Mississauga Steelheads drop pair of road games in advance of Friday’s home opener

What began with a bang turned into a bit of a bust for the Mississauga Steelheads, who dropped back-to-back road games on the weekend after starting the season with an upset win in Kingston. 

The Steelheads were thumped 7-1 by the North Bay Battalion on Friday before being blanked 2-0 by the highly-touted Barrie Colts one night later to finish their season-opening road trip at 1-2.  

James Hardie, with his third goal of the young OHL season, scored for Mississauga on the power play in North Bay. Despite the lopsided score, the Steelheads outshot the home team 43-21. 

The Battalion’s Mitchell Russell scored twice and added two assists in being named the game’s first star.  

The Steelheads, who outshot Barrie 33-19 and kept the game scoreless until the third period, return to town for their home opener this Friday against the Ottawa 67’s. Game time at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre is 7 p.m. 

Evan Vierling scored both goals for Barrie, picked by many experts to win the OHL crown this season. 

Among the bright spots for the Steelheads in their first three games is their penalty-killing, which has yet to give up a power-play goal in 16 opponents’ opportunities. 

Steelheads fall short to the Colts in a 2-0 game 🏒 The 3 stars of the game are presented by @tphcanada #DONTMISS #GameON pic.twitter.com/RBHhRR2ryb

— Brampton Steelheads (@OHLSteelheads) October 17, 2021

Mississauga began the season with a 7-2 win over the Kingston Frontenacs, picked by many to give Barrie a fight for the Eastern Conference title.  

The Steelheads’ decisive victory marked a return to the ice for regular-season action after an 18-month OHL shutdown brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Steelheads, who played their first OHL season in 2012-13 after the old Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors left town, enjoyed their most successful season in 2016-17 when they advanced to the league final before losing to the Erie Otters in five games.