An incredible 3-1 series comeback in the Eastern conference final sees Barrie head to the OHL final.
No one cares, work harder.
That's been the Barrie Colts' motto all season, and those five words were repeated to the gathered press after every single question following the team's Eastern Conference final victory on Monday night.
Down 3-1 against a loaded Brantford Bulldogs roster, and with star forward Cole Beaudoin injured, Barrie has managed to turn it all the way around to win the Bobby Orr Trophy as Eastern conference champions.
Here's all the action from the pivotal game seven.
Colts captain Kashawn Aitcheson scored the game-winning goal in game seven of the Eastern conference final. (Photo: Terry Wilson/OHL Images)With no Beaudoin yet again for game seven, Barrie needed their other stars to step up in order to complete the comeback.
Kashawn Aitcheson stepped up to the mantle in the first period, wiring home a shot past Ryerson Leenders to open the scoring near the end of the opening frame.
That slender 1-0 lead would last a while, all the way to the end of the second period. Ben Hrebik was unbeatable when called upon, and the Colts played well enough defensively in front of him to deny too many grade-A chances.
Early in the third, the lead would be doubled. At the tail end of a Luca Testa double minor for high-sticking, Emil Hemming wired one home, and the hill got even bigger for Brantford.
A Carter Lowe goal off the rush would make it three, before a pair of empty netters from Parker von Richter and Hemming would put the game and the series away at 5-0.
There's absolutely nothing that could be set that would overstate how exceptional Hrebik was in goal. After making 34 saves in game five's OT win and 54 saves in game six's OT win, the Colts' now-folk hero goaltender pitched a 40-save shutout in game seven.
This is up there for one of the greatest sets of performances in CHL history, and they'll need him to continue this top form in the OHL final, with the Kitchener Rangers waiting in the wings.
But for tonight, Hrebik, Aitcheson, Hemming and the rest of the Barrie Colts can celebrate being Eastern Conference champions in the 2025-26 season.
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