The Kingston Fronteancs have officially clinched home ice advantage after a thrilling come from behind 4-3 overtime victory on home ice, against the East Division Champion Ottawa 67’s. The Fronts actually took a 2-1 lead into the third period, but needed a goal from Ethan Werek with less than 50 seconds left in the game, before Joe Pleckaitis scored less than a minute into overtime to give the Fronts the win. “We showed a lot of resolve tonight. We had a couple of breaks go against us and we had some tough calls, but we battled through all of it and stuck to the game plan and found a way to get the win,” said Head Coach Doug Gilmour.

The 67’s opened the scoring on a 5 on 3 power-play early in the game, when Tyler Cuma let a blast from the point go that beat Kingston goaltender Tyler Beskorowany through a crowd of people. The two teams had some chances from there, but Cuma’s goal would hold up as the loan goal of the opening period.

The Fronts got on the board early in the second period, when Michael Fine picked up a rebound off the end boards and slipped it past Chris Perugini, while the Fronts enjoyed a 5 on 3 power-play of their own. Jaroslav Kruzik gave the Fronts a 2-1 lead heading into the third period, after following up an offensive rush and snapping a shot past Perugini.

The Fronts thought they had put the game out of reach, when Pleckaitis tucked a puck through Perugini but after a video review, there was no way to see the puck cross the line, despite nearly the entire body of Perugini crossing the line. The goal was disallowed and seconds later Dalton Smith banged home a rebound on the doorstep and the game was tied at two. Smith was then awarded a penalty shot a short while later, but Beskorowany came up with the big save. Ottawa grabbed the lead with under six minutes to play when Cuma unloaded a slap shot from the point again, that beat Beskorowany and gave Ottawa what they thought would be the game winner. The Frontenacs would have other ideas though, as a wild scramble in front of Perugini that ended with Werek jamming the puck across the line and forcing overtime with just 46 seconds remaining in regulation time.

The Fronts didn’t waste any time in the extra frame either, as an early rush 23 seconds into the game, ended with Pleckaitis jumping on a loose puck and putting it into a yawning cage and giving Kingston the big win.

The Fronts will end the regular season next weekend with a home game against Sudbury and a pair of road games in Barrie and then end the season against the team they will more than likely see in the first round, in the Brampton Battalion.