Season over for Ottawa 67's after Game 5 loss to Barrie Colts

Ottawa 67's logo. Photo by Mat Smith /POSTMEDIA

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As they had to do, the Ottawa 67’s played with the desperation of a team fighting for its life.

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For most of Saturday night, they were better than their opponents, which was not the case for most of their Ontario Hockey League playoff showdown with the Barrie Colts.

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But in the end, they could not put enough pucks behind Colts goaltender Ben Hrebik, they could not stay disciplined long enough, and, much to their detriment, they could not contain Cole Beaudoin.

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A Kanata product and first-round pick of the NHL’s Utah Mammoth, Beaudoin built on his OHL playoff scoring lead by burying the 67’s with two goals in a 4-1 victory over his hometown team at Sadlon Arena.

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The 67’s, who were ranked 19th in the league before the season started, had their dreams of going to the Memorial Cup squashed in the best-of-seven second-round series that only lasted five.

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Barrie will go on to face the Brantford Bulldogs in the Eastern Conference final, which will start Wednesday in Brantford.

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The 67’s come back to Ottawa to clean out their lockers at TD Place for the summer.

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Beaudoin, who leads all OHL playoff scorers with 23 points in 10 games, also collected an assist on Saturday to give him three goals and nine assists in the series against Ottawa.

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The 67’s, who outshot the Colts 34-25, could never fully recover from Beaudoin’s tallies in each of the first two periods.

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Trailing by one entering the third period, Ottawa winger Sam McCue was given a two-minute minor with 7:23 remaining for checking to the head, and the vaunted Barrie power play took advantage of just its third opportunity, including one that lasted only three seconds because of a Colts penalty.

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New York Islanders first-rounder Kashawn Aitcheson blasted home a backbreaking goal just 22 seconds after McCue sat down in the box, and Emil Hemming, a Dallas Stars first-round pick, sealed Ottawa’s fate with an empty-net goal.

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Beaudoin, who had 33 goals, 89 points and a plus-40 rating in just 54 regular-season games, scored his second of the night with 6:28 left in the middle period, when he was left alone in front and converted a pass from Hemming, who had emerged with the puck from a battle along the boards.

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But the 67’s didn’t wilt.

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Ottawa defenceman Kaleb Dietsch broke up a Barrie rush at the blue line to send the 67’s breaking down ice on a rush that was finished when Thomas Vandenberg slipped a short backhand pass at the edge of the crease to Nic Whitehead, giving him an open side for his second of the playoffs 2:13 before the end of the second period.

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The 67’s had their best first period of the series, outshooting the Colts 15-9, but still trailed 1-0 heading into the intermission.

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They seemed to gain momentum from an early penalty kill, after Shaan Kingwell tripped Hemming in the offensive zone, and pushed through to the net despite the efforts of Aitcheson, who delivered a couple of big hits in to dissuade them.

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They had some desperate scrambles around the Barrie net they just couldn’t finish, and Spencer Bowes hit a post along with getting denied by Hrebik on a chance in alone.