Sports stats



OHL Kingston Frontenacs

Five Straight Wins Move the Frontenacs Near the Top of the Eastern Conference

December 9, 2021 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Kingston Frontenacs News Release


With a trio of wins last week to extend an unbeaten streak to five games, the Kingston Frontenacs (14-5-3-0) find themselves back on the CHL radar ranked ninth in the country with the top-ranked winning percentage (.705) in the East Division, second in the OHL (LDN - .761). Playing two fewer games, the Black and Gold are just one point behind the Hamilton Bulldogs (31) and 2 points behind the North Bay Battalion (32), for the OHL's Eastern Conference lead. Kingston will face-off against the Bulldogs this Friday at Leon's Centre.

Assistant Captain Lucas Edmonds is tied for second in OHL scoring with 40 points to pace the Frontenacs offensive attack. The North Bay, Ontario native, is tied for the Frontenacs lead in goals (Martin Chromiak - 13) and leads in assists (27).

Petes

Kingston beat the Petes 6-5 last Thursday in Peterborough to improve their impressive 6-1-1-0 road record. Rookie Paul Ludwinski scored the game-winning goal with less than 10 minutes left in the third in a wild game that saw both squads score five unanswered goals, with the Fronts initially taking a 5-0 lead. Edmonds' three points (1G,2A) lead the way, with a total of five Frontenacs players (Edmonds, Shane Wright, Francesco Arcuri, Jordan Frasca, and Jake Murray) would register multi-point games. Rookie Aidan Spooner earned his second OHL victory starting for head coach Luca Caputi.

Defenceman Braden Haché said, "We grew a lot as a team with a couple of big road wins in Hamilton and Mississauga. Coming into this weekend, we have a lot of confidence; it's a big win for us, especially a divisional win."

The former York Simcoe Express member has been a physical force for Kingston saying, "You have to play on the line, but you have to protect yourselves as a team," You never want to let anyone else take advantage of us or take momentum. We've grown such a family culture here that I think anyone of us would stick up for each other. I think that's why we are starting to see more success; we want to come to the rink for each other every day."

Shutout

Leevi Meriläinen earned his first OHL shutout last Friday during a win versus the Oshawa Generals on Teddy Bear Toss Night at Leon's Centre. Jordan Frasca scored at 2:57 into the second period to let the plush animals fly as the Fronts took a 1-0 lead enroute to a 5-0 victory. The 12 wins are second to only London's Brett Brochu (16). Jake Murray said, "Leevi is a phenomenal goalie and made some huge saves to today and Friday in the shutout, so he allows us to be a little calmer and be less worried being able to get out of our zone."

The coach was pleased with the players' effort utilizing things they've practiced. "We've been doing a lot of good things defensively, so it's nice to have the goalie get rewarded for it," Caputi said after the game. "He's (Meriläinen) kept us in some games so far and worked hard in practice and always getting better. I'm extremely happy for the team; however, our work is not done this weekend."

Haché was on the ice the last time the toys were thrown on Leon's Centre ice in 2019-20 and recalled the excitement in the arena. "We love playing in front of a packed house and to get a 5-0 win in front of the big crowd is huge on a night like tonight," said the Florida Panthers prospect. "It's an exciting goal, a fun one; I was just about to jump on the ice again, so it was funny as I was almost out there for another one."

Meriläinen commented," I felt pretty good. The team always has my back. I always know we can win even if I'm not on, and it's nice to help them if they are struggling a little bit." The Finnish netminder is pleased with practice results working with his defence in front of him, particularly in his crease area. "We are working on that a lot. We've talked about it, and you can see it in the game; we are much stronger in front of our net."

Sunday Funday

Last Sunday in Kingston, the Fronts mirrored their scoring output from the previous game with a 5-1 home win over Ottawa 67's. Maddox Callens scored twice, and Shane Wright scored his 50th career OHL goal with the game-winner, pushing a fifth consecutive victory for the first time since Jan 26- Feb 3, 2018. Jake Murray was happy with the effort and 60-minute game; "We have a lot more energy, and we are getting better starts," the assistant captain said. "We didn't let off in the second period, which was the most important part of the game. It has been a matter of coming out hard and keeping that energy."

