OHL Preview: Kingston at Belleville
(Photo: Melissa Kania)
In one of two OHL games on the schedule for this evening, the Belleville Bulls host the Kingston Frontenacs in an intra-conference matchup.
Sixteen points separate the two teams in the standings, as Belleville sits second in the Eastern Conference, while Kingston is at eighth.
This is the last game of January for both teams, who each met London in their most recent games. The Bulls defeated the Knights by a score of 3-1 on January 26, while the Frontenacs dropped a 3-2 decision to London the following night.
• BELLEVILLE (27-13-3-3, 60 pts/46 GP — 6-2-0-2 in last ten)
Recent acquisition Tyler Graovac’s combined points from his days in Ottawa and Belleville lead the Bulls. The center has 44 points in 38 games this season, including nine points in eight games with Belleville.
Another recent acquisition, center Alan Quine has 36 points in 33 games with Peterborough and Belleville, while Bulls captain Brendan Gaunce rounds out the top three with 35 points (19-16) in 38 games.
Jordan Subban leads Bulls defensemen with 31 points in 46 games, while his brother, Malcolm, has been Belleville’s top goaltender this season. In 30 games played, Malcolm has a 2.11 GAA and .933 save percentage – the OHL best in both statistics.
Belleville has won five of its last eight games, including a four-game winning streak from January 5-18 that saw the Bulls come out on top of Sault Ste. Marie, Kingston, Windsor and Niagara.
Looking ahead, the Bulls will host Sarnia on February 2 before heading off for a pair of road games against Oshawa and Kingston.
• KINGSTON (20-23-2-2, 44 pts/47 GP — 2-6-0-2 in last ten)
The Frontenacs look to break an eight-game losing streak, with the team’s last win coming over Sault Ste. Marie on January 6. Since then, they’ve suffered defeat at the hands of Belleville, Owen Sound, Guelph, Oshawa, Ottawa and London.
Centers Darcy Greenaway and Ryan Kujawinski lead the team with 37 points each; Greenaway’s 21 goals are best on the Frontenacs squad. Defenseman Michael Moffat leads Kingston with 25 assists.
Goaltender Mike Morrison has an 18-14-1-1 record this season, along with a 3.67 GAA and .898 save percentage. He’s allowed 130 goals on 1,270 shots faced, while back-up netminder Colin Furlong has appeared in 15 games and allowed 48 goals on 418 shots against.
Following tonight’s game, the Frontenacs will play four of the next five games at home, beginning with a February 1 match-up against the Barrie Colts.
THE MATCH-UP
Tonight’s game is the fifth of eight meetings between the Bulls and the Frontenacs this season, with each team winning a pair of games so far.
The season series began with a 1-0 Bulls win on October 27; Austen Brassard had the lone goal. The teams met 12 days later, when it was Kingston’s turn for a shutout – this time, a 2-0 victory that saw Henri Ikonen and Sam Bennett notch goals for the team.
Following that, Kingston took another win on December 1, this time a 3-1 victory. Gaunce had the only goal for the Bulls, while Billy Jenkins, Darcy Greenaway and Sam Bennett all scored for Kingston.
Most recently, Belleville captured a decisive 8-2 victory on January 11. Ryan Kujawinski and Sam Povorozniouk scored for the Frontenacs, while nine players had at least a point for the Bulls.
Quine and Joseph Cramarossa led the way with five-point nights (1-4 and 3-2, respectively) while Jordan Subban had a goal and three assists.
After tonight’s game, the Frontenacs and the Bulls will meet twice in February (8, in Kingston, and 13, in Belleville) before their final match-up on March 1 in Kingston.