Kingston Frontenacs GameDay April 8, 2016

Whether Jeremy Helvig is the man in the
Eastern Conference-favourite Kingston
Frontenacs’ net, or the man at the
moment, boils down to semantics.
Kingston coach Paul McFarland says only,
“today, Jeremy’s getting the first game of round
two,” when asked if Helvig, 18, is now a clear No.
1 ahead of overage Lucas Peressini, the 2014-
15 OHL goaltender of the year. Ultimately, the
6-foot-4, 202-pound Helvig has rewarded the
Frontenacs’ willingness to play a long game with
goalie growth. Since Christmas, Helvig has a 1.62
goals-against average and .944 save percentage,
Robertson Cup in 2013 while using both Anthony
Stolarz and Jake Patterson in the playoffs. No
coach will ever top the goalie guessing game the
late Mark Reeds played with the Owen Sound
Attack in the spring of 2011, as he used Jordan
Binnington, Scott Stajcer and Michael Zador. It is
within the realm of possibility that the Frontenacs
could turn back to Peressini, who was credited
with 27 of their club-record 46 wins.
“We have said it all year: We have two great
goalies,” McFarland says. “Jeremy’s done a great
job of pushing Lucas throughout the season, and
at this point in time, he’s our guy. He’s slowly
goaltender JEREMY HELVIG HAS HAD AN EXCEPTIONAL YEAR IN HIS SECOND SEASON
AS A KINGSTON fRONTENAC, INCLUDING TWO SHUTOUTS IN ROUND 1 OF THE 2016 PLAYOFFS
and a 16-1-0-1 record.
In the five-game first-round win against the
Oshawa Generals, Helvig also became the first
Kingston goalie with two shutouts in a series in
the club’s 43-season history. Not too shabby for
a goaltender who played 14 games as a rookie in
’14-15.
“I definitely have a lot of confidence right
now after that first series,” says Helvig, whose
Frontenacs host the Niagara IceDogs for Games
1 and 2 of the best-of-7 Eastern Conference
semifinal. “Oshawa is a good team and we were
able, for the most part, to dominate most of that
round [outscoring the Generals by a combined
27-11].
“For me, the biggest difference has been
that in the off-season I just pushed myself,” the
Markham, Ont., native adds. “I got a connection
with [goaltending consultant] Mike Lawrence
and worked with him for three weeks and gained
confidence and focused on being in better shape.”
Dale Hunter’s London Knights won the J. Ross
10 KINGSTON FRONTENACS GAMEDAY MAGAZINE