Frontenacs Roll to 6-1 Win

Published on January 26, 2014 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Belleville Bulls News Release


KINGSTON, ON - Hockey Day in the OHL on TV Cogeco wasn't a memorable experience for the Bulls on Sunday. The Belleville boys never really managed to get things off the ground at the Rogers K-Rock Centre, battling through a rough first period to keep things scoreless before the wheels came off in the second.

The Kingston Frontenacs exploded for six goals in the second period, chasing Charlie Graham from the crease after the Belleville netminder made some key saves in the early going to keep the score close.

An aggressive Kingston forecheck swarmed the Belleville defence, making outlet passes a tough task. All four lines were going for the Fronts out of the gate as the top unit of Henri Ikonen, Sam Bennett and Spencer Watson had consistent control of the puck in the offensive zone.

Justin Lemcke tried to get the Bulls going early, squaring off with Kingston rookie Lawson Crouse after the whistle. The early scrap failed to ignite a spark though as Graham would have to come up with some saves in the minutes to follow to keep the Bulls afloat.

After being outshot 14-7 in the first, the Bulls looked for some push back in the second. Unfortunately, there would be none of that on Sunday.

Spencer Watson put Kingston up 1-0 6:10 into the period after Sam Bennett made a sensational move to stay with a puck that seemed to be getting away on him. Bennett managed to tap a backhander on the pads of Graham who made a nice save, but he couldn't stop Watson on the rebound for his 25th of the season.

Conor McGlynn made it 2-0 just 1:38 later, ripping a cannon of a backhander over the shoulder of Graham on a drop-pass from Samuel Schutt.

The Frontenacs went ahead by three at 9:13, scoring on a Belleville miscue in the neutral zone. Darcy Greenaway outmuscled his man to the puck, springing in alone on a short break to rip a wrister over Graham's glove for goal 22 on the year. Graham's afternoon was over having allowed three goals on 23 shots.

Michael Giugovaz saw his first action in a Belleville uniform, but didn't fare much better. Robert Polesello increased the Kingston lead to four on a one-time rocket from the high slot. Corey Pawley and Darcy Greenaway did some nice work below the goal line to push the puck out to a waiting Polesello for the finish.

The furious second period continued in Kingston as the 4,112 at the Rogers K-Rock Centre had plenty to cheer about. Sam Bennett stretched his league leading point streak to 25 games, doing the job himself and walking over the blueline off the rush to snap a smooth release past Giugovaz from the top of the circle at 16:27.

The Kingston powerplay clicked late in the second, giving Polesello his second of the afternoon on a well-placed shot on a Frontenacs five on three advantage at 18:51.

Things got rough in the third as the Bulls didn't give in despite trailing by six. Both clubs dished out the body as Scott Simmonds and Jake Bricknell were active physically for Belleville while Kingston's Mack Lemmon and Mikko Vainonen responded.

Cameron Brace got the Bulls on the board with help from Jake Marchment and Scott Simmonds at 6:34 of the third. Brace tapped in a loose puck on his way past the net after Marchment was denied by the outstretched pad of Matt Mahalak.

Things got rough in the late going as Brace connected with a Frontenac in open ice with just over five minutes left in the third. The hit drew the attention of Kingston's Lemmon as he went overboard on Brace, drawing a four minute penalty.

The Bulls weren't able to capitalize on the man advantage, going 0 for 6 on the day as time ticked away on a 6-1 loss.

Kingston was ultimately able to control the game with their speed, and won the bluelines, forcing turnovers and capitalizing.

Bulls Assistant Coach Jake Grimes said the Bulls had a hard time dealing with Kingston's speed early. "When you've got a quick, aggressive team you've got to be able to push back on them and not allow them to have free pucks. Today we gave them far too many and didn't get the results we wanted to see."

Charlie Graham was pulled after Kingston's third goal, something Grimes says wasn't really an action aimed at Graham's play on the afternoon. "I thought Charlie was pretty sharp today and he came up big a few times. They got three quick goals and we had to do something to try and shake things up a little bit. We've been wanting to get Michael into the net to see some action so it was an opportunity to do so."

The Bulls were outshot 38-27, just the second time that has happened in the last eight games.

Belleville is now 13-29-2-2, ten points behind the eighth placed Mississauga Steelheads for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Frontenacs improve to 26-17-2-2, good for third in the Eastern Conference.

The Bulls will have to put the loss behind them quickly and prepare for the Erie Otters who had been slated to play in Belleville on Saturday with the game being postponed due to weather conditions. Monday's 7:05pm start features Brendan Gaunce and Michael Curtis making their returns to the big ice!

For tickets to Monday night's game, contact the Bulls box office at 613-966-8338 or click HERE for online purchasing options.

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from January 26, 2014


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