OHL Erie Otters

Otters Take Down Majors in a Shootout, 3-2

January 20, 2011 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Erie Otters News Release


Shawn Szydlowski's goal in the shootout lifted the Erie Otters (23-20-1-1) to an impressive 3-2 win over the No. 2-ranked Mississauga St. Michael's Majors Thursday night at Tullio Arena. The win gave the Otters a sweep of the season series over the Memorial Cup hosts, as they ran their win streak to three games.

The Majors grabed the first two goals of the game on tallies by Devante Smith-Pelly and Derek Schoenmakers. The Otters had four power plays in the first period, but were unable to convert on any of them. Brett Thompson put the Otters on the board at the 17:02 mark after taking a pass from Derek Holden and burying a shot through the blocker side of JP Anderson for his 27th goal of the season, putting the Otters within a goal going into the second.

Phil Varone tied the game up for the Otters at 6:58 of the second after a great pass by Szydlowski. The Michigan native fired a perfect pass to Varone in front of the net, where he redirected the puck through Anderson for his 19th goal of the season. Ramis Sadikov then did his job and stopped all 13 Mississauga shots to keep the game tied at two after two periods of play.

Sadikov continued to impress for the remainder of the game, stopping 13 shots through the third and overtime periods to force a shootout. The Otters also killed off a penalty late in regulation that helped them earn a point.

Szydlowski scored the lone goal in the shootout's second round after firing a laser through the blocker side of Anderson. Sadikov sealed the win in the third round after poking the puck away from Casey Cizikas to set off a huge celebration from the Otters' bench.

Sadikov made 36 saves to earn first star honors for the Otters, who are now 5-0 on Thursday home games not held on Thanksgiving.

The Otters now head on their longest road trip of the season, starting Friday night in Sarnia against the Sting at 7:07 p.m. Fans can listen to the action on Fox Sports Radio AM 1330 The Fan.

Check out the Erie Otters Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from January 20, 2011


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