The Kingston Frontenacs (10-9-1-1) won 5-4 over the Soo Greyhounds (5-8-4-3) in a shootout on Friday night at FDL Memorial Gardens. Francesco Arcuri scored twice, Mitchell Brooks and Linus Hemstrom added tallies with Ivan Zhigalov making 44 saves in regulation and two in the shootout to help the Fronts to their first win over the Greyhounds in eight games. Arcuri, who took over the OHL goal lead, added a shootout tally with Maddox Callens to help earn the extra point in the second game going to a shootout this season.
The Black and Gold jumped out to a 3-0 lead and were up 4-1 before a three-goal third on 26 shots by the Greyhounds saw the game go to extra time. Justin Cloutier, Jordan D’Intino, Bryce McConnell-Barker and Tyler Savard tallied for the Greyhounds.
Zhigalov made 44 saves on 48 shots faced in his 13th start. The Greyhounds pencilled in Samuel Ivanov who faced 11 Kingston shots, making 15 saves. The Colorado Avalanche prospect starred all game and made 20 saves in the third period alone. Braden Hache was a stalwart playing heavy minutes on a depleted Kingston blueline and integral in the win.
A low shooting first frame had Kingston scoring twice on four shots with Fronts holding Soo to just seven on Zhigalov taking a two-goal lead to the first intermission. Â Mitchell Brooks (2) got the Black and Gold an opening goal on consecutive nights at 13:48. After Jacob Battaglia fired a puck towards the net, Brooks got a stick on it from a good spot in the slot with defenceman Quinton Burns also assisting on the 1-0 tally.
Fronts team-leading goal scorer Francesco Arcuri (15) scored his first of two unassisted tallies, late in the first frame after the Dallas Stars prospect took advantage of a misplayed puck by Ivanov. The goaltender tried to play the puck, but Arcuri stole it on front of the crease at for a 2-0 at 18:47. Arcuri had a penalty shot denied earlier.
The teams traded goals in the second stanza with the Black and Gold getting a third straight tally to go up three before a response by the homeside sent Kingston to the third with a two-goal lead. Arcuri (16) made a nice steal at his blueline and raced in on the Soo goaltender before beating him with a nice shot low past the glove hand to make it 3-0 at 8:32 for his second of the night and took over top spot in the OHL goal scoring race.
Justin Cloutier (4) got the Hounds on the board just past the midway point of the game for a 3-1 score after forty minutes.
A combined four-goal third started at 4-1 when Linus Hemstrom (7) buried a quick shot after a swift pass by Owen Outwater reinstating a three-goal lead just 59 seconds into the third period before a valiant response by the Hounds got the game to extra time.
A pair of goals on the man advantage had the homeside within one goal midway through the frame. A nice passing play on the first powerplay got the Greyhounds back to a two-goal deficit with a Jordan D’Intino (6) finishing off a three-way passing play with Mark Duarte and Connor Toms from in front of the Kingston net at 6:51.
Less then three minutes later, the second powerplay strike came with Bryce McConnell-Barker (11) redirecting a cross crease pass over a sprawling Zhigalov to get the Hounds within one at 9:09.
The Greyhounds tied the game with the goaltender pulled when Tyler Savard (4) tipped a spinning hot by McConnell-Barker past a heavily screened Zhigalov for the 4-4 goal at 18:57 sending the game to overtime.
Zhigalov made a nice glove save on McConnell-Barker before a powerplay chance for the Soo saw Savard having a one-timer stopped by Zhigalov while on the man advantage and stoned again by a Zhigalov glove moments later. Another stop just after the penalty ended was one of many game-savers by the Kingston goaltender.
After Soo scored the first goal in the shootout, Arcuri and Callens buried their chances with Zhigalov saving two shooters to earn the first shootout win of the season. Callens made a nice forehand-backhand video game move to seal it.
The Fronts travel to Sudbury to wrap up a five-game road swing on Sunday afternoon and return to the Leon’s Centre next Friday, Nov 25th,  for a rematch with the Wolves on a special 50th-anniversary jersey night.
Scorers:
KGN – Brooks (2), Arcuri (15,16), Hemstrom (7)- (SO- Arcuri, Callens)
SOO – Cloutier (4), D’Intino (6), McConnell-Barker (11) – (SO – McConnell-Barker)
PowerPlays:
KGN – (0/1)
SOO – (2/5)
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