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OHL Barrie Colts

Colts Outdistance Ottawa

January 30, 2025 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Barrie Colts News Release


The Colts hosted the 67's Thursday night, their fourth matchup this season. Barrie had beaten Ottawa in all three of their previous meetings and rode a five-game win streak heading into Thursday's game. Conversely, Ottawa was on a serious schneid, having lost 10 of their last 11 contests. If the playoffs started Thursday, these two teams would represent the 1st vs 8th seed series on the Eastern side of the bracket, making Thursday's game a potential playoff preview. Sam Hillebrandt appeared between the pipes for Barrie, one game after getting the night off in Saturday's contest against Brantford. Hillebrandt's last start saw him stop 36 of 38 shots en route to a 3-2 win over the Steelheads.

Little defence was played in the opening minutes of the game and a flurry of goals ensued. Emil Hemming kick-started the offence, scoring shorthanded four minutes into the game, giving the Colts a 1-0 lead. The 67's promptly responded with a goal of their own just 49 seconds later tying the game at one. Barrie's special teams continued to impress, with Cole Beaudoin finding the back of the net on the powerplay to give the Colts a one-goal advantage. After a seven-minute lull where no goals were scored, Ottawa rounded out the period with a goal just before the 15-minute mark. All told, the game would move into the intermission knotted up at two.

Neither team slowed down offensively in the second, and it was Kashawn Aitcheson scoring his 14th goal on the season at 4:37 elapsed to break the tie and give Barrie a 3-2 lead. The game became a slog through the middle minutes of the frame, the Colts controlled play primarily but neither team was able to cash in. It wasn't until the final minute of the period that we saw a score change, it was Brad Gardiner, matching Aitcheson at 14 goals and extending the Colts' lead to two. With just 23 seconds left on the clock, it appeared as though Barrie would take a comfortable two-goal lead into the third but Ottawa ruined that plan by scoring with just five seconds to spare, a gut-wrenching end to the period for the Colts.

The third saw even opportunities at each end, but little goal-scoring. Ottawa's best chance at evening up the game was at the midway mark when the Colts took an ill-timed penalty, they failed to do so. The 67's went on to shoot themselves in the foot taking back-to-back minor penalties late in the game, Barrie found twine on the latter powerplay and all but sealed the game 5-3. In the end, the final frame of play was anti-climactically the least eventful, which boded well for Barrie, who came out of this one with a 5-3 win. This is the Colts' 30th win of the season and allows them to remain atop the Eastern Conference. With this game in the books, Barrie is a third of the way through their three-in-three, they'll stop in Oshawa on Friday before returning to Barrie to host the Ice Dogs.

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from January 30, 2025


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