johnson Wayne Pitman Teddy Bear Toss game. They’ll have eleven days off before facing off against the Windsor Spitfires in back-to-back games after the break. The two-game set starts with a match up at the WFCU Centre on Wednesday December 28 at 7:05pm and concludes at the Sleeman centre on Friday, December 30 with puck drop at 7:30pm. Tickets for the Teddy Bear Toss can be found by clicking here.
Game Notes:
Barrie Colts 3 (OT) at Guelph Storm 2 – Status: Final OT
Friday, December 16, 2022 – Sleeman Centre
Barrie 0 1 1 1 – 3
Guelph 0 1 1 0 – 2
1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Aitcheson Bar (high sticking), 4:25; Murray Gue (slashing), 17:55.
2nd Period-1, Barrie, Vierling 12 (Jelsma), 6:30 (PP). 2, Guelph, Namestnikov 12 (Bowman, Poitras), 7:21 (PP). Penalties-Buchinger Gue (high sticking), 3:22; served by Namestnikov Gue (too many men), 5:47; KAV-Uh-Naw Bar (tripping), 7:11; Buchinger Gue (interference), 8:04.
3rd Period-3, Barrie, Frasca 10 (McDonnell, Jelsma), 7:26. 4, Guelph, Zhugin 8 (Poitras, Buchinger), 17:02. Penalties-Buchinger Gue (slashing), 1:35.
OT Period-5, Barrie, Jodoin 4 (Akey), 3:34. Penalties-No Penalties
Shots on Goal-Barrie 9-16-7-2-34. Guelph 6-7-9-2-24.
Power Play Opportunities-Barrie 1 / 5; Guelph 1 / 2.
Goalies-Barrie, Hillebrandt 1-0-0-0 (24 shots-22 saves). Guelph, Gillespie 3-0-1-1 (34 shots-31 saves).
Timeouts —
A-4,351
Referees-Mike Hamilton (8), Lacey Senuk (39).
Linesmen-Dustin McCrank (68), Justin Noble (80).