Fronts Earn Early Series Lead With 4-1 Home Win
The Petes travelled to Kingston on Friday night for their first playoff game in 1457 days. Despite losing the season series, the Petes enjoyed late-season success against the rival Fronts, who haven’t won a playoff series in sixteen years. Kingston took the decision in game one, scoring two early goals and skating to a 4-1 win despite incredible play by Andrew D’Agostini in the Petes’ net.
The Petes injected physical play into the early going, looking to get under the skin of the highly skilled Frontenacs. The strategy worked through the first several minutes, but just as a Kingston powerplay was expiring, Corey Pawley found a loose puck near the crease and gave the Fronts a 1-0 lead assisted by Darcy Greenaway and Michael Moffat.
Kingston was quick to pounce again as Greenaway scored his first of the playoffs when a bouncing puck creeped past a sprawling Andrew D’Agostini. Spencer Watson and Ryan Kujawinski drew helpers on the play.
Peterborough didn’t fold, however, fighting back through the remainder of the first period in hopes of pulling near the black and gold. Matt Mahalak held his ground in the Fronts’ net, though, and the series-opening stanza came to a close with the Petes trailing 2-0 in goals and 20-7 in shots.
The Petes controlled much of the play through the first half of the second period, building momentum with a number of great shifts by each of the four lines. The Petes couldn’t parlay this pressure into a goal, though, and it was the Fronts who got on the board next as Henri Ikonen snuck a greasy puck by Dagger to give Kingston a 3-0 lead from Lawson Crouse.
With Kingston pressing, D’Agostini stood on his head and made three point-blank saves, which gave Peterborough an odd-man rush the other way. Michael Clarke tied up two Fronts’ defenders and dropped the puck to Greg Betzold who fired a rocket wrister past Mahalak. D’Agostini deservedly drew the second assist on the play to make it 3-1 Fronts. The period ended with neither team adding another goal.
In the third period, D’Agostini continued to stand on his head, making several highlight reel saves to hold the Frontenacs’ lead to two goals in the early going. His skaters couldn’t capitalize, though, as the Fronts held on to their lead through of the period. With just four minutes to play, Eric Cornel beat Mahalak, but the cross-bar kept the score 3-1 in Kingston’s favour.
With just 1:04 on the clock, Kingston sealed the game as Sam Schutt scored to make it 4-1 Fronts. The goal was yet another bouncing, “garbage” goal assisted by Bennett and McGlynn. The game ended after some lengthy extracurricular activities with the Fronts taking a 4-1 decision and a 45-29 shot advantage.
Matt Mahalak, Darcy Greenaway, and Andrew D’Agostini were the first, second, and third stars of the game. The bad blood will continue to boil in Kingston on Sunday as the Petes travel back for game two of the Eastern Conference Quarter Final.
The Petes will host the Fronts for games three and four of the series, which will take place beginning on Tuesday, March 25th. Tickets are still available here, and remember to check out the playoff kick-off party in the Morrow Building from 5-6:30pm on March 25 to get the playoffs started in style. Follow the Petes on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for the latest news, updates, and contests.
