Trailing 3-1 early in the second period on the road to the Brampton Steelheads Friday night, Marty Williamson looked at his bench and liked what he saw.

Not a head was hanging.

The Barrie Colts head coach preached patience and told his team the game was far from over. It was.

Four goals in just under 11 minutes later and the Colts were on their way to a 6-4 victory over their Central division rivals at CAA Center.

“The bench was pretty lively, and we told them to hang on and that they would make some mistakes, and they responded well,” said Williamson, whose club rallied on goals from Kashawn Aitcheson and Beau Akey caught in sandwiched between a pair of Brad Gardiners to take a lead they would not relinquish. “We drove the net and made some good plays, and it was nice to see.”

After suffering a heavy 2-1 loss the day before at home against the Erie Otters in a game where they came up against an in-form goaltender and felt they deserved better, the Colts (7-4) found themselves behind again after 20 minutes.

This time they found a way.

“A little slow period to start,” said Gardiner, who added an assist and now has six goals and eight points in his last six games. “It was ugly, but we did what we had to do on the road to bounce back. Everyone contributed tonight, which is what we needed on the road.

“It was really good to get the two points.”

Williamson knows the skills and character he has on that bench, even if he’s missing Utah prospect and workhorse Cole Beaudoin who was out with an illness.

“I had confidence with this team to score,” he said. “We had a tough night (Thursday), and I wondered if it would be similar to this kind of night. Obviously, the absence of (Beaudoin) hurt a little, we had to reorganize some lines, but it’s a big victory for us.

Spencer Sova would score with just over three minutes left to cut the lead to 5-4, but the Colts would get their second win in three games this season against Brampton (5-4-1) as well as a buzzer-beater. goal into an empty net from Beau Jelsma just for good measure.

“It’s a good sign tonight, and it’s another team’s rink,” Gardiner said of the comeback. “Leading 5-3 going into the third period, we knew they were going to have a boost and Marty came in between the second and third periods and prepared us for what to expect.

“Yes, everyone is starting to gain confidence. We work well together as a five-man unit on the ice, no matter who is out there. Everyone is becoming more and more comfortable together. We learn what to expect from each other and our roles. We’re getting better every night.

The Steelheads had a huge opportunity to cut into that 5-3 lead and build momentum with a two-man advantage early in the third period, but the Colts, who killed all five of Brampton’s power plays tonight- there, held the fort.

“It was huge,” Gardiner said of the five-on-three victory. “It would have been a completely different match. If they score on that, maybe we’ll go to overtime. It’s a big killing. We had a game (Saturday), so that made it easier for everyone.

Williamson also knew it was a big kill.

“It was a turning point,” he said. “If you gave one up early it would have hurt because they had a lot of time left. We dropped one late, but killing that is a real dynamic change and gave us a positive feeling.

It was also a special night for Barrie rookie Parker Vaughan. The 2024 fifth overall pick collected a loose puck in front and fired a backhander over the glove of Brampton’s Jack Ivankovic just 1:34 into his first OHL goal.

Jaiden Newton and Cole Dubowsky also each had an assist for their first points of the year.

“It was really important,” Williams said of Vaughan’s first OHL goal. “For him, we have expanded his role. He was put in the top nine because we were missing him (Beaudoin) and I think he responded very well.

“Besides the goal, he made a few plays for me. Halfway through the game, I had no problem putting him away.

Luke Misa, with two in the first period, and Carson Rehkopf, early in the second period, gave the home team the lead, before Barrie rallied to hand Brampton their fifth defeat in their last six games.

Not without making it interesting of course. Emil Hemming was crushed by Sova, leading to a turnover at the Brampton blue line and seconds later it was a one-goal game with 2:20 to play.

“He has to realize the danger here and it’s not the ice he’s used to playing on,” Williamson said. “He must realize that things happen very quickly. Be more careful on this kind of play. I told (coaches Dylan Smoskowitz, Dennis Martindale, Connor Cadaret and David Belitski) to thank (the team) for the gray hairs. We miss the open net on a fairly easy play, then Akey throws one over the boards with 11 seconds left.

“We’re not doing anything easy right now. I’m proud of the guys who are holding on. This is a big victory here.

Barrie completes a three-for-three weekend at home Saturday night against the Guelph Storm.

Beaudoin also risks missing this match.

“He tried to play for us (Thursday) and play until the end, but he got worse as the game went on,” Williamson said. “He has an ear infection and he doesn’t feel well. I think he’s also doubtful for (Saturday).

Game time at Sadlon Arena is 7:30 p.m.

“It hurts not having Beaudoin in the lineup, and he’s obviously a leader and a go-to player, but we’re going to need a little bit of everyone like we had tonight,” said Gardiner.

ICE CHIPS

Goalkeeper Ben Hrebik made 24 saves to earn his third victory. “He was a little difficult at first, but I thought he really adapted and that’s what a young goalie is in these kinds of circumstances,” Williamson said. “He made some huge saves at 3-1 which were pretty important for us and we were then able to build on that.” . . Dalyn Wakely had two assists and now has four goals and eight points in six games with Barrie since being acquired from North Bay. Akey also added an assist for a two-point night. . . Barrie outshot Brampton 33-18. . . Nolan Newton (concussion) missed seven games.