Arvin Jaswal prefers a little alone time before a game.<\/p>\n
Look up into the empty stands about an hour-and-a-half before puck drop, and there you\u2019ll find the ever-focused Barrie Colts goaltender by himself, staring at the ice below.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s my switch from warmup to getting in game-ready mode,\u201d said the 17-year-old native of Pickering. \u201cI go into the stands, I visualize everything on the ice. Do my eye movements, my arm movements. I look dumb, but it\u2019s just what I do.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s part of my pregame, and I\u2019m just going to keep that going because it\u2019s been working out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Man, has it ever.<\/p>\n
\ud83c\udfa7\u00a0 Listen to the daily headlines that matter most<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Subscribe on Spotify<\/a>, Apple Podcasts<\/a> and wherever you get your podcasts to get notified of new episodes every day.<\/p>\n The young Colts\u2019 standout continued his impressive run between the pipes Wednesday afternoon, making 29 saves in a 4-2 decision over the Brampton Steelheads at CAA Centre to improve his win streak to 12 games.<\/p>\n Jaswal hasn\u2019t lost a game since a tough 6-3 loss on the road in Sudbury<\/a> on Nov. 28. Only twice has he given up more than two goals in a game during the run.<\/p>\n \u201cI couldn\u2019t have done this without any of the coaching staff and the guys around me,\u201d said Jaswal of the win streak. \u201cThey\u2019ve been working so hard, and so have I. I just try not to think about it.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, winning 12 in a row is great. Winning is great, but I just got to keep working to keep it going.\u201d<\/p>\n Jaswal\u2019s overall numbers are just as impressive: a sparkling 2.21 goals against average and .928 save percentage have helped put together a 16-3-0-1 record in his first full season in the OHL.<\/p>\n The six-foot-two, 178-pound goalie has turned heads with his calm, cool, steady play in the net, and that maturity has caught the attention of NHL scouts.<\/p>\n Jaswal is ranked 23rd\u00a0among eligible North American goaltenders, just behind the 19th-overall ranking of starting goalie and crease mate Ben Hrebik.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s only a 17-year-old kid, only a second-year eligible in this league, but it\u2019s not like this guy feels that the stage is ever too big, or the light\u2019s too bright,\u201d said Colts\u2019 head coach Dylan Smoskowitz. \u201cHe does have that emotional maturity about him where he can settle into a game.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a fierce competitor. He gets in other guys\u2019 faces. He\u2019s a real steady Eddy for us back there. You know the effort you\u2019re going to get, the performance you\u2019re going to get. He hasn\u2019t had a dud of a game in a long time. He\u2019s so consistent, so steady. The kid puts in a ton of work.\u201d<\/p>\n Spotted an early first-period lead on goals by Brad Gardiner, Parker von Richter, and Emil Hemming, Jaswal was his usual steady self for Barrie.<\/p>\n While a goal on a penalty shot early in the third by Nathan Amidovski and a late goal by Julian DeMiglio brought the school day game crowd of 4,264 to life, Jaswal had things under control.<\/p>\n Barrie’s News Delivered To Your Inbox<\/p>\n Stay up to date with what Barrie’s talking about. Get the latest local news delivered right to your inbox every day. Never miss out on what’s going on …<\/p>\n \t\tConsent Info<\/a><\/p>\n By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: Central Ontario Broadcasting, 431 Huronia Rd, Barrie, Ontario, CA, https:\/\/www.cobroadcasting.com. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe\u00ae link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact<\/a><\/p>\n Smoskowitz has preached all year long that he truly has two No. 1 goalies. While Hrebik is the clear starter, Jaswal has shown he can carry a bigger load, if need be.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s such a luxury to have two guys when you go into a long playoff run, which we hope we have here in Barrie, where if one guy goes down, one guy is dealing with an injury, you don\u2019t have to risk your whole season on someone who has never been in the spotlight before,\u201d said Smoskowitz.<\/p>\n \u201cBoth Ben and Arvin have shown they\u2019re both capable of taking a team to that promised land on a deep playoff run. We love Ben. Ben\u2019s our guy, and our No. 1, and Jazz is a great No. 2 for us. At the end of the day, we have all the faith in Jazz as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Jaswal spent all last season with the Colts, despite never getting into a game. Still, the everyday work with goaltending coach Dave Belitski has paid off big this season.