A Highly Offensive East vs West Battle; Barrie vs Guelph

The Barrie Colts are heading to the Sleeman Centre to take on the Guelph Storm on Friday night. Puck drop is at 7:30pm EST, in what should be an incredibly offensive matchup

The Barrie Colts are in town to play Guelph in a rare cross-conference game. 

Barrie has had a decent start to the season, but sit in a very competitive division with Mississauga, North Bay, and Sudbury who have also accumulated wins. They currently sit sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 4-3 record.

The Colts have maintained a lot of their offensive talent from last season, Beau Jelsma, Jacob Frasca, and Cole Beaudoin all returning. The Colts have done work in the past two CHL Import Drafts, as they brought in 1st round NHL Draft pick Eduard Sale, and Swiss forward Endo Meier. Both wingers are playing large roles for the Colts and bring an offensive punch. 

On defence, they are looking slightly weaker with the losses of Brandt Clarke and Artur Cholach. Clarke has now joined the LA Kings organization, and Cholach’s departure to the USHL makes room for the new import players. Edmonton Oilers prospect Beau Akey and captain Connor Punnett lead the way from the blue line, both with offensive contributions thus far. 

Guelph has been an early successor in the Western Conference, winning their first three games of the season and accumulating sixteen goals through those three games. They have fallen to fifth in the Western Conference, but still maintain a winning record of 4-2.

The Storm are playing without top producer Matthew Poitras, as he earned himself a stent to start with the Boston Bruins. Even without their top guy, the Storm are getting points up-and-down their lineup.

There is not one particular player leading the way offensively, but they are getting contributions from everywhere. 2023 OHL Draft picks Quinn Beauchesne, Wil McFadden, and Parker Snelgrove have all been constants in the lineup. Charlie Paquette and Storm captain Braeden Bowman each lead the team with 6 points in six games.

Both of these teams have plenty of options offensively, and a highly offensive game should be anticipated at the Sleeman Centre. This is a matchup that we do not see often between two cross conference teams, and with a full crowd in Guelph, this will be a match well worth watching.