Alex McLean impresses in Kingston debut
Ottawa, ON – The Kingston Frontenacs showed resilience and flashes of promise on the road Friday, but ultimately came up short in a 5-3 loss to the Ottawa 67’s at TD Place.
Ottawa opened the scoring and built momentum with goals from Nathan Amidovski, Cooper Foster and Jaxon Williams putting Kingston on its heels through a period and a half. The Frontenacs, however, refused to let the game slip away quietly and began to push back.
Camden McCuaig found the back of the net for the first goal of his OHL career, a milestone tally that injected life into the Frontenacs’ bench just thirty seconds after going down 3-0. Kingston continued to generate chances, but Ottawa responded with a goal from Thomas Vandenberg to maintain control.
One of the biggest storylines of the game came off the stick of Alex McLean, who made an immediate impact in his Frontenacs debut after being acquired earlier in the day. McLean scored in highlight reel fashion, gathering the puck at center ice and entering the zone with speed before wiring a beautiful shot that rang off the crossbar and in for his first goal as a member of the Frontenacs, showcasing his offensive upside and quick adjustment to his new surroundings.
Kingston kept the pressure on, setting up a tense finish. Despite the push, Ottawa sealed the game with a late marker from Shaan Kingwell. Matthew Frost scored with under a minute to go; but it was too little, too late as the 67’s secured the 5-3 victory.
While the result didn’t go Kingston’s way, the night featured encouraging signs, from McCuaig’s milestone goal to McLean’s instant contribution. The Frontenacs will look to build on those positives as they continue the second half of the season and prepare for the next challenge ahead.
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