Fronts bounce back with 4-3 win to tie the series 1-1
Game one didn’t go the way Kingston had planned, but game two presented an opportunity for a fresh start. The North Bay Battalion defeated the Frontenacs 5-2 on Friday night in game one. Kingston needed a win Sunday night to even the series before heading out on the road Tuesday. In order to do that they would need to be better in most areas of the game. North Bay outplayed Kingston through the opening two periods and were able to hang on in the third for their game one win. The Frontenacs are a better team than they showed on Friday, but they needed to show up on Sunday to avoid going down 2-0.
There was a clear difference in Kingston’s game from the opening faceoff. They were determined to be more physical and Jason Robertson was the one leading the way. He threw three body checks on his first shift. It sparked the team to a much better opening period performance. Linus Nyman gave Kingston the lead on the power play when he picked the top corner on Christian Propp’s glove side. Jeremy Helvig made a few key saves including a flurry of shots in a short span around the midway point of the period that kept Kingston ahead. That allowed Linus Nyman to repeat his earlier actions. He scored a goal that looked like a replay of his first to put Kingston ahead 2-0. North Bay was able to get one goal back when Kyle Potts beat a sprawling Helvig with just 0.2 seconds left in the period. It was a period that felt a lot different than the Friday night game. Both teams were more physical, and Kingston looked much better. They headed to the room with a 2-1 lead.
Kingston’s strong game continued into the second period. Through puck possession they were able to draw multiple tripping penalties. The power play struck again to extend the Kingston lead. With the top unit on the bench after a shift, the second unit went to work and scored quickly. Matt Hotchkiss tried a jam play that didn’t work, but the rebound popped out to Brett Neumann who tucked it under Propp for the power play goal just nine seconds into the man advantage. North Bay wasn’t prepared to fade away though. They were sticking with Kingston going shot for shot and scored in the final minute for the second period in a row. Helvig got a good chunk of Brandon Coe back hander but it snuck over the goal line to bring North Bay back within a goal. Kingston took a 3-2 lead into the intermission.
North Bay came out flying in the final period. Determined to tie the game, they put regular pressure on the Frontenacs early and eventually tied the game. At 7:07 Brad Chenier scored a power play goal to even the game at three. Kingston responded very well. The energy level was still there, and they started to take the game back. It was only two minutes later that they jumped back in front and it came from an unusual source. Jacob Paquette wired a point shot through traffic that beat Christian Propp to put Kingston up 4-3. The final minutes were nail biting, but the Kingston defensive game came through. With the goalie on the bench for the extra attacker, North Bay wasn’t able to create much offence and Kingston held on to the 4-3 lead to tie the series at a game each.
The Frontenacs were better from top to bottom. They were much more physical, and it lead to turnovers and scoring chances. They cut the shots against from 45 in game one down to 29 in game two making life easier on Helvig, who was still very solid in the Kingston net.
Game three will take place in Sudbury on Tuesday night due to a scheduling conflict at the North Bay Memorial Gardens. Game four is in North Bay on Thursday night. The series returns to Kingston on Saturday night at 7 PM for game five. Tickets for that game are available now.
