OHL Erie Otters

Otters Hit Road to Vehicle City for Season Opener

October 8, 2021 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Erie Otters News Release


Flint, Michigan - For the first time in 581 days, the Erie Otters will do regular season battle in the Ontario Hockey League, as they invade the Vehicle City for a battle with the Flint Firebirds in the newly-renovated Dort Financial Center on Saturday, October 9. Long anticipated is nothing short of an understatement, as the OHL was forced to sit-out of the 2020-21 season due to the Coronavirus pandemic. With the proper steps taken by the league and member teams ensuring the utmost safety and preparedness, hockey has finally returned.

PREVIOUSLY ON PRESEASON HOCKEY

The Erie Otters concluded their preseason schedule in western Flint on Saturday, October 2 dropping a last-minute loss to the Firebirds 7-6 in matinee action. Saturday's loss was the second-straight for the Otters, as they finished their preseason 3-2. All started well for Erie as they started their exhibition schedule at home, sweeping Saginaw and Flint at the Erie Insurance Arena - 2-0 against Saginaw (5-4, 7-4) and 1-0 against Flint (10-2).

The big name around the rink for the Otters in exhibition was Noah Sedore ('02). The 19-year-old forward played in all five games, finding his way to a goal-per-game and assist-per-game skater, finishing with 11 points (5G+6A), a +8, and a staggering 22 SOG. The eyes will certainly be on the Bobcaygeon-native as the regular season starts.

The young-guns of the Otters made their presence known as well - #10 overall pick of the 2021 OHL Draft Carey Terrance ('05) made his debut preseason noteworthy, scoring a goal-per-game for a 5 point (4G+1A) preseason. #8 Overall Pick in the 2020 OHL Draft (#22 2022 NHL Draft Prospect) Spencer Sova was busy on the set-up side, getting an assist-per-game for a 6 point (2G+4A) preseason debut.

810-YEAH

Saturday Night's game will mark the 19th all-time meeting between the Erie Otters and Flint Firebirds, and first-ever season opener between the two teams. Erie holds the series record, 12-3-2-1. Flint won the last two meetings (2019), both in Overtime. In the last seven games at Flint, the Otters are 5-0-1-1. Historically, the Firebirds and Otters have only played a maximum of four games against each other per season - they'll meet that many times in the month of October alone.

During the 2021-22 season, Erie and Flint will do battle 12 times - triple the amount of previous seasons. After a 1-1 preseason against the Firebirds, the Otters will look to steal a road win to start their regular season off right, before returning to Flint on October 14.

WHO TO WATCH

Two notable names come to mind from the 2021 OHL preseason for the Otters and Firebirds - Flint's Amadeus Lombardi and Erie's Noah Sedore. Both players made it their mission to put the puck in the back of the net a handful of times, finding five goals each, with Sedore scoring 11 points (5G+6A) and Lombardi scoring 9 points (5G+4A). Worth noting, four of Lombardi's five goals came against Erie on October 2.

Not to be outdone, Erie's Brendan Sellan matched Lombardi's scoring to a T, with 9 points (5G+4A) in five games for an impressive +9. Sahil Panwar was the second-leading scorer for the preseason Firebirds, earning 6 points (1G+5A) in four games - he also lead the way with 17 SOG. Notable scorers on either side could be game-changers.

HOW TO WATCH, LISTEN, & FOLLOW ALONG

WATCH:

The Canadian Hockey League was diligent during the extended-offseason, resulting in the creation of the all-new CHL TV! Debuting for Otters' fans on Saturday night, "OHL Live" is the Ontario Hockey League's broadcast home on the all-new CHL TV! OHL Live delivers a high-quality viewing experience while providing access to more than 700 OHL games streamed across a range of platforms including:

PC and/or Tablet on Safari and Google Chrome web browsers

iOS / Android mobile devices.

Amazon Fire

Apple TV

Roku platforms

For less than $2/game, OHL Live provides live game action all season long, plus free-to-access video-on-demand content and a user-friendly interface that is easy to navigate. For more information, head to watch.chl.ca/ohl!

LISTEN:

The all-new Otters Radio Network debuts on Saturday, giving fans the most-accessible and high-quality way to experience every moment of Otters' game night - from pregame to postgame.

Thanks to the Broadcast Home for Otters Hockey, iHeart Media Erie, fans can now listen to every game LIVE on the iHeart App from ANYWHERE in the world! From Pennsylvania to Transylvania and everywhere in between, fans are always in range to hear Otters Hockey. The Otters Radio Network is larger than ever before on terrestrial & digital radio - from Southeast Michigan back to downtown Erie!

iHeart Media (Erie, PA) is the Flagship Station for the Otters on WJET 1400 AM, and home to Otters Hockey in Pennsylvania. Games can be heard on terrestrial radio on 1400 AM in Erie and surrounding communities of NWPA, or can be livestreamed worldwide on the iHeart App.

ESPN 970AM WFUN (Ashtabula, OH) is home to Otters Hockey in Ohio. Games can be heard on terrestrial radio on 970 AM in Ashtabula and surrounding communities of Northeast Ohio and NWPA, or can be livestreamed worldwide on WFUN's website.

ESPN Radio Michigan Regional Sports Network (Flint, MI) is home to Otters Hockey in Michigan. Games can be livestreamed worldwide on MRSN's website or the TuneIn App.

Fans can also listen to the game on any of the Otters' three radio-homes on the Listen Live page.

Flint-native and Voice of the Otters Shawn Bednard returns to the arena where he called his first OHL game, as the Otters look to start off the 2021-22 season with a win. Fans can hear Bednard call his first game with the Otters starting at 6:40 P.M. est for the Otters Hockey Pregame Show, with the Drop The Gloves Puck Drop scheduled for 7:00.

FOLLOW ALONG:

If you're on the run on Saturday night and can't watch/listen to the game, or just want to follow along in-real-time, make sure you're following the Otters on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. From live tweets of the action, scoring updates, photos, and highlights, Otters' social media is the best way to keep up with the team wherever they are.

UP NEXT

After a short resting period, the Otters hit the road back to the Mitten State for a three game weekend. The weekend starts back in Flint on Thursday, October 14 at 7:00 P.M., before the Otters travel north on I-75 for a Saturday night / Sunday evening affair with the Saginaw Spirit. These three games will represent the last road games of October for the Otters, as they welcome Saginaw and Flint for four games the ensuing weekends.

October 23 is OPENING NIGHT for the Erie Otters at home, and you won't want to miss the return of OHL Hockey to the Flagship City. Single Game Tickets are on-sale NOW!

Fans will be able to watch, listen, and follow along to all four road games in October - and every game this season - on the Otters Radio Network, CHL TV, and on Otters' social media.

Check out the Erie Otters Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from October 8, 2021


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