The Kingston Frontenacs scored early and often on the Barrie Colts en route to a 7-1 win at the Barrie Molson Centre to take pivotal Game 5 of their second-round series, Thursday night.
The Frontenacs now have a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Ontario Hockey League playoff series and can eliminate the Colts with a Game 6 victory in Kingston on Friday night.
If the Colts win Friday, Game 7 will be played Monday night at the BMC.
On Thursday in front of 3,258 fans at the BMC, Kingston’s Max Jones scored just over a minute into the game with his first of the playoffs.
Four minutes later, Frontenacs forward Gabriel Vilardi scored what turned out to be the eventual game-winning goal and his 10th of the playoffs.
The Colts drew within one goal when forward Jason Willms found the back of the net just past the midway mark of the opening frame.
But Kingston would add three more before the end of the first period, off the sticks of Brett Neumann, Jason Robertson and Vilardi, to take a 5-1 lead into the dressing room at the break.
Barrie goalie Leo Lazarev was replaced in net heading into the second period after stopping 11 of 16 shots.
Kai Edmonds came into the game in relief.
The Frontenacs went up 6-1 less than two minutes into the second period when defenceman Sean Day scored his third goal of the post-season.
Matt Hotchkiss made it 7-1 with about two and a half minutes left in the second period followed by a scoreless third.
Forward Linus Nyman had three assists for Kingston.
Edmonds allowed two goals on 22 shots over two periods, while Kingston's Jeremy Helvig made 32 saves to pick up the big win.
The Colts won Games 1 and 2 at home by scores of 6-5 and 4-1 respectively before the series moved to Kingston where the Frontenacs rattled off a pair of 4-2 victories.
