Barrie Down 3-0 in Eastern Conference Finals
April 30, 2025 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Barrie Colts News Release
On Tuesday, the Barrie Colts travelled to Oshawa for a crucial game three of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Generals led the series 2-0 heading into game three, making it as close as it gets to a 'must-win' game for Barrie. Oshawa looked to build on a dominant 7-1 victory in game two, while the Colts sought to garner some form of momentum and avoid a potentially damning 3-0 series deficit. Sam Hillebrandt served as Barrie's backstop in this one.
The Colts led off positively when Riley Patterson gave them their first lead of the series just two minutes into the game. Despite being in the driver's seat, Barrie was plagued by giveaways early on and allowed Oshawa to knot the game back up just two minutes later. Not long after the Generals got on the board, the Colts got back out in front on an Anthony Romani goal that extended his league-leading 15-game point streak and made it 2-1 Barrie. Oshawa would score twice more before the conclusion of the opening frame, once at 12:14 elapsed and again at 18:19, closing out the period with a 3-2 lead.
The middle frame was rather uneventful in its infancy until Cole Beaudouin snuck one through the legs of Jacob Oster at the 14-minute mark to make it 3-3. The Generals then became the aggressors for the remainder of the frame, totalling 15 shots in the period and scoring twice in their final two minutes. Oshawa's late goals propelled them to a commanding 5-3 lead, but an Owen Van Steensel tally with 17 seconds remaining put Barrie back within striking distance. The Colts needed just 5 shots in the frame to net two goals and keep themselves alive. The board read 5-4 in favour of the Generals heading into the second intermission.
The final frame opened with dangerous opportunities at both ends of the ice, but neither team were able to cash in and the clock continued to tick away with Barrie desperate for a goal. The hungry Colts would get their game-tying tally from none other than Kashawn Aitcheson, who finished off a give-and-go play to knot the game back up, this time at five goals apiece. Barrie continued to pile it on, getting their third unanswered goal and taking a 6-5 lead with six minutes to play. The Colts nearly widdled the clock down to zeros and escaped with a narrow victory, but Oshawa found the back of the net with just over a minute remaining, sending the game to overtime for the first time this series.
The Generals maintained momentum in the early goings of overtime until an inopportune delay of game penalty put the Colts on the powerplay. The man advantage came and went for Barrie, and Oshawa picked up right where they left off, creating chance after chance, all turned aside by Hillebrandt who was undoubtedly the most valuable Colt in the first overtime as he kept them alive to see a second extra frame. Oshawa paced Barrie in shots 44-33 through 80 minutes of play.
The Colts were the more dominant team to open the fifth frame of play, forcing Oster to make multiple quality saves to prolong the game. Momentum eventually swung the other way towards the mid-way point of double overtime, and the Generals reprised their role as the aggressors. Oshawa eventually beat a white-hot Hillebrandt on a one-timer to seal a game-three victory on home ice.
The Generals now own a stranglehold over this Eastern Conference Final; their 3-0 series lead leaves Barrie absolutely no room for error as they must win the remaining four games to claim the series, no easy feat. The Colts will have to win in Oshawa on Thursday night if they have any hope of making a comeback, If they can, they will at least drag the Generals back to Sadlon Arena for a game five.
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