Barrie Colts, buoyed by Mark Scheifele’s 5 points, on ‘red alert’ for London Knights’ response: OHL post-game questions

Mark Scheifele, liberated from the London Knights' checking line thanks to the Barrie Colts having last change, went off for five points to help the Colts retake the lead in the OHL final. London, which has not lost back-to-back games during its last two playoff runs, now needs a response on Wednesday. On with the post-game questions?

Barrie 6 London 3, ENG (Colts lead final 2-1, Game 4 at 7:35 p.m. Wednesday at Barrie) — Will the Colts batten down the hatches for the patented London storm that's in the forecast for Game 4? London turned its second tepid showing in three games. They gave up a first-shift goal to Zach Hall (2G-1A, +2) and were outscored 4-1 while playing 5-on-5.

The decisive stage probably bridged the late second and early third period. The Colts, up 3-2 at that point, were running around in their own zone for about the last three minutes of the period before being saved by the horn. With that bullet dodged, they opened their first two-goal lead in 1:40 into the third when Buffalo Sabres-drafted defenceman Alex Lepkowski took a pass from Scheifele (2G-3A, +3) and wristed a shot by Anthony Stolarz, whose view was blocked out by Brendan Lemieux.

Based on their body of work, London should bounce back. If it doesn't, they're in trouble.

"There's always pushback in every game," Colts coach Dale Hawerchuk said. "They're a great hockey club, they proved it all year long. You can't look by hockey games. You just can't take a break. Any shift, you need to be on red alert all the time."

One prevailing sentiment is that the Colts' younger defenders weren't given much credit. No one thinks of 17-year-old star in utero Aaron Ekblad as young, but his 18-year-old D partner Jonathan Laser and the 17-year-olds Michael Webster and Alex Yuill are pitching in to help the Colts stand up to London's cycle game.

"We talk a lot about defending in our end, we were shaky at times, then we seemed to get a little more sound," Hawerchuk said. "It takes five guys being on the same page to be effective. That's a team thing."

Time and again, the Knights have driven opponents to take undisciplined penalties and either converted the power play or worn down high-end players by making them kill penalties. Barrie was undisciplined during London's 4-1 Game 2 win, but had more certitude on home ice. The power plays were even at 7-7.

"I thought they kept their composure well when we were cycling them down low and making pushes," Knights defensive forward Tyler Ferry said. "They didn't lose their cool and they did a good job.

"It's a race to four," Ferry added. "We weren't too sharp but we're going to come out next game and give it our all."

How much do you think Barrie's Andreas Athanasiou is loving getting payback against his old team? The Detroit Red Wings prospect has three goals in as many games vs. his old team after scoring the clincher with 3:12 left on Monday. On that play, the Knights' Tommy Hughes was retrieving the puck when Athanasiou bore down on him with his speed and quick hands to create a 2-on-goalie chance that he converted.

Athanasiou fell to the Wings in the fourth round after a sluggardly sophomore season in London, which led him being traded across conference lines in August. Asked directly if Athanasiou had extra motivation against the team which parted with him, Hawerchuk didn't bite.

"Andreas enjoys playing hockey all the time, even in practice," the Colts coach said. "He's always smiling and always going 100 miles a hour. I'm sure there's a little bit there, but he's a kid who loves to play the game.

"They made a good push back when they got that power-play goal, but we showed a lot of character when Andreas got that goal," Scheifele noted.

How much did Anthony Camara not being suspended for his charging major/game misconduct in Game 2 boost Barrie's spirit? Since Camara's already been suspended once for a major/game misconduct in these playoffs, there was reason for Barrie partisans to fear the worst after he was heave-hoed on Sunday. The 19-year-old power winger was cleared to take his spot flanking Scheifele and Hall. The line promptly scored in the first minute.

Camara only had one assist, on Scheifele's first of the night when the teams combined for a three-goal flurry in fewer than four minutes. If not for Camera harrying Hughes and defenceman Olli Määttä, Scheifele would not have been able to slide the puck in.

"It was definitely huge," Scheifele said. "Cammy provides so much grit and creates so much room out there. It really helps me and Hallsy, creating a little more time for us. It's huge for us."

Does allowing five goals on 28 shots reflect more on Stolarz or on his team? Only Hall's power-play salvo in the second was truly a soft goal and even then, there were extenuating circumstances. Camara was parked on the doorstep creating a diversion, which might have been why Stolarz left the short side exposed for Hall to score off an unexpected shot.

"We weren't creating enough chances," Knights coach Dale Hunter said when asked about Stolarz.

(The Knights' top scorer, Max Domi, has just two assists through three games. That would place the 18-year-old surefire NHL first-rounder in the "Due" category.)

Barrie also seemed to much more direct about trying to get to the goaltender. They didn't test Stolarz for long stretches in Sunday's game, particularly when they were outshot 24-4 in the second period.

"Tonight we buckled down and decided to get our chances by shooting," Scheifele said. "We weren't creating rebounds. Sunday was a bit different, but tonight we did a good job of that."

Did Hawerchuk get the better of Hunter managing the bench? Not necessarily; it's just that Barrie executed. Having the last change kept Scheifele away from London's usual shutdown defenders, particularly his former Team Canada teammate Scott Harrington (minus-1 on the night whereas Määttä had the rough minus-3 evening, not that plus/minus is a tell-all).

Hawerchuk conveyed that all Barrie did was win the day.

"You're looking for lines that have good mojo going, it could be different lines every night, different combinations," Hawerchuk said. "As a coach, Dale [Hunter] is no different, I'm sure you're trying to find that combination that is right for your hockey club."

Still, underdog Barrie has set itself up well. Hypothetically, it only has to hold serve in games 4 and 6 to dethrone London. But there is that rule of thumb that London always comes back strongly after a loss.

"You just got to get up for the challenge," Ferry said. "They're talented players. You got to have fun with it, dig deep and grind it out.

"Next game, again we don't have last change," the overage added. "We're just going to regroup and collectively shut them down."

Why did Dale Hunter pull his goalie to go 6-on-4 with more than five minutes left? London had nothing to lose when it got a power play with 5:17 left and a 4-2 margin. The dice-roll paid off when Seth Griffith scored, but just 70 seconds later, Athanasiou replied.

"It's late in the game and you're down two goals," Hunter said. "I don't think you do it if you're down one," Hunter said. It was desperate times to get back in it and that's why I did it."

Now London is facing more desperate times on Wednesday. A few did say Knights in six games, remember. Even fewer said Barrie.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet. Please address any questions, comments or concerns to btnblog@yahoo.ca.