The Barrie Colts will look for their third consecutive win when they take on the defending OHL champion London Knights on Friday.
The Colts are coming off back-to-back victories against Sudbury and Oshawa earlier this week, which improved their record to 3-2 on the season, good for fifth place in the eastern conference.
After falling a goal short of the Memorial Cup last year, the Knights have gotten off to an uncharacteristically slow start with only one win through four games. However, their roster is set to receive some much-needed firepower ahead of Friday’s matchup, as the Toronto Maple Leafs announced on Tuesday they were sending first-round draft pick Easton Cowan back to London.
Cowan had 34 goals and 96 points in only 54 games for the Knights last year.
Barrie will rely on star forwards Cole Beaudoin (a first-round pick of Utah) and Emil Hemming (a first-round pick of Dallas) to continue their strong play, as both have already notched five points this season, co-leading the team.
Hemming, in particular, has been impressive, given it’s the 18-year-old’s first season in North America, having played last year in Finland’s top professional league.
Meanwhile, Beaudoin was just returned to the OHL last week after appearing in two preseason games for Utah, where he failed to record a point.
London swept the season series against the Colts last year, winning both times the teams squared off.
Friday’s game is the first half of a back-to-back, as the Colts will return home to host the Brampton Steelheads on Saturday for the second time this season. The Steelheads, in the franchise’s first year since relocating from Mississauga, beat the Colts 4-1 last week.
Starting goalies for the game have not yet been announced, though there’s a chance both of Barrie’s netminders will see action during the back-to-back.
Florida-native Sam Hillebrandt has returned as the Colts’ starting goalie this year, having started four games already, in which he’s gone 2-2 and posted a .915 save percentage. Ben Hrebik, who’s likely to see more playing time after only playing two games last year, has won his only start this season, where he stopped 36 of the 37 shots he faced.
