Kingston Frontenacs end two-game skid forcing a 6-4 win against the Windsor Spitfire

By: Lauren Pirie 

This past Friday the Kingston Frontenacs took on the Windsor Spitfire at 7 pm at the Leon’s
Center in an intense high-scoring tilt, bagging their first win at home against the Spitfire in the past 5
years (0-3-0). The score sheet opened up early in the first for Kingston as Gage Heyes clocked in his fifth
goal of the season with a rebound off the shot of Adam Cavallin and a toe-drag pass from Linus
Hemström. The Spitfire were able to catch a recovery goal off a breakaway after being tripped, landing Aj
Spellacy to score off a penalty shot at 10:53 in the first. It didn’t take long for Kingstons captain Paul
Ludwisnki, who’s sitting at 37th in the league for goals, to catch an opportunity off the pass of Battaglia
right in the slot to tap in a quick one past the Windsor goalie, pushing the Fronts to a 2-1 lead. With
almost five minutes left in the first, right off his face-off win with a pass back to Miedema and
Thibodeau, the pass return led to Kingston's performer of the week Linus Hemström resulting in a quick
backhanded shot and a goal for the Fronts.

The Kingston offensive lineup finished up the first with Thomas Budnick catching a bouncing puck in the crease off the rebound of his initial shot that was picked up by Soto and Battaglia. With just under four minutes remaining in the first Windsor's Oliver Peer
picked apart Kingston's defensive lineup as he walked through three players beating Mason Vaccari just
over the shoulder, leading to a 4-2 end to the high-intensity first period. 

With a slower start to the second period after the late momentum shift in the favour of the
Windsor Spitfire, the teams continued with a strong and physical defensive battle, attempting to limit the
heavy scoring chances and opportunities seen in the first period. With 10 minutes remaining in the second
the Frontenac's Captain, Paul Lundwinski, catches a saucer pass from Hemström, pushing him in front of
the play to catch a 1-1 opportunity against Windsor's defence, proceeding with a quick over-the-shoulder
wrist shot landing a 5-2 lead on the penalty kill. With five minutes remaining in the second and the
Front's Maleek McGowan serving an interference penalty, the fronts are caught by a quick short-handed
goal from the top of the face-off circle from Windsor's Liam Greentree, sneaking right past the glove of
Vaccari. ending off the third with a 5-3 lead for the Fronts. 

The third period started with a noticeable breakdown on the Frontenac's defensive team setups,
which led to a Windsor break away from the neutral zone as the Front's defence was forced into a
pressured turnover, resulting in a quick wrist shot from the Spitfires Oliver Peer, pushing a one goal
differential at 5-4 early in the third. With Windsors seeming comeback in the later half of the game,
pressure amounts to the Fronts to establish their early lead heading into the bottom half of the third, this
situational pressure led to no issue for the Fronts senior Jacob Homles as he picked up on the low pass
from Poole, off Windsor’s defensive turnover pressured by Heyes. Holmes hammers in this quick one-
timer in the slot to solidify the Front's goal insurance. With one second in the game, Kingston's goalie
Mason Vaccari makes a phenomenal sliding stretch save to keep the final game score to 6-4 for the
Kingston Frontenacs. The game finished with a 40-34 lead for shots on goal for the Frontenacs, pushing
them to an 11-11-0 season so far sitting in 15th overall.

The Kingston Frontenacs continued their weekend as they hit the road to play the Brantford
Bulldogs which resulted in a 2-5 loss. The Fronts carried out a 0-0 game into the second as one of their
top performers Linus Hemström opened up the score sheet for the game deep in the second. The Bulldogs
continued by scoring four unanswered goals early in the third period, whilst Matthew Soto was able to get
one more for the Fronts early in the third. 

The Kingston Frontenacs return home Wednesday, November 29th at 10:30 am to take on the
Ottawa 67’s (#8 overall, 13-8-0).

Play by text

Windsor Spitfires 4 at Kingston Frontenacs 6 - Status: Final
Friday, November 24, 2023 - Leon's Centre
Windsor 2 1 1 - 4
Kingston 4 1 1 - 6

1st Period-1, Kingston, Heyes 5 (Cavallin, Hemström), 3:13. 2, Windsor, Spellacy 5   10:53 (PS). 3,
Kingston, Ludwinski 9 (Battaglia, Soto), 13:37. 4, Kingston, Hemström 8 (Miedema, Thibodeau), 14:45.
5, Kingston, Budnick 1 (Soto, Battaglia), 15:52. 6, Windsor, Peer 10   16:19. Penalties-Morneau Wsr
(hooking), 3:58; Eichler Wsr (roughing), 15:52; Budnick Kgn (roughing), 15:52.
2nd Period-7, Kingston, Ludwinski 10 (Hemström, Burns), 9:38 (SH). 8, Windsor, Greentree 14
(Cristoforo, Maillet), 15:41 (PP). Penalties-served by Battaglia Kgn (too many men), 9:27; Battaglia Kgn
(slashing), 13:06; McGowan Kgn (interference), 15:30; Budnick Kgn (cross checking), 18:28.
3rd Period-9, Windsor, Peer 11   2:58. 10, Kingston, Holmes 7 (Poole, Heyes), 7:21. Penalties-Eichler
Wsr (tripping), 8:08; Walton Wsr (blindsiding), 10:43.
Shots on Goal-Windsor 11-10-13-34. Kingston 16-8-16-40.
Power Play Opportunities-Windsor 1 / 4; Kingston 0 / 3.
Goalies-Windsor, Costanzo 4-10-0-0 (40 shots-34 saves). Kingston, Vaccari 10-11-0-0 (34 shots-30
saves).
Timeouts —
A-3,046
Referees-Matt Boulby (18), Lacey Senuk (39).
Linesmen-Jarrett Burton (92), TJ Hunter (84).