The Barrie Colts significantly improved their chances of coming out of the Eastern Conference last week with one trade.

The Colts acquired Nick Crawford and T.J. Brodie, along with a third round draft pick in 2010, from the Saginaw Spirit early last week. The move significantly shores up the Colts defensively, a spot that the team was thought to be looking to improve.

Coming out of training camp, the Colts were reportedly looking to add a defenseman. Although it may have taken a little longer than expected, the Colts have shored up the one position that was thought to be a weakness when the season started.

In the deal, the Colts were forced to move some of their future in forward Michael Sgarbossa and defenseman Ryan O’Connor but the return for the youngsters is a good one. In Crawford and Brodie, the Colts get a pair of high end blueliners.

Prior to the deal, the Colts were cruising with a 14-4-0-1 record. The team picked up a pair of wins following the deal and sit in second spot in the Central Division behind the Mississauga IceDogs.

The Colts goaltending has been solid this season as well.

Dalton McGrath and Peter DiSalvo have both been solid for the Colts and can rival any goaltending tandem in the OHL.

The Colts have proved the can play with the best teams around, having already secured victories against Mississauga and London and with the acquisitions of Brodie and Crawford, they just became a whole lot tougher to play against.

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STORM ADD DEFENSEMAN:

The Guelph Storm have signed American-born defenseman Sam Lofquist.

Lofquist started the season with the University of Minnesota as a sophomore but left the school deciding to pursue other options. Lofquist, 19, played three games with Minnesota before suffering a foot injury that kept him out of the lineup for a period. He also missed time after the injury as a healthy scratch.

Lofquist suited up in 35 games as a freshman at Minnesota, scoring a goal and four points. In three college games this season, the Somerset, Wisconsin native had no points.

Lofquist marks the second college player to leave school to join an OHL team as Kenny Ryan left Boston College as a freshman this year to join the Windsor Spitfires.