Kingston Frontenacs GameDay March 23, 2018

MAKE EXPERIENCE MATTER
The Frontenacs have a wealth of playoff experience on their roster. The acquisitions made at the trade
deadline brought in a ton of talent, but more importantly, a group of players with winning playoff experience.
Sean Day, Gabe Vilardi, Cliff Pu and Max Jones are all former Memorial Cup champions. In addition to
those players, Mitchell Byrne was part of the Erie Otters OHL championship team last season. North Bay
has significantly less playoff experience. Their entire roster has just 108 playoff games of experience and
only 7 players that have played in a playoff game. While many Kingston players know what it takes to win,
most North Bay players don’t even know what it’s like to be there. While the Battalion battle the learning
curve, Kingston can sink them with their experience.
DOMINATE IN THE CREASE
Much like the rest of their roster, North Bay does not dress a goaltender that has appeared in a playoff
game. Christian Propp had impressive regular season numbers finishing with the league’s fourth best GAA
at 2.81. He was also tied for eighth in save percentage at 0.910. However, the playoffs are a completely
different game, one that he has never experienced at this level. Jeremy Helvig had better regular season
numbers across the board and he brings 19 games of playoff experience with him. If there is one clear
advantage for Kingston in head to head comparison, it is between the pipes. The Frontenacs have run into
hot goalies in the playoffs in recent years. In this series, and for the remainder of the playoffs, they need
Jeremy Helvig to be the hot goalie that other teams run into.
EXPLOIT A LACK OF HOME ICE FOR NORTH BAY
They say you are never in trouble until you lose at home in the playoffs, but because of an odd scheduling
conflict, the North Bay Battalion don’t get a legitimate home game until game 4 of this series. With the
Ford World Women’s Curling Championship occupying the North Bay Memorial Gardens, game 3 of the
series will be played in Sudbury rather than North Bay. That gives the Frontenacs a huge advantage. The
Battalion could be facing a 3-0 deficit before ever stepping on home ice. North Bay will have to travel to
Kingston, then to Sudbury before heading home to North Bay. If they are able to win one of those four
games, they would still have to make another trip to Kingston next Saturday night. The Frontenacs have
the benefit of less travel time, their home rink and a game at a neutral site. Home ice advantage has never
been this great for Kingston and never been so lacking for North Bay. - KF
Jordan Jackson is a longtime Kingston Frontenacs season ticket holder and profound sports writer. Follow him on Twitter @iamsportsguy
OFFICIAL GAMEDAY PROGRAM, VOLUME 45, 2018
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