Kingston Frontenacs GameDay October 28, 2016

y Doug Graham
Kingston Whig-Standard
The Kingston Frontenacs and Flint Firebirds are
going back-to-back in their only two meetings of
the Ontario Hockey League season.
Quite often when Eastern Conference and Western
Conference teams play each other, the games
are usually spaced out by weeks if not months. Last
season, for example, the Frontenacs hosted Flint on
Jan. 15 but didn’t go to Michigan for a return game
until March 5.
This season, the teams are finishing their series
before the 15-game mark of their schedules. The
Frontenacs defeated the Firebirds 5-3 at the Dort
Federal Event Center last Sunday. The teams meet
again Friday night at the Rogers K-Rock Centre.
Frontenacs goaltender Jeremy Helvig, who faced
38 shots in Flint, said because the game against the
Firebirds is fresh in his mind it is a help.
“You know the players more, how they played the
last game,” Helvig said. “I’ll be looking for the players
I thought were tough [in Sunday’s game]. They have
some great players.”
Flint’s top line of Ryan Moore, Nicholas Caamano
and Kole Sherwood had combined for 54 points
in 13 games before the Firebirds played in Peterborough
Thursday night.
“That’s a line we have to be aware of every time
they are on the ice,” Frontenacs head coach Paul
McFarland said.
“The easiest way to shut down a top line on any
team is to make them have to play defence. It’s real
hard to score from your own end. We want to make
them have to defend as much as possible when they
are out.”
The Frontenacs go into the game as the stingiest
team in the Eastern Conference, having allowed an
average of three goals against in their dozen games.
The team is hanging in on its defence while struggling
on offence. Kingston’s offence is last in the conference
at 2.33 goals per game.
“We have a great defensive team right now. The
defence is playing great and also the forwards as
well,” Helvig said. “I guess the bounces aren’t going
our way for getting goals but it will, for sure, change
soon.”
OFFICIAL GAMEDAY PROGRAM, VOLUME 44, 2016
McFarland points out that while the goals have
been slow in coming for his team, he sees it as a
good sign that on most nights the Frontenacs are
outshooting the opposition. The Frontenacs lost 3-2
in Saginaw last Friday despite outshooting the Spirit
33-13.
“We continue to want to get better at executing
offensively. That has really been the focus at practice
this week,” McFarland said.
“We have to hit the net every chance we can and
make the goalie make saves and also give ourselves
second and third opportunities to get rebounds.”
Nathan Dunkley, second in team scoring with
eight points, is away for five games while playing at
the World Under-17 Challenge in Sault Ste. Marie.
His absence, McFarland said, will lead to other players
getting more opportunities.
“Nathan was playing in all situations, the power
play as well. So other guys will get a chance to play in
the next five games and show what they are capable
of,” said McFarland, who has emphasized over the
first dozen games that the team’s young players are
playing in all situations not because it’s a given but
because they have earned it.
“We are starting to see guys like [Sergey] Popov
and [Tyler] Burnie play even bigger roles than they
were 12 games ago because their game’s getting better,”
McFarland said.
“They are starting to do more things right and
they deserve extra ice time.”
On defence, the return of Jacob Paquette, who
missed the team’s first seven games while he recovered
from a broken arm suffered in August, has bolstered
the blue-line.
“Like any player when they miss that much time
it takes a little bit of time to get their legs underneath
them and their timing up to speed,” McFarland said.
“He’s got better each game. Jacob’s a guy that defends
off the rush, has a great gap and good stick.
He’s hard to play against.”
For full coverage of the Kingston Frontenacs read The Kingston
Whig-Standard’s home edition or read it online at www.thewhig.com
© 2016 The Kingston Whig-Standard. This article was originally published
in The Kingston Whig-Standard. Reprinted with permission.
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