A solid start to your day can really pay off. It also helps when you want to get your team into the win .
The Barrie Colts stuck to this idea over the weekend, finishing a sweep of three games in three nights with a 4-1 win against the Oshawa Generals on Sunday evening at the Tribute Communities Centre.
The Colts (25-10-2-4), who have won six out of their last seven matches, came out strong in each of those three games.
In Friday night’s 6-3 away victory against the Guelph Storm, they took a 3-1 lead just 12 minutes into the game. Then on Saturday night, back home facing the Brampton Steelheads, Cole Beaudoin found the net just 13 seconds after puck drop, and Jaiden Newton added another less than seven minutes later to propel Barrie to a 4-1 win.
On Sunday night, the Colts were quick off the mark again as Ben Wilmott scored on the power play, followed by Justin Handsor finding the net less than three minutes apart just past halfway through the first period.
“It’s key, especially when you have a team that has so much pride in defending as our group does,” said Colts’ head coach Dylan Smoskowitz. “I’m not saying if we were down a couple of goals or by a goal that we’d have a hard time coming back, but our comfort zone is defending. We want to establish an early lead.
“We want to invest in our forecheck. It’s a lot of time invested in defending leads and limiting chances against, so it’s a spot we’re comfortable with.”
Evan Passmore and Emil Hemming also scored for Barrie while shorthanded, showcasing their revamped lineup this weekend after adding Mason Zebeski, Parker von Richter, and Wilmott at the trade deadline.
“It’s never easy to bring new guys in,” said Smoskowtiz. “Guys are playing with different linemates and defense pairings with limited practice times and are thrown into three games over three nights with two on the road; that’s pretty impressive for us.
“Of course there’s plenty we’ll need to work on this week-lots we can tidy up and improve upon while continuing to focus on our habits that matter most for this group.
“But getting those results so quickly after the deadline made it a nice weekend for us.”
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Wilmott got things rolling at 11:47 of the first period when Calvin Crombie passed him the puck inside the faceoff circle; he then fired it over Oshawa goaltender Matthew Humphries’ shoulder.
Wilmott seems like an excellent fit alongside Beaudoin and Hemming on that top line. The 19-year-old has now scored in all three games since joining Barrie.
“A real perfect fit,” said Smoskowitz. “Just talking to Beaudoin and Hemming-they’re thrilled playing alongside someone like Wilmott. That was definitely a goal scorer’s goal he got today; there was barely any room for that puck! I still need to watch that replay-I can’t believe how he did it.”
Beaudoin ended up with two assists on Sunday night and has racked up seven points (2G, 5A) since returning from winning bronze with Canada at IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships.
While some players returning from such an intense international tournament might take time getting back into form, Utah NHL prospect Beaudoin jumped right back into his dominant play style.
“He’s relentless,” Smoskowitz said about Beaudoin who is tied for 10th in OHL scoring with 16 goals and 48 points across 28 games. “You see other teams around here getting players back from World Juniors taking it easy for weekends; what does Cole Beaudoin do? He comes charging into my office telling me I should be playing him more!
“He’s built differently-he’s our leader-the heart and soul of our team! We’re lucky having him here; his teammates respect him so much because his attitude and work ethic are contagious-that’s why as a first-year coach I’m fortunate enough having leaders like him.”
This lead increased further just seconds into second period when Passmore scored thanks to Zebeski’s nice assist making it now 3-0 during an open-ended back-and-forth stanza.
The Generals (9-29-1-1), who’ve now lost twelve straight games cut down Barrie’s advantage at14:41 due too deflection off Onni Kalto’s skate positioned near net front.
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A few moments later Oshawa thought they had reduced deficit one more time when Luke Posthumus found pass behind Ben Hrebik however referee ruled play offside following lengthy review process.
“That isn’t something we want happening,” noted Smoskowitz regarding frantic pace during middle frame “It’s unplanned but given circumstance , expect such outcomes occasionally ; many players adapting together under pressure adds difficulty.”
“This represents ninth period played within same timeframe – hence pride taken week long preparation” continued Coach noting “we call these investing days as needed.”
“In fact holding onto leads third periods across last couple evenings against worthy competition certainly draws praise.” added Head Coach watching closely throughout matchups.
The Colts will next hit ice Thursday evening commencing their own stretch featuring another trio encounters set against Flint Firebirds perched atop Western Conference rankings. Game kicks-off scheduled Sadlon Arena starting @7pm sharp. ICE CHIPS : Despite total shots favoring Barrie standing tall at41 -31 overall Hrebik leading all OHL keepers achieved excellent glove save midway through second ensuring league highlight reel nod appearing spectacularly across crease robbing Posthumus. “To tell truthfulness heard loud cheers figuring success while seeing no ensuing alignment come centre must’ve confused matters greatly!” Spoke delightedly Smoskowtiz reflecting shot blocking prowess displayed yesterday post-game speech concluded adding.”This kid simply defies explanations yet remains undrafted !”Assistant Connor Cadaret relied heavily upstairs possessing keen vision towards any offsides challenge feedback proved fruitful noted coach stating ,” As soon bouncing puck crossed opponent line excitement surged down quickly signaling urgency prompting immediate response towards validating correctness resulting established track record holding intact”.
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