<\/p>\n \u201cI really understand the game now, and that it\u2019s super mental,\u201d he said. \u201cObviously, the physical component is huge, but when I\u2019m out there, it\u2019s just being focused. When a goal goes in, I just forget about it.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, being mentally strong is huge for me. I\u2019ve really learned that this year.\u201d<\/p>\n His relationship with Hrebik has also helped. The veteran is always supportive of his young crease mate and is there when he needs him to be.<\/p>\n \u201cEver since last year, the first time I met him, he\u2019s just been a great guy for me,\u201d Jaswal said of Hrebik. \u201cHe kind of acts like my big brother, and I really appreciate that from him. He\u2019s an unreal goalie, and I couldn\u2019t be prouder of him, but he\u2019s an even better person.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been able to hang out with him all year, and even last year, although I was a rookie. I\u2019ve just built that strong relationship with him, and we kind of keep each other accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n The win moved Barrie (42-12-2-4) to within a point of Brantford atop both the Eastern Conference and OHL overall standings.<\/p>\n After having an 11-game win streak ended with a 3-0 loss in Windsor<\/a> on Saturday, the Colts can move ahead of the Bulldogs Thursday night when the two heavyweights meet at Sadlon Arena.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, we needed the bounce-back game, and that was huge for us,\u201d Jaswal said of getting out to an early lead in Brampton. \u201cWe were working hard all game, and we were able to come out with the two points.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have Brantford tomorrow, and we\u2019ve been thinking about it since the last time we played them<\/a>, so today was a good setup for tomorrow, and we\u2019re just going to come out and hopefully get the two points tomorrow. <\/p>\n Kashawn Aitcheson continued his assault on the Colts\u2019 record book<\/a> with 21 seconds remaining in the second period of Wednesday\u2019s rare morning start.<\/p>\n His one-timer from the faceoff dot, with Barrie on the power play, found the back of the net before Steelheads goalie Zach Bowen could even flinch. The goal was his 27th of the season, surpassing his own previous franchise record of 26 goals in a single season by a defenceman, which he set last season.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0Aitcheson leads all OHL defencemen with 64 points in 49 games.<\/p>\n \u201cDefinitely typical Kash,\u201d said Smoskowitz, of the familiar one-timer. \u201cEven though it\u2019s loud in that building, you could hear him screaming for that puck. (Cole) Beaudoin made a great play over to (Cole) Emerton, and Emerton put it over to Kash, and as soon as he got all of it, there are not many goalies in this league, in the world actually, that can stop Kash bombs.\u201d<\/p>\n Smoskowitz was happy to see contributions from up and down his lineup in a game that could have been a bit of a trap game with Brantford coming in the next night.<\/p>\n Brampton (15-35-6-3) has now lost 12 straight and is likely to miss this year\u2019s playoffs.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think it was one line controlling the pace for us, or one line that slowed us down,\u201d said Smoskowitz. \u201cI liked all four lines and all three pairings. I thought Jaswal had a good game.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, if you look at the group as a whole, and how everybody pulled in the same direction, I liked the depth of our team today.\u201d<\/p>\n \ud83c\udfa7\u00a0 \u00a0Local news stories that matter most to you<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Subscribe on Spotify<\/a>, Apple Podcasts<\/a> and wherever you get your podcasts to get notified of new episodes every day.<\/p>\n UP NEXT<\/p>\n The aforementioned rematch between Barrie and Brantford is Thursday night in Barrie.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Steelheads are in Kingston on Friday in the first of two games on an eastern Ontario road trip.<\/p>\n ICE CHIPS<\/p>\n By way of Brampton’s loss to Barrie, Kingston clinched a playoff berth.<\/p>\n Barrie winger Joe Salandra (day-to-day) missed his third straight game and is unlikely to play this weekend. \u201cThere\u2019s an outside chance for Saturday, and the only reason I say outside is that we play Saturday, and we just might as well give him an extra week to rest,\u201d said Smoskowitz.<\/p>\n Beaudoin had two assists and is tied with Flint\u2019s Nathan Aspinall for second in OHL scoring with 82 points.<\/p>\n Barrie outshot Brampton 42-31.<\/p>\n