73’s quest for eight has to wait, Barons crowned Schmalz Cup Champions

by Garrett Fodor

It was a make-or-break week for the Essex 73’s, as it entered play last week down 2-0 in the best-of-seven series with Hanover, which had a chance to seal its second Schmalz Cup Championship.

Since the 73’s was at home for Game 2 on May 4, the series shifted to Hanover for Game 3 on May 7. The atmosphere was fierce at the P and H Centre, with the biggest crowd of the series to date. Nearly 1400 fans packed the arena.

For the home Barons fans, the opening minutes created nervousness, as the 73’s arrived on time, spending much of the period in the offensive zone and testing Barons’ goaltender, Derek Hartley. Despite pressure early and often, the Barons opened the scoring late in the first period with Kyle Maloney scoring with 90-seconds left.

With the momentum and the home crowd behind them, the Barons continued to work, and their top-line of Maloney, Mark McIntosh, and Coen Galbraith continued to give the 73’s a hard time. The offense and chemistry were unmatched with the trio cycling the puck and finding lanes to the net of Colquhoun. They’d add a pair of goals less than a minute apart, extending their lead to 3-0.  

In the third period, the Barons added a goal late in the third period, with Hartley and the Barons shutting out the 73’s 4-0 to take a 3-0 series lead headed back to Essex.

Game 4 fell on Saturday afternoon for an afternoon puck drop. For the 73’s, they had the start that Tony Piroski and their fans were looking for, with Gabe Piccolo opening the scoring four-minutes into the action, beating Hartley. The goal stood for just 12-seconds before the Barons responded with a goal of their own.

The teams exchanged power-plays late in the period, however, the goalies would be unbeaten in the opening period, as the teams were tied 1-1, while the shots were tied 10-10.

Momentum swung back in favor of the 73s during the second period, as they had arguably one of their best periods of the series. They used their pace to create havoc, finishing checks and putting pucks on net and through traffic. Their efforts would be rewarded, as they registered three goals in the period to stun the Barons and their fans who made the four-hour journey down.

AP call-up Santiago Jimenes opened the scoring in the period, with Patrick McManus and Nate Dowling also getting in on the action. When the horn sounded to signal the end of the period, there was a jolt from the 73’s fans, cheering their team off the ice as they held a 4-1 lead. Shots through 40-minutes were 28-17 for the 73’s.

In the third period, the Barons came out like a shot out of a cannon. Four-minutes into the last period of regulation, Ryan Colquhoun beat 73’s goaltender Brogan Colquhoun to cut the deficit to two. As time progressed, the Barons continued to circle and looked to cut the deficit again. Just four-minutes after Colquhoun’s goal, Sam Barrett continued his torrid scoring pace, picking up his sixth goal and seventh point of the series. They’d complete the comeback just over a minute later, tying the game at 4-4, forcing overtime.

In overtime, Eliott McCarey picked off a pass from 73’s defender, Adam Dunn. He then found Aaron Dukeshire all alone by the net, who made no mistake in beating Colquhoun, completing the comeback and the four-game sweep of the 73’s. Final shot totals were 35-24 for the 73’s.

With the defeat, the 73’s ended as All-Ontario Finalists, marking their return to the finals for the first time since they won in 2015-16. The loss also marks the end to the junior careers of 73’s Captain Gabe Piccolo, Aleks Bratic, Patrick McManus, Karson Beuglet, and Kale Couvillon, who had not played since March 9.  

McManus and Piccolo, linemates for much of the season, together led the team in scoring during the postseason, with the duo posting 29 points and 26 points through 25 games played. 16-year-old rookie, Matthew Crawford continued his scoring pace into the playoffs, after registering 19 goals and 43 points in 41 games. He added 11 goals and 24 points through 28 playoff games.  

At the other end of the ice, Brogan Colquhoun was a backbone for the 73’s defense. The 19-year-old appeared in 25 games, posting a 17-5-3 record, with a .916 save percentage and a goals against average of 2.04.