February 10th - BEL vs KGN Game Report

By John Duncan

Jake Worrad is the unlikely hero, scoring his 2nd goal of the season, unassisted, 26 seconds into overtime to lead the Belleville Bulls to a 2-1 victory over the Kingston Frontenacs at K-Rock Centre in Kingston. His "seeing eye" wristshot from the point somehow eluded Kingston's goalie Igor Bobkov, who was outstanding for the Fronts again tonight.

Tonight was the 6th of 8 meetings between the Kingston Frontenacs and the Belleville Bulls and was watched by 3599 fans, including several hundred enthusiastic Minor Hockey players and their families.

The Bulls won the first three games in this season series, outscoring the Fronts by a 15-3 margin.  The Frontenacs won the next two by a 3-1 score at Yardman Arena in Belleville, and 3-2 back in Kingston.

Austen Brassard opened the scoring at 12:46 of the first period on a beautiful pass from highly rated NHL draft prospect Brendan Gaunce on the powerplay. The other assist went to the third member of the line, Michael Curtis, who always plays well against Kingston.  It was the 26th of the season for Winnipeg Jet prospect, Brassard.

Less than three minutes later, Ryan Kujawinski tied the game on a nicely timed tip on a Billy Jenkins feed.  His 6th of the season. Trevor Morbeck got the second assist at 15:41.

The last game against the Bulls, on January 22, was arguably rookie Ryan Kujawinski's best game in the OHL, as he scored twice and was named the game's first star.  Ryan, who became a Frontenac on January 5th, in a one for one trade for Boston Bruin's prospect Ryan Spooner, is considered to be a big part of the Frontenac's future.  Since joining the Front's he has  played on a line with Billy Jenkins, who was acquired in a trade the same day as Kujawinski . The Fronts' coaching staff believe 17 year old Jenkins will thrive in Kingston with more ice time than he had in Niagara.

The first period ended in a 1-1 tie, with the Bulls outshooting the Fronts 16-9.

After a scoreless second, the Bulls took the lead on a shorthanded breakaway effort from Brendan Gaunce, from Curtis, and Silas at 4:16. Bobkov made a great stop on the initial shot, and on the second shot, but Gaunce wasn't to be denied. 2-1 Bulls.

Conor Stokes tied the game at 10:42 with a shorthanded goal of his own, unassisted. His backhand seemed to handcuff Bull's goaltender Malcolm Subban, who otherwise had a very strong game, once again, turning aside 29 of 31 Kingston shots.

Shots were 44-31 heading to overtime. The Bull's 45th shot ended the night and set off an enthusiastic celebration from the visitors. With the victory, the Bulls gained a valuable two points in their attempt to keep pace in the battle for the 8th and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

The three stars were Brendan Gaunce, Igor Bobkov, and Ryan Kujawinski.

Of note, the Frontenac powerplay continues to struggle going 0-7 tonight. Kingston has managed only 1 PP goal in 26 attempts against Belleville this season.

The Frontenacs are right back at it tomorrow night at 7:05 at General Motors Centre in Oshawa as they take on the Generals.  They get their first look at the Guelph Storm on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 at K-Rock Centre, to finish a busy weekend.