NORTH BAY, Ont. – The Kingston Frontenacs powerplay was certainly powerful on Sunday afternoon, while the North Bay Battalion’s lacked a scoring touch in a 6-3 Kingston victory at Memorial Gardens. Attendance at the game was 2,140.
The Frontenacs finished 3 for 5 with the man advantage, while the Battalion was unable to capitalize on seven chances total, including an extended five-on-three opportunity. One of those chances came when Jake Murray was given a double minor for high sticking Troops’ captain Luke Moncada, who lost a tooth on the play and went to the dressing room briefly for repairs.
Kingston ended a two-game losing streak with the win and moved within 5 points of the idle Niagara IceDogs for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Battalion meanwhile suffered a fourth straight loss; its last win coming Jan. 24 at Sudbury.
“Obviously disappointing in the result.” said interim head coach Ryan Oulahen after the game. “Two teams trying to climb up into the playoff race, and they beat us in every area of the game. Any way you slice it, we got beat today, especially on the scoreboard.”
“The turning point was probably when we got the opportunity with the 5-on-3. We made some unbelievable plays and had some really good chances. Their goalie made a couple good saves, and that’s going to happen sometimes.”
Kingston goaltender Ryan Dugas held the fort for the Frontenacs, stopping 33 of 36 Battalion shots for the victory and earning third star of the game honours. His counterpart Joe Vrbetic did not have his best game in net for the Battalion, ending with 19 saves on 25 shots.
It was the second of four meetings this season between the two clubs. The first was a 4-3 come-from-behind Frontenacs victory at Kingston on Nov. 29, a game in which North Bay held a 3-0 lead after the first period. That difficult loss was cited by owner Scott Abbott as the catalyst that eventually led to the decision to replace Stan Butler as coach and general manager with Ryan Oulahen and Adam Dennis, respectively.
The Battalion was without veterans Mason Primeau and Braden Henderson for a third straight game. Also missing was Simon Rose, who served the second game of a two-game suspension for a check from behind late in Thursday’s home loss to the Guelph Storm, a play on which Rose was not initially penalized.
Rookie David Campbell opened the scoring for North Bay, his first career OHL goal. Campbell and his linemates Liam Arnsby and Alex Christopoulos were given increased ice-time on Sunday which included time as members of the second powerplay unit.
Kingston’s leading scorer Shane Wright, given exceptional status by Hockey Canada to begin his major junior career as a 15-year old, scored the sixth Frontenacs goal to get himself on the scoresheet. Other big contributors for Kingston were Martin Chromiak (1+2), the second overall pick in last year’s Import Draft who reported to Kingston just after Christmas, and a familiar face in former Battalion defenceman Nick King, who scored the game-winning goal and added an assist in an effort that earned him the game’s first star.
The Frontenacs (9th) and Battalion (10th) currently occupy the bottom two spots in the Eastern Conference standings. Few players remain from the teams that played each other in the first round of the 2018 playoffs, with only Kingston’s Justin Pringle and current team captain Jakob Brahaney, and the Battalion’s Rose, Henderson, Moncada and Brandon Coe as holdovers from that postseason matchup.
The two teams don’t have to wait long to renew acquaintances, with the Battalion heading out on an East Division road trip next weekend that will take it to Peterborough on Thursday, Kingston on Friday and Ottawa on Sunday afternoon.
