OHL Kingston Frontenacs

Fronts Go Toe to Toe with Barrie, But Fall 5-3

Published on February 1, 2020 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Kingston Frontenacs News Release


Kingston Frontenacs made a trip north to face the Barrie Colts on Saturday night and fell 5-3 in a game that saw Kingston control large portions of the play. Christian Propp was back in the net for Kingston who sat seven points back of Niagara for the final playoff spot heading into the game and had played fewer games than the IceDogs. So, much like every game now on out, points tonight were of importance to gain ground. Niagara had lost earlier in the day 9-4 to Hamilton in a break for Kingston.

It was the last game in a three-games-in-three night stretch for Barrie with Kingston playing the middle game of their three consecutive days with a game after the loss to Soo Greyhounds on Friday night.

The start of the game saw Kingston get down a goal. The Frontenacs were called for an early penalty and Barrie made it 1-0 at 2:24 as Luke Bignell was able to tip a shot from Tyson Foerster as he skated in front of Propp. Shane Wright and Francesco Arcuri's former Don Mills teammate Brandt Clarke also drew an assist on the play. Barrie hit the post a couple of minutes later as they continued to pressure the Kingston goaltender looking to go up by two.

Wright tied the game at 1-1 when after taking the puck to the middle of the ice off a nice rush. As he went around the defender he fired a wrist shot back against the grain beating Silovs on his blocker side. Martin Chromiak and Nick King would get helpers on the rookies' 26th goal of the year.

The Barrie power play was able to take advantage of another penalty by Kingston to make it 2-1 at 11:00 on an Ethan Cardwell strike. Two minutes later, Propp was called on to make a huge save of Foerster who had found himself in a high-quality scoring area letting a snapshot go that Propp was able to steer clear.

It was tied 2-2 at 17:55 as Wright would score his second of the game to tie things after he finished a nice rush by Chromiak. After taking the puck wide and starting to go behind the net, the 2019 Import selection made a backdoor pass to Wright who was driving the net. Silvos had no chance as Wright buried the pass top-shelf for his OHL rookie leading 27th goal. After going pointless in their last two games, Wright and Chromiak had a good game tonight on the score sheet. Nick King also got an assist on the goal.

Barrie had another good chance late in the period but Wright made a good defensive play and the teams went to the first intermission all tied up at two.

Like the later stages of the first period, Kingston ramped up the intensity early in the second and while there would be no scoring in the period, the Frontenacs were the better team outworking the Colts for a majority of the time. Kingston got its first power play of the night after Christopher Cameron tripped up Jake Murray. Wisdom and Chromiak both had good shots on goal but Barrie goaltender Arturs Silovs held his ground keeping the game tied. Later in the frame, on a hardworking play, Wisdom drew another penalty as he took the puck to the slot area and was tripped up before he could get a shot off. Silovs made some good stops while killing the penalty including a great rebound-save on Wisdom after he had stopped a hot Chromiak shot.

Just as the Colts penalty was ending, Nick King was forced to take a penalty on a near breakaway and Barrie went on their third power play of the game. Propp would make a good save on Bignell as the puck lay in the crease following a Clarke slap shot from the point. After the save, Dawson Baker was called for roughing giving the Colts a two-man advantage for 47 seconds. Propp and the Kingston penalty killers did a good job mitigating chances and were able to escape the five-on-three unscathed. King had a good chance as he came out of the box from the first penalty and streaked in on the Barrie goal, but again Silvos kept his team in a square game. Kingston was able to kill off the rest of the Baker penalty and only allowed the Colts one more shot the rest of the period with the shot edge for the middle frame 14-8 in favour of Kingston

Kingston scored in the opening minute of the final period as Chromiak skated across the blue line and blew a wrist shot past Silvos to give the Frontenacs the 3-2 lead just 11 seconds in for his third point of the game. The unassisted shot beat the goaltender cleanly past his glove as the Slovakian native continues to impress with his shot. Kingston also drew a penalty on the play as well as a high sticking call was made on Barrie before the goal was scored. Being that it was being called a double-minor, the Frontenacs were awarded the second two-minutes of power play time but couldn't convert to get up by two.

Propp made a good save five minutes in on a Colts break but Barrie then would score a couple of quick goals in under half a minute to take back their first-period lead. The game was tied 3-3 at 6:57 when Clarke scored his second of the year. Jordan Frasca's brother Jacob had an assist on the play. Driving the net, the rookie was able to bang home a rebound after Propp made the initial save and then 20 seconds later it was 4-3 on an Evan Vierling goal at 7:17.

Aiden Brown made it 5-3 for Barrie at 12:57 after an unfortunate bounce for Kingston that saw the puck take a weird bounce off the end boards and come directly out in front of the goal area for the Barrie forward who put it past a surprised Propp for the unassisted insurance goal.

Shane Wright remains the OHL rookie scoring leader with now 44 points. The Wright, Chromiak, Wisdom line combined for three goals and three assists. Wisdom didn't register a point but was a physical force throughout. Chromiak's three-point night gives him now seven goals and eight assists for 15 points in 12 games since his arrival.

Kingston plays next tomorrow afternoon on SuperBowl Sunday in another East Conference showdown at 2 p.m. in North Bay against the Battalion and Nick King's former teammates.

The Frontenacs next home game is Wednesday, Feb 5 at 7 p.m. vs Peterborough Petes and Team Canada World Junior gold medal-winning goal scorer Akil Thomas. Tickets are available at the box office or at Ticketmaster.ca.

Check out the Kingston Frontenacs Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from February 1, 2020


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