OHL Erie Otters

One on the Road and Back Home for Otters

Published on November 20, 2008 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Erie Otters News Release


The Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League return to action this weekend with a road game in Kitchener against the Rangers on Friday followed by a home contest against the London Knights on Saturday.

Friday's game can be heard live on FOX Sports Radio AM 1330 The FAN and on-line at www.ottershockey.com (presented by the James H. Cross Company) beginning with the pre-game show at 7:15 p.m.

Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Tullio Arena the first 2,000 fans into the game will receive a free cheesy roll coupon courtesy of Taco Bell. Tickets for the game are available at all Erie-area Ticketmaster locations, the Civic Center Box Office, on-line at www.ottershockey.com or by calling 814-452-4857.

The Otters enter weekend action coming off a split of a pair of home games against the Owen Sound Attack to move to 11-10-1-0 on the season. Erie completed the set of games with a 6-3 win over the Attack on Saturday. Zack Torquato paced the Otters with a goal and two assists while Andrew Yogan (pictured) and Paul Cianfrini supplied a goal and an assist each. For Yogan, the performance marked his first goal and assist as a member of the Otters while Cianfrini's goal was his first of the season.

Friday in Kitchener the Otters face a team in the Rangers who have struggled since getting off to a surprisingly good start. After posting an 8-1-0-1 record in their first 10 games, Kitchener has managed only two wins in their last 11 games to drop to 10-9-1-1 overall.

Already hampered by injuries, the Rangers received more bad news this week when they learned Brandon Mashinter, their leading scorer, is out indefinitely with an injured knee. The overage forward was enjoying a breakout season with 14 goals and 12 assists for 26 points in 20 games. The loss of Mashinter will be particularly tough for the Rangers who have struggled offensively with only 62 goals for, the fewest in the Western Conference.

The Knights (17-5-0-1) arrive in Erie on Saturday in the midst of a six-game winning streak but also missing their leading scorer. Nazem Kadri, rated in the top-three in the OHL by NHL Central Scouting in their preliminary rankings for the 2009 NHL Entry Draft released this week, suffered a broken jaw last weekend and will be out of the line-up for up to four weeks. The 18 year-old forward was tied for sixth in OHL scoring with 12 goals and 16 assists for 28 points in 21 games.

As the second highest scoring team in the OHL (92 goals), the Knights feature a wealth of depth up front to withstand the loss of Kadri. Philip McRae and Daniel Erlich assume the role of London leading scorers, both with 23 points on the season.

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from November 20, 2008


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