A playoff spot will be on the line when the Kingston Frontenacs host the Peterborough Petes on Friday Night Hockey.
These two teams are heading in opposite directions down the stretch. The Frontenacs built a healthy lead over the Petes in the first half of the season which has since evaporated. Peterborough saw a resurgence from its team, and now the Petes and Frontenacs are tied for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference standings with just two games remaining.
“Heading into Friday’s game against Kingston, every game is the biggest game of the year now,” Petes head coach Jody Hull said. “This is the biggest game of the year. We’ve had four of those in a row.”
The Frontenacs were one of the brighter surprises during the first half of the season. Kingston’s future is definitely bright, but their squandered lead led them to this situation. The challenge now is for this young team with future stars like Roland McKeown and Ryan Kujawinski to become playoff hardened, so to speak, before the playoffs begin.
“The longer you can play and more pressure situations you can put them in, the better they’re going to become,” Kingston head coach Todd Gill said. “We had a fairly decent year right up until January, we hit this skid that we just couldn’t get out of and now we’re fighting for our lives to get this final playoff spot. Taking a positive out of a negative, the fact we’re in must-win situations puts pressure on them and how they are going to handle that pressure, they can carry that into the future.”
There’s mutual respect amongst these rivals, with no meeting bigger than this one.
“They’re going to be fighting for their lives, just like we are,” Hull said. “I know Todd Gill will have them ready and prepared and I think it’s going to be a hard-fought game for 60 minutes. And if not, 65 and a shootout.”
“We can’t give up pucks in the neutral zone,” Gill said. “They love to counter and attack on the outside. The way of doing that is getting pucks deep and attacking their D and cycling the puck and keeping it off their sticks. When we do that, we’re successful. When we try to make plays at the blue line and lose them, that’s when we’re getting in trouble.”
THE STARS:
Michael Clarke came to Peterborough as the principle in the trade that sent former Petes captain Slater Koekkoek to Windsor at the deadline. Clarke’s addition gave the Petes a different element down the middle and the young centre has been instrumental in guiding his new team down the stretch.
“Michael just brings this sense of calmness,” Hull said. “He’s very responsible defensively, he’s got great anticipation and vision on the ice and he’s a guy that we can lean on in special teams, both power-play and penalty killing. When I need a faceoff (win), I can put him out there. When I need a big kill, I can put him out there. I’m comfortable putting him in every situation.”
Kujawinski may have fallen on some draft boards, but the second-year pivot is playing a vital role on the young team. The fourth-overall pick in 2011, he does a bit of everything for the Frontenacs.
“An individual can make his linemates better and that’s what we need out of Ryan,” Gill said. “To be skating, shooting pucks, forcing their D, using his assets and that’s a great shot, long reach and speed.”
PLAYERS DRAFTED BY NHL TEAMS
NAMES TO WATCH:
The Frontenacs are accumulating a nice group of young players who will be integral to the anticipated resurgence of the franchise in future years. McKeown, the second-overall pick in last year’s draft, is playing with poise and maturity beyond his years. Scouts are taking notice and he should be a valuable commodity at the 2014 NHL draft.
“He’s a very solid defenceman for a 16-year-old,” Gill said. “For him to come in and do what he does is pretty amazing. He’s poised with the puck — sometimes too poised — and that’s where he has to get better, meaning that he tries to do a little too much at times. For the most part, he makes the right decision at the right time. Great skater, can shoot the puck, he has all the tools to become a very good defenceman.”
Nick Ritchie came into his rookie season a year ago with big expectations after the career older brother Brett forged in Sarnia and later Niagara. The younger Ritchie was drafted second-overall by the Petes in 2011, and, as a late birthdate, is only eligible for the NHL draft in 2014. For all his accomplishments so far in his career, his coach thinks the best is yet to come.
“I don’t even think he’s tapped into his potential yet,” Hull said. “He’s doing a lot of little things right. He’s finishing his checks, he’s protecting the puck down low, he’s getting pucks out on the wall in our zone and doing the little things that scouts notice and coaches notice, not necessarily the fans notice. But he’s doing all the little things that coaches expect him to do at a young age.”
POTENTIAL FUTURE NHL DRAFT PICKS
THE GOALIES:
Peterborough goaltender Andrew D’Agostini admitted he felt a wave of emotions during the first half, where he went into the Christmas break with just one win. The veteran goalie has been instrumental in his team’s success the past two months and would love nothing more than to get his team into the playoffs.
“Andrew D’Agostini is our hardest working player on our team by far in practice, (and) in the weight room,” Hull said. “He’s a coach’s dream. You have no headaches with him and the fact that he does what he does away from the rink, as far as community stuff, just is another feather in his cap.”
Former Pete Mike Morrison gave the young Frontenacs the ability to learn through mistakes with some dependable goaltending.
“Mike’s played very well,” Gill said. “Like every goalie, he’s probably had a couple games he’d like back. When he gives us a chance to win, that’s what we need out of our veteran goalie.”
WHAT’S AT STAKE:
The Frontenacs lost an opportunity to jump ahead of both the Petes and Mississauga Steelheads into seventh place on Thursday night. Kingston lost 4-2 in Barrie, and now all three teams have two games left with the Steelheads leading both the Fronts and Petes by a single point.
“When we had five games left, I said, ‘boys, we win three out of five, we’re in,’” Gill said, with his team winning the first and losing the next two. “They’re all must wins.”
Much remains in determining the final two playoff spots, and both Kingston and Peterborough can still make it in. Should Mississauga finish in seventh place and these two teams remain tied for the last berth, a single-game playoff would determine the eighth seed.
The Petes haven’t been in the playoffs since the 2009-2010 season, and have won just one playoff game since their last championship in 2005-2006. Needless to say, winning this game and getting into the playoffs would mean the world to the Petes.
“I’m not as much proud as I am happy for us because it’s really something we deserve from our hard work and it’s finally paying off, which is great,” D’Agostini said. “We’ve been blessed with this opportunity to go on a little playoff run here. We just have to start with this Friday.”
