The bookend of a home-and-home saw the Kingston Frontenacs (25-33-1-2) conclude the season-series with the Peterborough Petes (32-25-2-2) dropping a 4-2 decision on Friday night at the Leon’s Centre in the final matchup of the season for the East Division rivals. Owen Outwater and Gabriel Frasca registered the goals for the Black and Gold finish with an even 4-4-0-0 record against the Petes.
The Maroon and White took a 2-0 lead to the second intermission on a pair of powerplay goals 43 seconds apart in a physically played first period. An early visitor 3-0 strike came in the final period before Outwater made it 3-1 tallying for a third straight game tying for the Fronts team lead with his 15th goal. Rookie Gabriel Frasca added a 3-2 tally late in the third with Peterborough adding an empty net tally for the 4-2 final for their first win in three games.
First star Avery Heyes and second star Tucker Robertson each had two points, with Robertson’s 35th the game-winner in the third period.
Third star Mason Vaccari got the call in Kingston’s crease for his 25th appearance. The rookie made 24 saves in his second game against the Petes, on 26 shots. The visitors sent Michael Simpson for his OHL-leading 44Th appearance seeing 26 Frontenacs shots with 24 stops, adding to an OHL-leading 1309 saves.
Kingston jumped out with two excellent chances with Nathan Poole forcing Simpson into action early making two quick saves. A melee developed after the first whistle as the divisional rivals facing each other on consecutive nights. Frontenacs Gage Heyes and Petes Donovan McCoy were sent off sending the teams to four-on-four 31 seconds after puck drop.
Fronts defender Ian Lemieux hit the post seconds into the four-on-four with a second scrum giving Kingston the first powerplay of the game just 79 seconds in going four-on-three. Kingston points leader Ethan Miedema was setup by Linus Hemstrom for a second great chance for the homeside to get the first strike.
The game continued in physical play when Kingston defender Cal Uens took exception to a hit on teammate Adam Cavallin in the neutral zone before getting involved with New York Rangers prospect Brennan Othmann receiving a five-minute major penalty.
Kingston was called for two more penalties, on the same play with the visitors going to a two-man advantage with 13:47 left scoring the games first and only two strikes of the opening fort minutes of play.
After Vaccari made an initial save, a rebound was tapped in by Tucker Robertson (35) for the 1-0 lead at 7:48, with Kingston remaining down a two-man for a full-two minutes. The Petes then went up 2-0 with a wide-open shot from the slot by Jonathan Melee (9) for the second powerplay goal in 43 seconds.
Vaccari made a great pad save in the last minute off a Roberston breakaway chance on one of 13 shots seen in the frame, to keep the Frontenacs at a two-goal deficit heading to first intermission.
The Maroon and White improved to a 20-11-1-1 record when scoring first playing through a scoreless middle frame. The second period saw the clubs settled into a more defensive battle with each team skating on one man-advantage each.
The teams went four-on-four after two separate calls early in the final period, before the Petes would score on a four-on-three man-advantage to go up 3-0. After having one chance stopped by Vaccari, a second one-timer by Avery Heyes (38), off a no-look pass by Gavin White, gave the visitors the three-goal lead at 1:55. It was Heyes’ 19th powerplay marker, second most in the OHL and eventual game-winner.
The earlier intensity continued with Poole and McCoy being sent off for coincidental roughing minors in scrum in the Petes corner 8:39 into the stanza.
Owen Outwater (15) was able to finish a great assisting play for a goal in a third consecutive game after Ben Roger set him up to bury a one-timed snapshot from the slot with 9:37 remaining. Outwater tied the overall team goal-lead after Roger fought off a defender in the Petes corner before patiently waiting for a breaking Outwater for a backhanded pass to the slot.
Kingston had a pair of powerplay opportunities in the last half of the third, but the Petes penalty-killing units were solid all game keeping the Fronts off the powerplay-board on four chances overall.
Gabriel Frasca (13) got the game to 3-2 with 1:50 left on the clock after Chris Thibodeau made a great play to get the puck back into the Petes crease from behind the net. Frasca’s goal gave him points in three straight, with Alec Belanger also added an assist for points in three consecutive games.
Kingston pulled the netminder for the extra-skater but the visitors rounded out the 4-2 score with Othmann (27) adding an empty-net tally at 18:52.
The Black and Gold continue a three-game weekend tomorrow night at Leon’s Centre against the Mississauga Steelheads at 7pm.
Scorers:
KGN: Outwater (15), Frasca (13)
PBO: Robertson (35), Melee (9), Heyes (38), Othmann (27)
Powerplays:
KGN: (0/4)
PBO: (3/5)
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