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OHL Erie Otters

Daviault Earns First Star With First Otter Goal, Coach Butler Wins First As Otters' Bench Boss In Upset At North Bay

February 16, 2023 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Erie Otters News Release


North Bay, Ontario - A return trip over three years in the making finally brought the Erie Otters back to the northeast tip of the Ontario Hockey League in North Bay. As the Otters kicked off game one of the northern swing three-in-three, the team was able to partake in the inaugural return to the North Bay Memorial Gardens for head coach Stan Butler; facing the Battalion for the first time in his illustrious OHL career after 22 seasons coaching the franchise. With a homecoming trip for Coach Butler, Erie would hope to provide their bench boss his first win in truly memorable fashion. Taking on a top-five North Bay team, the task would be anything but an easy one for the Otters.

The first period for the Erie Otters was one of their best periods of the last few weeks, playing a gritty and hard-nosed frame against North Bay. Erie appeared to be the team most comfortable to control pace, as they spent much of the opening half of the period in their offensive end. While shots weren't necessarily easy to come by, the Otters certainly were able to find their way to them - shooting 11 times. With a steal in the defensive end from Pano Fimis, a perfect feed to Alexis Daviault (3) would lead to his first goal in navy and gold to put the Otters up 1-0 7:29 in. After the media timeout, the Battalion would start to normalize, as they would put themselves in the offensive end for extended periods. It would be a play from neutral ice that would lead to the team's first goal, as Dalyn Wakely (25) would strike for the Battalion 13:59 in. Erie would earn a power play late in the period, but the league's top penalty kill would come through to leave it even at 1-1 after one. Erie would outshoot North Bay 11-8.

Period two's start and finish would seem like two completely different acts, as the Erie Otters and North Bay Battalion would battle tough for the first half of the frame - with a more defensive affair taking precedence. However, as penalties started to rack up for the Battalion, Erie would find themselves on a five-on-three advantage. While unable to score up two men, Erie would score on the power play from Carey Terrance (22) with his ninth power play goal of the season. Erie would go up 2-1, but wouldn't be done yet. On the other side of a successful penalty kill, Sam Alfano and Pano Fimis (13) would collaborate to put Erie up by a pair. With under two minutes left in the period, Erie wouldn't be done yet, as Colby Saganiuk (7) would get crafty to score what would be the game-winner to make it a 4-1 Erie lead after 40. Despite the three-unanswered goals, Erie would be outshot in the period 8-7.

With spirits high and energy up, Erie would be dealt a scary situation to start the third. Alternate captain Elias Cohen would take a hard check into the boards and have to be stretchered off the ice. Down a major part of their team, Erie would play the remainder of the game with a heavy heart. It would be penalties that would result in the comeback efforts for the Battalion, as power play marks from Anthony Romani (15) and Dalyn Wakely (26) would make it a one-goal game for the final 13 minutes of the third. Erie would battle tough and take care of business, as an empty net on the other side would lead to a cherry on top from Carey Terrance (23) to put the game away for good. Behind a 24/27 save night from Nolan Lalonde and fantastic scoring efforts from First Star Alexis Daviault and Co., head coach Stan Butler would earn his first Otter win and first career win against the Battalion.

The middle portion of Erie's trip to the snowy landscapes of northern Ontario will take them to Sudbury on Friday night, and then to the GFL Memorial Gardens in Sault Ste. Marie on Saturday night. This will be Erie's first game against the Sudbury Wolves since before the pandemic, and represent the last team the Otters have waited to see in the post-pandemic era. Erie will battle a Sudbury team fighting to hold the final playoff spot in the OHL Eastern Conference.

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