Attack Get First Pre Season Win
Woodstock, Ont. – The Erie Otters attempted a third period comeback against the Owen Sound Attack, but it was a four-goal second period by the Attack that proved to be the difference in Owen Sound’s win Saturday night in Woodstock, Ont.
Played in front of a good crowd at a neutral site to benefit the Woodstock Minor Hockey Association, the teams combined for some offensive fireworks throughout the night.
Mike Cazzola, who was playing in his first game of the preseason, broke the ice for the Otters at the 8:06 mark. The overager won the draw outside of the Attack zone and played the puck forward to himself in the slot, where he lifted a shot past the glove of J.P. Cesario to put the Otters on the board.
The Attack responded 40 seconds later as Jarrod Maidens tapped in a one-timer feed from Mike Halmo to tie the game at one.
First round draft pick Stephen Harper then put the Otters back in front with a power play goal at 13:51. A Kris Grant shot from the point ricocheted off the end boards to the stick of Harper at the bottom of the left circle, where he threw the puck in past Cesario for his first goal of the preseason.
The Otters then killed off a penalty towards the end of the first period, maintaining their 2-1 lead going into the second frame.
However, the second would be owned by the Attack, who fired home four unanswered goals during the period to take a 5-2 lead after 40 minutes of play. Holden Cook, Joe Blandisi, Brendan Childerley and Artur Gavrus all scored for the Attack in the period.
In the third period, the Otters started to tilt the ice in their favor as Chris Marchese scored a minute and 18 seconds into the period. Last year’s first round pick took a one-timer pass from Cazzola between the legs of Jacob Riley for his second marker of the preseason.
The Otters crawled to within a goal as second round selection Jake Evans finished off a three-on-one into the Attack end by taking a feed from Connor Brown and depositing the puck through the five hole of Riley at 6:58.
Unfortunately for the Otters, Zach Nastasiuk put the game out of reach with five minutes, 44 seconds remaining as he forced a turnover in the Otters zone and sneaked the puck under the left pad of Chris Festarini to give the Attack a 6-4 win.
The Attack is back in action at home on Thursday, September 15th when they play host to the Mississauga St Michael’s Majors. Tickets can be purchased ahead of time at the Attack box Office or on the way into the game. Also a reminder to fans that Season Tickets are available for pickup.
*A special thanks to Paul Roper and the Erie Otters for providing the game write up.