Callens added, "We needed these last three games, and we need to keep playing our structure. Goaltending has been a key, and he's (Meriläinen) been playing well. "The robust forwards' 12th point tied a new career-high for the two-way forward in just his 20th game of the year. "It's more a confidence thing from my first year."

LA Kings prospect Martin Chromiak has goals in four straight (6) and points in five being named to the Slovakian National Junior Team this week.

Captain Shane Wright, who will leave for the World Junior tournament in Alberta this week, said, "I think overall we are playing well as a team; we have a lot of confidence in ourselves in the way we are playing now, and we need to carry it over shift to shift."

CHL Team of The Week

Leevi Meriläinen and Jake Murray were representatives for the CHL's Team of The Week. Murray finds himself in the top-fifteen for blueline points (17). His +14 rating leads the Frontenacs and is fourth-overall amongst OHL defenders. The veteran has a five-game point streak (1G,8A) dating back to Nov 27, the start of the current team win streak with seven points in the last three games.

Meriläinen was named the OHL Goalie of Week on Dec 6 for his hot play over the last two games. Wright appreciates the play of his goalie; "He (Meriläinen) is such a great player for us and a huge part of our success. He's so solid back there and makes big saves when he has to."

Hockey Fights Cancer Jersey Auction

Time is running out for you to bid on the Fronts Hockey Fights Cancer game-worn and signed jerseys. All proceeds from the auction are being donated to the Canadian Cancer Society. The auction ends tomorrow at 12:00 pm.

Notes

Forward Jordan Frasca scored the Teddy Bear Toss goal on Friday

Chase Costantino is listed as day-to-day

Captain Shane Wright is at Canada's World Junior Camp representing Canada

Goaltender Leevi Meriläinen will represent Finland's National Junior Team

Forward Martin Chromiak will represent Slovakia's National Junior Team

Francesco Arcuri 10-game point streak ended versus OTT (7G,9A)

Forward Zayde Wisdom (Philadelphia Flyers) is skating with the team listed as week-to-week

Team Stat Pack - GP (22)

(14-5-3-0) - 30 points - 2nd East Div (HAM - 32) / 3rd Eastern Conf (HAM,NB - 32)

Power Play 27.3% - Fourth OHL - Second EasternConference

Penalty Kill 79.5% - Eighth OHL - Fourth Eastern Conference

Goals For (93) - Second in Eastern Conference (NB - 98) - 4.22 goals-per-game leads OHL

Goals Against (75) - Third least allowed Eastern Conference (MISS 49, NB 68)

Leaders (Top/3)

Goals - Chromiak, Edmonds (13), Frasca (12), Wright (11)

Assists - Edmonds (27), Wright (19), Arcuri, Murray (16)

Points - Edmonds (40), Wright (30), Arcuri (27)

PIMs - Haché (31), Poole (27,) Budnick (25)

Shots- Edmonds (99), Wright, Chromiak (86), Frasca (65)

Powerplay Points - Edmonds, Wright (13), Chromiak (11)

Rookie Points - Soto (16), Ludwinski (14), Thibodeau (7)

Defence Points - Murray (17), Peric (11), Budnick (5)

On The Front

The Frontenacs next home game is Friday, Dec 10, versus the East Division Hamilton Bulldogs at 7:00 pm.

The Black and Gold then hit the road for two games on Sat, Dec 11, versus Niagara and Sun, Dec 12, against Mississauga.

Listen to all the action on 104.3 Fresh Radio with Frontenacs play-by-play voice Jim Gilchrist. Fans can also follow along with team social media channels at Twitter, Facebook and IG for updates.

All home game tickets are available online at www.ticketmaster.ca or visiting the Leon's Centre box office. Group Sales and Flex Packs are also available for fans at www.kingstonfrontenacs.com.

Check out the Kingston Frontenacs Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from December 9, 2021


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central