Witches and ghouls and Fronts oh my! A Halloween themed matinee game between the North Bay Battalion and Kingston Frontenacs certainly brought chills to the 2,614 in attendance at North Bay Memorial Gardens as the visiting Frontenacs downed the Battalion 6-2.
The Battalion fought hard all the way through but a 4-point (2 goals 2 assists) effort by the likes of Tuomas Uronen and 2 goals by Luke McNamara on a handful of rushing plays would put the final nail in the coffin of this Sunday matchup.
Off the initial puck drop play was very responsible on both sides of the ice. The Frontenacs would enter the Battalion zone but get kept to low danger areas and
squeezed along the boards.
The Troops would then regain control of the puck and find a handful of chances on the rush, but for the majority of those opportunities Kingston kept collapsing on to the rushing player and the bulk of shots on net from distance and to the outside.
Head coach Ryan Oulahen was happy with how the team started their games all weekend. But mentioned how they need to improve on the little things.
“I know results will take care of themselves if we are doing that stuff, that’s a big positive that I’m going to draw on for sure,” he said post game.
“Would just like to bear down on chances we have early in games, it could be a completely different story.”
The first real advantage for either side would come 16:50 into the opening frame as Owen Van Steensel would get called for roughing. The penalty would be killed quite effectively by the home squad and even lead to an odd man rush for the Battalion.
This would quickly turn sour though, as off a solid defensive play, the Fronts would get a 2 on 1 they would convert with a quick cross zone pass from Ethan Miedema to Luke McNamara staring at a wide open net, the visitors would put themselves up 1-0 to close out the period.
Penalties would follow the Troops early into the second, as 2:24 in to the frame Brayden Turley would take a costly holding penalty. The Frontenacs would get set up cleanly in the offensive zone, and with some crisp passing and even stronger net front presence from Luke McNamara, the Fronts would tap in their second of the game.
And if you’re Kingston good things come in threes, as minutes later Ethan Miedema would feed Tyler Hopkins in the face off dot, finding daylight high-blocker, and with a sharp wrist shot extended their lead 3-0.
But it wasn’t all doom and gloom for the Troops, as with 1:22 left in the second Ethan Procyszyn would cut quickly in to the Frontenacs zone, holding off a persistent defender and sent a perfect backhand pass to the tape of Captain Owen Van Steensel, one timing the puck to the twine. Score now 3-1.
The Troops had a couple of opportunities early in the final frame on the remainder of a penalty taken late in the previous period by Quinton Burns, but the puck refused to find the net for the Battalion.
Spurred on by the solid kill, Kingston would extend their lead 4-1 on a nice individual play that saw Finnish import Tuomas Uronen fly into the opposing zone and rip a lightning fast wrister past Larocque.
Time ticking away and the opportunity to close the gap dwindling, Owen Van Steensel would narrow the Kingston lead to 4-2 after a huge slap shot through traffic found its way past Fronts goalie Nolan Lalonde.
Tuomas Uronen would once again strike with a gorgeous tic-tac-toe play with Ben Pickell in the slot, putting the Frontenacs squarely in control again 5-2 with just under 10 minutes remaining. Uronen would also assist on the final 6-2 goal put in by Jacob Battaglia.
New face
With this loss though there is a bright spot on the day, with new addition and North Bay area product Briir Long from the Brantford Bulldogs joining the Troops in exchange for a 2027 fifth round pick.
Long’s acquisition was announced via Battalion social media a few hours before puck drop.
When asked about what he felt after getting the call Briir noted, “I’ve watched this team my whole life pretty much, just really excited."
President and director of hockey operations Adam Dennis mentioned how bringing in Long was “A pretty cool full circle moment.”
“I remember Briir first as a billet brother to Daniel Walker,” Dennis said about the big forward who played three seasons for the Troops from 2016 to 2019.
Long said that when he talked to Walker briefly Daniel said he’d look good in green.
“I’d have to agree with him,” chuckled Long.
