Fronts score 10 goals in their final game of the 2022-23 season
In the final game of the 2022-23 season, the Kingston Frontenacs (27-38-1-2) took a big 10-2 victory against the Oshawa Generals (26-35-1-5) on Sunday night at Tribute Communities. The Fronts finish with one more win than their East Division counterparts.
First star Ethan Miedema recorded a second consecutive four-point game against Oshawa on a pair of goals, and second star Matthew Soto had three points, with two goals. Overage Ian Lemieux ended his OHL career on a three-point night.
Gabriel Frasca scored a beauty early and Matthew Soto added a tally as Kingston got out front 2-0 heading to the first intermission. Miedema and Linus Hemstrom scored 2:25 apart early in the second before Owen Outwater fired a 5-0 powerplay strike. Oshawa scored a powerplay tally at 5-1, but Paul Hughes quickly replied for a 6-1 Fronts lead to start the third.
After Chris Thibodeau scored, Miedema and Soto added second tallies for a 9-1 board with Mitchell Brooks making it 10-1. Third star Bennet Sennecke added his second of the game for a 10-2 final.
Miedema had two goals and two assists. Soto had two goals and an assist, joining Lemieux as three-point performers. Jacob Battaglia, Vann Williamson, Cal Uens, Brooks, Outwater, Paul Hughes and Chris Thibodeau comprised nine multi-point earners for the Black and Gold.
Mason Vaccari made his fourth start of the season against the Generals making 28 saves on 30 shots. Oshawa sent Carter Bickle to the net facing 37 Kingston shots with 29 saves. Bickle was pulled after the seventh Kingston marker but was back in the crease for the third period. Jacob Oster made five saves on seven shots during 7:33 of play in the second.
10 goals, 8 different scorers, and 14 players recorded points. What an offensive outburst to end the season on a high note!#FrontsHockey | @OHLHockey | @CHLHockey pic.twitter.com/FcsnPUrHk0
— Kingston Frontenacs (@KingstonFronts) March 27, 2023
Frasca (15) didn’t take long to get the Fronts on the board with a highlight reel effort and a 1-0 lead. The Frontenacs rookie scoring leader made a great individual play deking around 26 to get himself in alone on Bickle and firing a shot past the blocker with Uens and Lemieux drawing assists at 1:33.
It was 2-0 when Soto (14) buried a rebound off a Quinton Burns shot that deflected off the endboards extending a point streak to three games. Soto had taken an initial shot on Bickle, before Burns fired away for the assist. Miedema earned the second helper at 12:38 as Soto extended a point streak to three games.
Oshawa’s Ty Petrou was stopped by Vaccari with five minutes remaining in the opening frame on one of 16 saves in the period.
Kingston looked to improve on a 18-6-1-0 record when taking a lead to the second period and came out hard. After Oshawa took the first shot, Kingston fired seven consecutive shots for two more early period goals.
For a second consecutive frame, Kingston scored early with Miedema (19) taking a one-timed tally off a Soto feed for a 3-0 Frontenacs lead, 74 seconds after puckdrop. Soto joined Miedema with second points of the day with Chris Thibodeau adding an assist on the first of two Kingston goals in 2:25.
Linus Hemstrom (12) scored for the second straight game, giving Kingston a 4-0 lead with Uens adding his second assist of the game at 3:49. A fortunate deflection got past Bickle by a rushing Hemstrom who scored for the second straight contest.
It was 5-0 on a Frontenacs powerplay when Outwater (16) buried a ricocheted puck off a Lemieux point blast behind Bickle after at 7:33. Oshawa goalie Jacob Oster came in relief of Bickle after the fifth unanswered Kingston tally, making a nice save off Hemstrom seconds after entering action. Lemieux earned his second assist of the game with Jacob Battaglia adding a helper getting the puck to Lemieux at the point.
Vaccari robbed Cam Butler midway through the stanza with a great left-pad stop after a two-on-one rush by the Gens on his 22nd shot faced.
The teams went to four-on-four action for two minutes with 5:21 left in the second frame, with Soto receiving a double-minor, for an extra two minutes to Kingston, on coincidental penalties.
Beckett Sennecke (19) got Oshawa on the board on the ensuing powerplay for the 5-1 tally at 17:35 but Kingston responded quickly with a pair of goals 27 seconds apart. It was quickly 6-1 as Hughes (10) scored after slapping home a rebounded Outwater shot just 38 seconds after the Oshawa goal.
The combined six-goal second period scoring was finished when Thibodeau (17) finished off a great pass by Miedema at 18:30 for the 7-1 Kingston lead through forty minutes. Oshawa native Nolan Ling recorded his second assist/point of his rookie season, both against the Gens.
Oshawa sent Bickle back to the crease for the start of the final period, but Miedema (20) made it 8-1 early after scoring his second of the game with a nice backhanded deke at 1:51. Rookie Vann Williamson recorded his first of two assist in his first OHL multi-point game.
Soto (15) scored off the rush with a nice snapshot for his second goal, and third point of the game, for a 9-1 tally at 5:16. Overager Lemieux added his third assist, with rookie Williamson tallying a second helper.
It was 10-1 when Mitchell Brooks (5) became the eighth Kingston scorer of the game, off a beautiful spinning assist by Battaglia, for his second point, with Hughes also adding a second point on a helper at 11:18.
Sennecke (20) scored his second powerplay goal for the final 10-2 score at 12:29.
Scorers:
KGN: Frasca (15), Soto (14,15), Miedema (19,20), Hemstrom (12), Outwater (16), Hughes (10), Thibodeau (17), Brooks (5)
OSH: Sennecke (19,20)
Powerplays:
KGN: (1/2)
OSH: (1/2)
BMW of Kingston Hardest Worker
Vann Williamson (2A)
Three Star Awards
- Ian Lemieux KGN – (3A)
- Ethan Miedema KGN – (2G,2A)
- Matthew Soto OSH – (2G,1A)
Fronts Notes:
- Kingston Frontenacs Hockey Club officially bid to host the 2024 Memorial Cup presented by Kia
- F Matthew Soto – pts in three straight gms (2G,4A)
- F Ethan Miedema – pts in five of last seven (8G,3A)
- Second four-point game in last three
- D Ian Lemieux – three multi-point games in last six
- Pts in four of last six (8A)
- F Linus Hemstrom – goals in consecutive games (2G)
- D Quinton Burns – pts in two straight (3A)
- F Owen Outwater – pts in two of last three (1G,2A)
- D Vann Williamson – first career multi-pt gm (2A)
Team Stat Pack – G.P. (68) (27-38-1-2) 57 pts
Leaders:
Goals – Miedema (20), Thibodeau (17), Callens, Outwater (16)
PPG – Miedema (6), Ludwinski, Soto (5)
Assists – Miedema (32), Hemström (28), Soto, Burns (27)
PPA – Hemström (12), Burns (10), Outwater (9)
Points – Miedema (52), Outwater (42), Soto (41)
PPP – Ludwinski (12), Hemström, Outwater (13)
SOG –Thibodeau (134), Miedema (117), Hemström (116)
PIMs – Burns (106), Budnick (64), Uens (50)
On The Front:
The Frontenacs hockey club wishes our fans a very safe and happy summer as we prepare for an exciting 2023-24 OHL season at Leon’s Centre.
