Colts pushed to brink of elimination in conference final

After three games of the OHL’s eastern conference final, the Barrie Colts no longer have any room for error.

The Colts are down 3-0 to the Oshawa Generals, after dropping two games at the Sadlon Arena before losing a double-overtime thriller on the road earlier this week.

It puts Barrie on the verge of elimination, as they must win all four remaining games to advance to the league finals. 

Although still incredibly rare, major junior hockey teams have a higher success rate in completing comebacks in series where they’re down 3-0, compared to the NHL, where it has only been accomplished four times in league history.

In the OHL, four teams have come back from losing the series’ first three games since 2010, including the Kitchener Rangers in the previous round of the playoffs, who rattled off four straight wins to steal the series from the Windsor Spitfires.

Kitchener went on to lose to the London Knights in the western conference final, who now await the winner of the Barrie-Oshawa series.

Game 4 will take place Thursday at the Tribute Communities Centre in Oshawa, where puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Should Barrie force a Game 5, the two teams would play again on Saturday at the Sadlon Area, which recently re-upped its lease for another 15 years, ensuring the Colts stay in Barrie for the foreseeable future.

READ MORE: Barrie Colts score 15-year deal to stay at the Sadlon Arena

The Colts, who mustered only one goal in each of the series’ first two games before exploding for six goals in their Game 3 loss, will be looking for more offensive firepower out of star forwards Dalyn Wakely (an Edmonton sixth-round pick in 2024) and Beau Jelsma (undrafted), both of whom have cooled off after red-hot starts to the postseason.

Meanwhile, Anthony Romani (a Vancouver sixth-round pick in 2024) has continued his strong play in the conference final, as the 19-year-old leads the team with 23 points in 15 games, placing him in the top 10 of the playoff scoring race.

In the crease, goaltenders Sam Hillebrandt (undrafted) and Ben Hrebik (undrafted) have both struggled in the playoffs after phenomenal regular season campaigns. 

A starting goalie for Thursday night’s game has yet to be announced.