The Kingston Frontenacs (14-12-1-1) earned a win tonight at Erie Insurance Arena with a 4-2 victory versus the Erie Otters (11-13-0-3) to sweep the two-game season series. After Erie’s Brett Bressette opened the game’s scoring, Kingston scored four consecutive times in the final period en-route to the two-goal victory. Jacob Battaglia, Chris Thibodeau, Gage Heyes scored for Kingston, with Francesco Arcuri adding to an OHL-leading total with his 23rd of the season and the game-winner in the third. The Black and Gold improved to 7-8-1-0 away from the Limestone City, moving within a point of second place Peterborough in the East Division.
Rookie netminder Mason Vaccari made his tenth start making 33 saves on 35 shots for his sixth win. Kyle Downey took the pipes for Erie seeing 28 Kingston shots.
The Otters fourth-ranked penalty kill was tested in the opening twenty minutes, keeping Kingston from scoring over three opportunities in the first period as the clubs went scoreless, heading to the first intermission at 0-0 of the penalty-filled affair.
Erie scored the game’s opening strike early in the second period on the man advantage with Brett Bressette (12) making it 1-0 at 3:22, taking the same lead to the start of the third period. Otter blueliners Christian Kyrou and Spencer Sova assisted.
Jackson Stewart and Erie’s Owain Johnstone dropped the gloves less than a minute after the Bressette goal in the first of two spirited tilts in the game, with Quinton Burns and Kaleb Smith pairing off later in the game.
Rookie defender Vann Williamson hit the crossbar midway through the second frame as Kingston pressed, including Paul Ludwinski setting up a Chris Thibodeau chance alone on Downey late in the middle period. Kingston’s fourth powerplay, with two minutes left in the second, ended early on a Frontenacs penalty. The teams skated four-on-four before another Erie call saw Kingston take a four-on-three chance to the second intermission remaining down one goal.
The Black and Gold improved to 2-6-0-0 when trailing after two periods and had the lead quickly with two early-period tallies on the four scored. It was tied up 1-1 on the first of the four straight Kingston scores when Jacob Battaglia (3) took advantage of an Erie turnover. Rookie Adam Cavallin drew a well-earned assist to help force the puck to the open slot for Battaglia to tie it up at 3:08.
Just after the tying Kingston strike, Erie’s Kaleb Smith took a hard run at a Kingston forward, with Burns taking exception, and the pair squared off in the second scrap of the evening. Burns received an extra two for instigating for Erie’s fourth powerplay chance. Vaccari had made multiple saves with a heavily crowded crease keeping a tied game before Thibodeau (4) came out of the box after serving the Burns penalty and sent in alone on the Otter net, making a nice forehand deke past Downey for the 2-1 score. Kingston’s first lead came at 6:41 and was just over three minutes later before another strike.
Johnstone and Linus Hemström were given 10-minute misconducts as the games’ emotions ran high at times before the Fronts scored their first of two powerplay goals of the final period. Francesco Arcuri (23) scored his 10th powerplay goal of the season with a blast from long range to make it 3-1. Ludwinski extended a point streak(2G,1A) to three games, assisting with (2G,1A) Maddox Callens at 9:43. The tally also puts Arcuri in second for OHL powerplay goals.
Vaccari stopped Sam Alfano on a mini-break chance on a shorthanded chance on Kingston’s sixth powerplay of the game, coming after a nasty hit on Fronts rookie Gabriel Frasca in the Otters corner. On the same man advantage, Gage Heyes (1) tipped an Arcuri point shot to give the Black and Gold a three-goal lead on his first of the season. Florida Panthers prospect Braden Haché earned his career-high sixth assist on the season on the 4-1 goal coming at 13:19.
The Otters got within two at 15:33 when Alfano scored on a nice deke past Vaccari for a 4-2 score with under five minutes left. Erie pulled the goaltender with just over two minutes left, but Kingston held on for their seventh road win on the season.
The Black and Gold look for a third win on the current three-game road trip, tomorrow, December 11th, at 2:00 pm in Hamilton.
Scorers:
KGN: Battaglia (3), Thibodeau (4), Arcuri (23), Heyes (1)
ERI: Bressette (12), Alfano (7)
Powerplays:
KGN: (2/7)
ERI: (1/4)
Three Stars of the Game:
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