OHL Erie Otters

Late Rally Lifts Otters to Win

Published on January 17, 2004 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Erie Otters News Release


Brian Lee and Derek Merlini scored within 1:16 of one another late in the third period to carry the ERIE OTTERS to a come-from-behind 2-1 win over the Saginaw Spirit in an Ontario Hockey League game played tonight in front of 4,486 at the Tullio Arena.

Lee's goal came on the power play with 2:35 remaining in regulation to tie the game at one followed by Merlini's eventual game winner with 1:19 lift in the third.

The two goals erased Nick Lees' score midway through the third period to break up a scoreless game. The goal ended Josh Disher's home shutout streak at 246:50, the second longest in OTTERS' franchise history. The rookie goaltender was just 1:09 seconds away from J.F. Perras' franchise mark of 247:59.

The win extended the OTTERS home winning streak to five games and their home unbeaten streak to seven games (6-0-1). ERIE improved to 21-17-5-1 on the season and combined with Guelph's 2-1 win over Owen Sound, moved the OTTERS to within one point of the Attack for sixth place in the Western Conference. The OTTERS also hold one game in hand over the Attack.

Saginaw dropped to 12-27-2-3 on the season.

The OTTERS out shot the Spirit 28-23 in the game.

The three stars of the game were all from the OTTERS. Merlini was the first, Lee the second and Disher the third.

The OTTERS complete a four-game home stand Friday and Saturday with games against the Windsor Spitfires (19-19-2-5) and Kitchener Rangers (24-12-6-1) at the Tullio Arena.

Molson presents Saturday's game against the Rangers. Tickets for the game are available at the Erie Civic Center Box Office and all Erie-area TicketMaster locations.

The games can also be heard live on SportsRadio 1330 the FAN and at www.ottershockey.com (presented by the James H. Cross Company) beginning with the pre-game show at 7:15 p.m.

Check out the Erie Otters Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from January 17, 2004


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