OHL Erie Otters

Otters grind out 5-2 win against IceDogs

February 18, 2011 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Erie Otters News Release


A hard-working effort by the Erie Otters (31-24-1-1) gave the team a crucial two points in the standings as they defeated one of the top teams in junior hockey with a 5-2 win over the Niagara IceDogs Friday night at Tullio Arena.

The first period was dominated by Niagara penalties that gave the Otters five power plays in the opening 20 minutes. Unfortunately for Erie, they couldn't covert on any of their chances in the opening frame, and it was the IceDogs that were unable to score during an Erie man advantage. Darren Archibald finished off a two-on-one shorthanded to give Niagara a 1-0 lead into the second period.

Despite stopping 14 Erie shots in the first, Dalton McGrath was pulled for Mark Visentin at the start of the second. The task of beating one of the top netminders in the OHL could have been difficult for the Otters, but it was Visentin that found it difficult to stop the Otters at the start of the second.

Greg McKegg found Connor Crisp at the stick side of the crease where the rookie squeaked the puck past Visentin to tie the game 29 seconds into the second, the period's first shot. The goal was Crisp's third of the season.

Two minutes into the period, Phil Varone scored on the Otters' second shot of the period to give Erie the lead. The overage center blasted a shot from the high slot through Visentin on the power play to make it a 2-1 lead for the Otters. Varone now has a 15-game point scoring streak dating back to January 14, with 11 goals and 21 assists.

The Otters continued to have more power plays in the second, but were unable to score on them for the remainder of the night, going 1-for-10. The IceDogs took advantage of their own power play late in the second as Steven Shipley scored his 16th of the season to knot the game at two going into the third period.

In the third period, Brett Thompson and the rest of the APB Line took over. Thompson stole the puck from Jesse Graham behind the net and shot past a surprised Visentin for his 39th goal of the season at 6:27, allowing the 3,664 fans at Tullio Arena (including Brett's parents, Billy and Paula, who came down to Sault Ste. Marie in their first trip to Erie) to erupt with joy as the Otters took a 3-2 lead and never looked back. Thompson now has goals in seven straight games, the longest active streak in the OHL.

Thompson put his thievery skills to work against at 11:14, as Visentin became his next victim. Thompson bothered the goaltender behind the net just enough to steal the puck and find Anthony Luciani with a perfect pass in front of an open net, leading to an easy 23rd goal of the season for Luciani.

Varone then added the cherry on top with an empty net for his second tally of the game with 20.1 seconds remaining, giving the Otters their seventh straight win at Tullio Arena.

Ramis Sadikov made 29 saves for the Otters in the win, as Erie outshot Niagara, 36-31. Varone (2g), Luciani (1g, 1a) and Thompson (1g, 1a) each had two points for Erie.

The Otters play at home Saturday night at 7:00 p.m., when the Guelph Storm visit Erie for Greg McKegg Lithograph Night presented by the "e". For tickets, call 814-452-4857 or log on to ottershockey.com.

For further information contact the Erie Otters at 814-455-7779 or e-mail the Otters at paul@ottershockey.com.

Check out the Erie Otters Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from February 18, 2011


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central