Sushko plays OT hero in Erie

The Owen Sound Attack kicked off their weekend in Erie, Pennsylvania on a positive note thanks to a gorgeous overtime goal by Maxim Sushko on Friday, Oct. 21.

With 2:25 left to play in the extra frame, the Belorussian rookie undressed three Otters’ players before ripping a backhand into the cage to give Owen Sound a 4-3 OT win over the Otters.

Sushko’s 5th goal of the season would round out the scoring on a game that saw the Attack jump out to a quick lead but have to battle back twice in order to even force the three-on-three session.

But thanks to the rookie’s heroics, and a number of big saves by netminder Michael McNiven, the Attack were able to skate away with the win, handing Erie their first loss on home ice this season.

Owen Sound came out looking to take the air out of the Erie Insurance Arena early in the roadtrip, and they did just that.

Just 22 seconds into the game, Jonah Gadjovich would go short-side on Otters’ goaltender Jake Lawr to score his 3rd of the season and put the Attack up 1-0. Ethan Szypula and Jacob Friend would register assists on the play, which marked the 1st time that Erie had trailed on home ice in the 2016-17 season.

Erie would claw back though, and after the Attack dominated the 1st half of the period, the Otters would turn the momentum in their favour after a missed chance by the Attack in the Erie zone.

With no one near him, Attack forward Matt Schmalz would fire a puck wide of the cage that Erie would pick up and take the other way. The Otters would eventually work the puck below the Attack goal-line, and Allan McShane would find the back of the net at the 10:54 mark of the 1st to make it a 1-1 game.

That score would stay the same until near the midway mark of the 2nd, a period that seemed very similar to the 1st in terms of game flow.

Owen Sound would start the middle stanza with the definite edge in momentum, but after a flurry of shots were turned aside by Lawr, the Otters would find themselves the beneficiaries of a lucky bounce once again.

Shaun Bily would make it a 2-1 lead for the home team with 7:14 having elapsed in the frame, picking up a loose puck in the Attack slot and firing it by the glove hand of Michael McNiven to give Erie their 1st lead of the night.

But this time it was Owen Sound’s turn to rebound.

After a flurry of saves by Michael McNiven, the Attack would strike back on a goal by Kevin Hancock with 13:36 having been played in the middle stanza. Hancock’s 3rd of the year would come on a hard snapshot that eluded Lawr over the glove hand, and was assisted by Petrus Palmu to give the Finnish import 18 points on the season.

Any momentum gained by Owen Sound on Hancock’s goal was quickly erased though.

Just 12 seconds after the Attack tied the game, Taylor Raddysh would add to his league leading point total by sneaking a backhander between McNiven’s lead and into the net to restore Erie’s one goal lead.

Goals were coming fast and furiously in the 2nd period though, and Owen Sound would respond again, bringing the teams even at three-apiece thanks to Zachary Roberts’ 2nd goal of the year.

With 15:18 gone in the frame, Roberts snuck into the Erie slot and one-timed a pass from Justin Brack into the back of the net to tie the game up again.

Roberts’ goal would mark the end of the scoring through two periods of play, but the highlight of the game would come just before the 2nd period ended when Micahel McNiven made a point-blank glove save on Erie’s Brett Neuman, who had broken in on a shorthanded breakaway.

That stop would send the Midwest Division rivals to the intermission locked at three and looking for the deciding goal in the game’s final period.

But the 3rd period wouldn’t decide the game, and the teams would need an overtime period to determine who skated away with the full two points.

Both teams had chances in the first half of the overtime, but it would be a solo effort by Maxim Sushko that would end the game with 2:25 remaining in the 4th period.

Sushko would fight off a pair of Otters on the half wall before snaking his way into the middle of the ice and firing a bullet of a backhand past Jake Lawr and into the net to give the Attack the 4-3 victory. The unassisted effort would be enough to earn Sushko the Mac Taylor Corporation 1st Star of the Game while Attack forward Kevin Hancock was named the game’s 3rd star.

Erie leading scorer Taylor Raddysh was named the game’s 2nd star thanks to his goal on the evening.

Owen Sound netminder Michael McNiven turned aside 22 shots on the evening and the Mark McDade ReMax Shots On Goal finished at 36-25 in favour of the Bears.

The Attack and Otters will renew hostilities on Saturday night when they tangle once again at the Erie Insurance Arena.

Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00pm and fans can catch the game live on Rogers Local 53, by tuning in to Kia of Owen Sound/Terry’s Trailer Service Bear Radio on 560 CFOS, as well as on the OHL Live Action Pak.

Owen Sound will play their next home game on Wednesday, Oct. 26 when the Guelph Storm are in town for a 7:00pm contest.

Tickets for that game, as well as Owen Sound’s remaining home dates, are available at the MacVicar & McComb ReMax Box Office, online at www.attackhockey.com, or by calling 519-371-7452.