SEASON ENDS WITH MEMORIAL CUP SEMIFINAL LOSS TO ERIE
WINDSOR, ON – The Erie Otters scored four times in the third period and defeated the Saint John Sea Dogs, 6-3, in the MasterCard Memorial Cup semifinal, Friday at the WFCU Centre.
Taylor Raddysh scored twice for Erie while Darren Raddysh, Dylan Strome, German Poddubnyi and Warren Foegele also found the net.
Julien Gauthier paced the Saint John attack with a goal and two assists. Joe Veleno and Thomas Chabot had one goal each.
The Sea Dogs have been eliminated from the MasterCard Memorial Cup. The Otters will face the host Windsor Spitfires in Sunday’s championship game.
A scoring summary is available HERE.
The Otters opened the scoring near the halfway mark of the first period.
Darren Raddysh won a race to a loose puck in the right corner of the Saint John zone, got away from his check and chipped a shot over the glove of goalie Callum Booth.
But Veleno tied the game about four minutes later.
The second-year pivot helped create a turnover below the goal line in the Erie zone. Gauthier retrieved the puck in the left corner and found Spencer Smallman in the circle. His shot was stopped, but Veleno batted the rebound out of the air and past the glove of Otters’ goalie Troy Timpano.
The OHL champions regained the lead with a power play goal with nine minutes left in the second period.
Anthony Cirelli’s wrister from the right circle was stopped by Booth, but Taylor Raddysh corralled the rebound and ripped a wrister past the goalie’s blocker.
Erie thought it had taken a two-goal lead late in the period when, during a delayed penalty, Taylor Raddysh grabbed the puck on the left side during a 2-on-1 and sent a wrister inside the left post. But the delayed call was against the Otters and the goal was waived off.
On the ensuing Saint John power play, the Sea Dogs moved the puck to Mathieu Joseph on the right side of the crease. He fed Gauthier in the low slot, where the Carolina Hurricanes’ first-rounder snapped a quick shot over Timpano’s blocker to tie the game at 2-2.
Strome gave Erie the lead again two-and-a-half minutes into the 3rd period, stepping in on the left wing and snapping a wrist shot that beat Booth through his legs.
Only 67 seconds later, the Otters created a turnover in the Sea Dogs’ zone allowing Poddubnyi to rip a wrist shot past a surprised Booth.
Taylor Raddysh’s second goal of the night made it a 5-2 game.
The Tampa Bay Lightning prospect was lurking near the left wing side of the crease when a shot from the slot was stopped by Booth. The rebound rolled past the goalie’s right leg near the post where Raddysh steered it across the goal line.
Chabot got one back with three-and-a-half minutes left.
The QMJHL’s top defenceman took a pass near the Otters’ blueline and deflected it to the right wing for Gauthier. Chabot drove the net, took a return pass and rifled it past Timpano’s blocker, bowling over the goaltender in the process.
But that’s as close as Saint John would get.
Foegele wrapped up the scoring with an empty-net goal with 33.3 seconds remaining.
Timpano earned the win with 20 saves. Booth made 31 stops in a losing cause.
Taylor Raddysh’s two goals made him first star while Alex DeBrincat earned second star with three assists. Gauthier snared third star with his three points in front of 5,410 fans in attendance.