Breadcrumb Trail Links
Published Mar 06, 2026 • Last updated 1 hour ago • 3 minute read
Kingston Frontenacs right winger Nolan Snyder (No. 74) crashes the net, fighting through the check of Brampton Steelheads defenceman Peter Green as goalie Zach Bowen stops the puck inm the run-up to the game-winning goal of the Frontenacs’ 2-1 victory over the visitors at Slush Puppie Place in Kingston on Friday, March 6, 2026. (Photo by GARE JOYCE/KINGSTON WHIG-STANDARD/POSTEMEDIA NETWORK)Article content
The Kingston Frontenacs’ powerplay keyed a comeback in the second period in a 2-1 victory over the Brampton Steelheads at Slush Puppie Place Friday night.
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For the Frontenacs, it was a workmanlike effort against a Brampton team that is in ninth place in the Eastern Conference and all but mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.
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The Steelheads came to Kingston in the throes of a 12-game winless streak, having not won a game since January. For 60 minutes Friday night, the Frontenacs gave the visitors hope of salvaging a point or maybe even two, right down to the dying seconds.
“We’re not the most gifted offensive team,” Kingston coach Troy Mann said. “We’ve got third- and fourth-liners with eight or nine goals, but our offensive is spread through the line-up. We’ve got to grind it out. I didn’t love our game tonight but we grinded it out. We limited [the Steelheads] to only eight scoring chances.”
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Kingston goaltender Gavin Betts turned aside 22 of 23 shots to pick up the win, leveling his record 17-17-1-1.
After a scoreless and uneventful first period, the visitors jumped out to a 1-0 lead less than a minute after intermission when Betts mishandled a shoot-in and Brampton centre Julian DiMiglio fired a loose puck into a yawning cage.
The Frontenacs seemed to sag for a couple of shifts, perhaps sensing that they gave the Steelheads a life in a game. That lasted until the sixth minute of the period when DiMiglio was hit with a minor for tripping defenceman Malek McGowan behind Betts’s net.
Less than 30 seconds later on the ensuing powerplay Aleks Kulemin tied the game, setting up in front of the net, absorbing some jabs and lumber, and then sending the puck past Brampton goalie Zach Bowen.
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Kingston’s game-winner by Nolan Snyder doesn’t go into the books as a powerplay goal because it came eight seconds after a delay-of-game minor to Steelheads defenceman Carter Hicks expired, but it was the direct residue of the man-advantage.
The goal was Snyder’s 16th of the season and moves the 16-year-old from Pittsburgh into a tie for the team lead with import Tomas Pobeza and right winger Landon Wright.
“Snyder’s been fantastic for us,” Mann said. “He got off to a great start then plateaued a little bit and was snake-bitten for a while but he’s taking off again. We’re trying to get his line [with Kulemin and fellow rookie Robin Kuzma] out against other third liners. Because of injuries, he was up in our top-six [forwards] and getting some tough match-ups.”
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Through the first half of the season, the Frontenacs’ powerplay was by far the least productive in the Ontario Hockey League, but the turn-around after the trading deadline has been dramatic. In the first two months of the season, Kingston’s powerplay was scoring in the range of 11 percent efficiency and no other team was below 16 percent. Going into this weekend’s games, the Frontenacs had moved up to 16th and raised its success rate to 18.3 percent. That number will improve with a one-for-five performance in the win over the Steelheads.
Two key forwards returned to Kingston’s line-up for the Brampton game. Centre Kieren Dervin had missed the three-game road trip through the north last weekend and overager Jack Dever had been sidelined in a walking cast with a fracture for six weeks.
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The team had a bit of a scare when Dever limped off the ice after blocking a shot in the third period. Mann admitted he was relieved when it turned out that Dever had taken the shot in the quad. “It would have been devastating for us and for him if he were again,” the coach said.
Left winger Alex McLean remains out of the line-up with a shoulder sprain, but Kingston’s line-up Friday was the nearest thing to a full complement in the calendar year.
“We haven’t had the full line-up since the first day of the trade deadline,” Mann said. “McLean is coming along very well and expect to see him in Niagara next week.”
The Frontenacs meet another struggling team, the Oshawa Generals, at 2:05 p.m. Sunday. The Generals are in last place in the Eastern Conference
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