The Brantford Bulldogs saw their four-game road trip stall Friday night, falling 4–2 to the Kingston Frontenacs at Slush Puppie Place in Ontario Hockey League action on December 19.
Brantford struck early, opening the scoring just 1:13 into the first period when Caleb Malhotra finished a play set up by Edison Engle and captain Jake O’Brien.
The Bulldogs controlled stretches of the opening frame, but Kingston responded midway through the period to level the game.
Kingston tied it at 9:44 of the first on a goal from Aleks Kulemin, assisted by Landon Wright and Vann Williamson, sending the teams into the intermission deadlocked 1–1.
The Frontenacs took their first lead early in the second period. At 9:07, Maleek McGowan converted with help from Matthew Frost, giving Kingston a 2–1 advantage.
Brantford answered later in the period, with Malhotra scoring his second of the night at 16:34, assisted by Cooper Dennis and Engle.
Less than 20 seconds after Brantford’s equalizer, Kingston regained control.
Wright scored at 16:46 of the second period, assisted by Kulemin and Robin Kuzma, restoring the Frontenacs’ lead heading into the third.
The final period was tightly contested, with neither team able to capitalize on limited special-teams opportunities.
Brantford went 0-for-2 on the power play, while Kingston finished 0-for-1.
Kingston sealed the result with an empty-net goal at 17:22 of the third period, scored by Nolan Buttar and assisted by Frost, closing out the 4–2 win in front of an announced attendance of 3,199.
David Egorov made 34 saves in the loss for Brantford, while Matthew Minchak stopped 32 shots to earn the victory for Kingston.
With the result, the Bulldogs remain atop the Eastern Conference standings and return to action Saturday afternoon against the Ottawa 67’s at TD Place (Ottawa), with the game scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.
