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OHL Erie Otters

Lalonde Stops 37, Otters Earn Point in Shootout Loss

February 28, 2023 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Erie Otters News Release


Erie, Pennsylvania - For the first time in the 2022-23 season, the Erie Otters and Hamilton Bulldogs would do battle - representing Erie's final new foe of the year. The final game of February also closed out the Erie Otters celebrations of Black History Month, working alongside Erie's Black Wall Street for Black Ice Night. As the team prepares for the final weeks of the OHL season, the Otters would look for every point they could enroute to the hope of a playoff berth.

With hopes for points for either contingency, two teams known for offense would not produce much in the opening 20. A defensive-focused first period of play would see just 14 shots mustered in the full frame - only four of them belonging to the Erie Otters. As far as action was concerned, Erie would go 1/1 on the PK in the period, and Nolan Lalonde would stop 10/10 as Hamilton and Erie would play to a deadlocked 0-0 game.

After a scoreless first period, Erie wouldn't delay any longer to finally get on the scoreboard - and as the old adage goes, good things come in threes. On their first power play of the night, Erie would strike just :12 in as Carey Terrance (26) would earn power play goal #11 just :55 into the second period. From there, the tide of the game would start to shift in favor of the Otters - and the goals would continue to come. 7:15 into the frame, Sam Alfano (13) would score his third goal in two games to put the Otters ahead 2-0. Just over two minutes later, Erie would finally see the first goal of the season from Owain Johnston (1) to put the Otters up by a trio. With 40 minutes in the books, Erie would take a 3-0 lead despite being outshot 27-17.

All the goodwill allotted in the second period would be lost in the third, as the Hamilton Bulldogs would come out swinging to start the final frame. :46 into the third, Cole Brown (14) would finally snap the shutout for Lalonde with the 28th shot of the night for Hamilton. Exactly :30 later, Jorian Donovan (12) would suddenly turn the game to a one-goal game with nearly the entirety of the third period remaining. As the halfway mark of the third period would approach, the game would be knotted up by Patrick Thomas (16) to make it a 3-3 game. Erie and Hamilton would trade opportunities in the final 10 minutes, but the efforts of either offense would go for naught as the game would head to an extra frame.

Overtime would present opportunities for either side, as the Otters would kill off the penalty and play four-on-four into the three-minute mark. While seven shots would be fired, both goaltenders would come away big-time, and prevent anything from crossing the goal line. Into the shootout, it would be scoreless after the first round, but goals from Cole Brown and Sahil Panwar would give the Bulldogs a 2-0 shootout victory. Erie falls to 0-5 in shootouts, but does grab a point.

Thus ends the month of February, and starts off the final month of the 2022-23 Ontario Hockey League season. With 12 games remaining in the season for the Otters, it'll be a frantic run in the final weeks to take whatever points they can in their playoff pursuits. Next time out, the Erie Otters will have a three-in-three weekend at Kitchener on Friday, home against Peterborough on Saturday for Throwback / Erie Blades Night, and in Hamilton on Sunday afternoon.

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from February 28, 2023


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