How can the Ottawa 67's climb back into their OHL playoff series with the Barrie Colts?

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A potential blue-line partner for Matthew Schaefer down the road, the New York Islanders first-rounder also showed off some embellishing skills when he threw off his glove and shook his hand in pain to draw a slashing penalty on Nic Whitehead in Game 2.

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“I wonder if he doesn’t sell that, if it’s a penalty at all, if anyone raises an eyebrow,” Bedkowski said of his incident. “But at the end of the day, I can’t give the ref that opportunity to call that, I can’t give a Barrie player an opportunity to sell a call. I can’t trust the ref not to give me a penalty.

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“I feel like I kind of have a red target on my back. Any chance the refs can give me a penalty, they do. So I’ve just got to be a lot smarter.”

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The “red target,” he feels, comes with his size.

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“It just seems to be a theme, starting last year,” said Bedkowski. “Any time a bigger player makes a big hit, it seems to be a penalty for hitting too hard. They just look for something to call. It’s a little reactionary. I just never seem to get the benefit of the call, and guys kind of get away with giving me licks. It’s frustrating, but there’s nothing you can do about it, right? It’s out of my control, so I’m just doing my best to work within that.”

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How do the 67’s get back in the series on Tuesday?

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The desperation that comes with potentially falling behind in the series 3-0 should be enough.

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The Colts had losing streaks of four games and six games early in the season, but since then they’ve suffered consecutive losses only twice — once in November and once to finish the season.

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“It’s two close teams within a point of each other the whole year,” 67’s captain Cooper Foster said of the 2025-26 final standings. “So you’re going to lose games. I think discipline for us was a big factor (in Barrie). They have a great power play. We took some untimely penalties that resulted in their goals, which kind of killed our momentum.

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“I think we were right there with them, if not better than them 5-on-5. I think if we stay out of the box these next two games and bury some of our chances, the games will go our way.”

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Is there any thought creeping into the room that the hill is too high to climb?

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Not that anyone would admit it, but, to an outsider, it would seem natural.

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In the four-game season series between the teams, each won twice in the opponent’s home barn.

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The Colts’ victories at TD Place were both by three goals, 4-1 and 8-5.

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Yet it sounds like the 67’s confidence is unwavering.

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“I think those first two games (of the series) are done with,” said Foster. “I think we’re just focused on the next game. We’re not focused on Game 4. We’re focused on Game 3 here. We knew this wasn’t going to be easy. We knew we weren’t going to win every game. It’s unfortunate we lost the first two, but there are still five more games for us to play. I think we’re just taking it game by game, kind of hacking away at it, and just staying positive. I think we have a good leadership group here. Everyone knows what we need to do.”

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As for the Colts’ dominance in Ottawa this season, Foster added, “I think it’s a clean slate in the playoffs. Everything’s clean. You don’t really know what to expect at any point, but I think we’ve kind of settled into the series. Obviously, they’re a big, physical team, but I think we’re going to be ready (Tuesday).”

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