OHL Erie Otters

Otters Resume Pursuit of Positioning

Published on February 12, 2009 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Erie Otters News Release


The Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League return to action with Friday and Saturday games as they continue their effort to improve their playoff positioning. Friday the Otters in London to meet the Knights in a 7:30 p.m. start followed by a home game Saturday against the Kingston Frontenacs at 7 p.m.

Friday's game against the Knights 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.

Kingston arrives at the Tullio Arena on Saturday for a 7 p.m. start. The first 500 fans into the game receive Valentine's Day fudge courtesy of Kali's. Tickets for the game are available at the Civic Center Box Office, all Erie-area Ticketmaster locations, on-line at www.ottershockey.com or by calling 814-452-4857.

The Otters head into the weekend games coming off a 3-2 shootout victory over the Niagara IceDogs on Wednesday at the Tullio Arena to improve to 28-24-2-0 on the season. Erie is sixth in the Western Conference, one point ahead of Sarnia and two up on Owen Sound. The Otters trail Plymouth by one point for fifth and are only four points behind Guelph for fourth in the Conference.

Greg McKegg and Jaroslav Janus shared the hero's spotlight in the win over Niagara. McKegg scored the winning goal in the fifth round of the shootout while Janus turned aside four of the five shooters he faced.

Brandon Biggers broke out of a second-half scoring slumber with a goal and an assist in the win over the IceDogs. The overage forward ended a four-game pointless skid and enjoyed a multi-point game for the first time in 17 games. The 20 year-old Sarnia native is now tied for third in team scoring with 17 goals and 29 assists for 46 points in 54 games.

The Knights (37-14-1-2) welcome the Otters to the John Labatt Centre on Friday in the midst of their longest losing streak of the season. London has lost four straight (0-3-1-0) and haven't scored more than three goals in a game in their last six contests.

Despite their recent struggles the Knights still maintain a comfortable 12-point lead over Saginaw for second in the Western Conference.

John Tavares leads the Knights in scoring but is questionable for Friday's game due to injury. The 18 year-old forward has collected 15 goals and 24 points in 11 games with the Knights and his 41 goals and 78 points overall are tops in the OHL.

The Frontenacs enter this week's action as the worst team in the OHL, but coming off an 8-6 win in Ottawa against the playoff bound 67's on Sunday. The victory, their third against Ottawa this season, moved Kingston to 11-32-6-3 on the season (prior to a home game against the Brampton Battalion on Friday).

Nathan Moon leads the Frontenacs in scoring with 19 goals and 28 assists for 47 points in 46 games. The veteran forward enjoyed a career game against Ottawa on Sunday as he registered five assists. Ethan Werek has had an outstanding rookie season and ranks second in team scoring with 24 goals and 22 assists for 46 points in 50 games. The 17 year-old winger is tied for fourth in rookie scoring and his 24 goals are tied for the second most among OHL freshmen.

Saturday's game can also 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 6:45 p.m. It can also be seen live on the Image Sports Network at 7 p.m.

Check out the Erie Otters Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from February 12, 2009


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