VIDEO: Frost lifts Hounds to victory

Special teams can make or break a hockey game and for the Soo Greyhounds it meant a victory on Friday night.

A pair of power play goals, including the overtime winner from veteran forward Morgan Frost, along with a shorthanded marker lifted the Greyhounds to a 4-3 Ontario Hockey League win over the Kingston Frontenacs at the GFL Memorial Gardens.

Parked in the right faceoff circle, Frost converted a feed from Barrett Hayton 32 seconds into the extra period to give the Greyhounds the win.

“We know that we’ve been struggling a bit but at the same time we’ve been creating a lot,” Frost said. “We still have confidence in ourselves and we were definitely hungry to score.”

The Greyhounds finished the night 2-for-5 on the man advantage.

“It was nice to see special teams bail us out for a night,” said Greyhounds Coach John Dean. “The penalty kill was unbelievable, and the power play was unbelievable.”

“In the first period we got into penalty trouble and the guys that they have on their power play unit makes it tough for us,” said Kingston Coach Kurtis Foster. “They were clicking right away and got some great chances.”

Dean said there was some frustration on the power play early on this season as the team struggled at times.

“It seemed like if our in-zone was on, our breakout would be off, it seemed we couldn’t find a way,” Dean said. “Tonight, it clicked.”

On the game-winner, Hayton skated the puck into the high slot before feeding Frost in the right faceoff circle. Frost proceeded to beat Kingston netminder Brendan Bonello with a one-timer to end the game.

“It was a set play that we drew up,” Frost said of the winner. “I was actually supposed to be in Barrett’s position, but we switched it and it worked out pretty well. It was a nice pass by Barrett.”

The overtime goal came with Dawson Baker in the penalty box for Kingston.

“It was an undisciplined penalty that we took and as a player, it’s a learning experience,” Foster said.

Frost finished the night with two goals, both on the power play, and an assist while Hayton scored shorthanded in addition to setting up the game-winner.

Dean called Frost “the best player on the ice tonight.”

Joe Carroll had the other goal for the Greyhounds 

“Joe Carroll was phenomenal tonight,” Dean said of the sophomore winger, who played on a line with Frost and Cole MacKay. “It’s the best game he’s played all year.

Mac Hollowell assisted on three goals while MacKay added a pair of helpers for the Greyhounds. 

Rookie netminder Ethan Taylor stopped 21 shots for the Greyhounds.

“He’s seen so many different situations,” Dean said. “For a young goaltender, he’s already seen some critical minutes and critical experiences. He’s growing from it.”

Brett Neumann had a goal and an assist for Kingston while Matt Hotchkiss and Jacob Murray also scored.

Bonello made 27 saves for the Frontenacs.

Foster said he was “happy with the way we came back in the third period.”

“It was a frustrating loss, but we did a lot of good things tonight,” Foster added.

Foster called the Frontenacs structural play the most pleasing part of the game.

“We’re a team that doesn’t have the stars that some teams do,” Foster said. “We have to play structurally sound and really work at a high level every single night. Early on it wasn’t where we needed it to be but as the game went on it got better and better.”

The Greyhounds will take a 7-3-2-0 record into the finale of a six-game homestand on Saturday night against the Hamilton Bulldogs. Puck drop at the GFL Memorial Gardens is set for 7:07 p.m.

Kingston falls to 3-7-1-0.

In other action around the OHL on Friday night, in Mississauga, Jacob Ingham made 33 saves as the Mississauga Steelheads blanked the Peterborough Petes 3-0. Cole Schwindt and Filip Reisnecker had a goal and an assist each for Mississauga.

In St. Catharines, Philip Tomasino’s goal at 18:24 of the third period was the game-winner as the Niagara IceDogs beat the Windsor Spitfires 4-3. Akil Thomas had a pair of goals for Niagara. Kari Piiroinen made 40 saves for Windsor. 

In Saginaw, a five-goal outburst in the third period lifted the Barrie Colts to a 7-3 win over the Saginaw Spirit. Justin Murray had two goals and an assist for Barrie. Lucas Chiodo, Matej Pekar, and Jason Willms chipped in with a goal and two assists each for Barrie. 

In Sarnia, Nick Suzuki had two goals and two assists as the Owen Sound Attack doubled up the Sarnia Sting 6-3. Kevin Hancock added two goals and an assist for Owen Sound. 

In Sudbury, Owen Robinson had a goal and three assists as the Sudbury Wolves beat the Hamilton Bulldogs 7-5. MacAuley Carson and Quinton Byfield had two goals and an assist each for Sudbury. Arthur Kaliyev had a goal and two assists for Hamilton.

In Kitchener, Luke Richardson stopped 31 shots as the Kitchener Rangers blanked the Guelph Storm 5-0. Alexey Lipanov, and Greg Meireles had a goal and an assist each for the Rangers.

In London, Dylan Robinson and Nando Eggenberger had a goal and an assist each as the Oshawa Generals beat the London Knights 4-2. Kyle Keyser made 31 saves for Oshawa.