WEEKEND PREVIEW: SUDS, SPORTS, AND CELEBRATIONS AWAIT
Erie, Pennsylvania – A weekend without any time spent on the bus is always a welcome weekend for the Erie Otters, as the team prepares for three home contests.
Erie starts their week off with a rare Thursday night game, taking on division foes in the Owen Sound Attack. Erie will have Friday off and return to the ice Saturday to host the Oshawa Generals for the first time since the 2019-2020 season. The last game of the week will be a special Monday afternoon game on Martin Luther King Jr. Day against the Mississauga Steelheads.
LAST TIME OUT
Erie started the year 2023 with a three-in-three weekend, starting with a home-and-home against the Guelph Storm. Guelph would be victorious in both games against the Otters, winning 7-2 in Guelph and 4-3 in Erie. Erie would play the last game of the weekend against the Sarnia Sting, who would take a 5-2 victory on the road.
A 12-20-0-3 record has the Otters currently at the bottom of the OHL Western Conference standings, but the weekend ahead could provide positives for Erie. The Otters defeated both Owen Sound and Mississauga at home earlier this season. Erie also has a similar record to the Generals team coming into Erie on Saturday. These three games are critical for the team and could be the kickstart they need for a playoff push.
WHO TO WATCH
The newest Otter, Pano Fimis played well in his first three games in navy and gold, recording his first assist and goal for his new team in a matter of back-to-back games. The former IceDog, who was the team’s leading-scorer, looks to continue his great season with his new team as he prepares for familiar Eastern Conference foes.
Erie also returned two key players to the forward corps, as both Liam Gilmartin and Colby Saganiuk re-debuted for the team. Both players were key contributors in last week’s games; Gilmartin recorded three assists on the weekend, while Saganiuk saw a two-point game (1G+1A) in Saturday night’s matchup against Guelph.
LONG WEEKEND FUN AHEAD
Why not start the weekend early on Thursday? The Erie Otters welcome Owen Sound to town with a Thirsty Thursday. Fans can enjoy $2 Bud Light in the Bud Light Lounge from 5:30 through the 10-minute mark of the first period. Kick back and soak up the suds!
Saturday will not just recognize the team on the ice but those youth sports teams across NWPA as the Erie Otters host Youth Sports Night. The first 1000 fans will receive an Otters Jersey Lunch Bag (pres. by Rebich Investments). Youth Sports teams are invited for a fun night out representing their team!
Erie will wrap the weekend off with the kickoff to our Black History Month celebrations! On Monday, January 16 at 2:00 P.M., the Otters host the Second Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Game. With an afternoon start time, the Otters will unveil the programs that February will hold for Black History Month – including a very special warm up jersey. Alongside Otters’ broadcast assistant Trevor Kubeja, up-and-coming broadcaster Trey Matthews will have the call on CHL TV as the Second Black Play-by-Play Broadcaster in CHL history.
Matthews has called college hockey games for his alma mater of Adrian College, and his current graduate-studies college, Arizona State University. In November, Matthews called his first NCAA Division 1 hockey game on the university student radio station, Blaze Radio. The Philadelphia-resident continues the tradition of breaking barriers for Black broadcasters in the same booth where Pittsburgh’s Alex Randall called a game as the First Black Play-by-Play Broadcaster in CHL history.
KNOW THE FOES
The Owen Sound Attack come to Erie for the team’s fifth of six matchups this season. Erie hosted the first two matchups which saw a weekend split. Those same results would not repeat themselves in Owen Sound, as the Otters would drop both weekend games played at the Harry S. Lumley Bayshore Community Centre.
The “Bayshore Bears” sit in the middle of the pack in sixth place in the Western Conference with an 18-14-3-1 record. Colby Barlow remains the team’s leading point (46) and goal getter (25). Cedrick Guindon (Montreal) leads the team in assists (29). In net for the Attack, look to see Nick Chenard who has an.890 SV%. Owen Sound heads to Niagara for a Wednesday night game at the Meridian Centre before heading to Erie and ending their week back by the Bayshore on Saturday against the Guelph Storm.
A team Erie has not met since February 15th, 2020, comes to the Erie Insurance Arena on Saturday – the Oshawa Generals. The last time these two teams played saw a 6-5 Erie victory in a shootout. The current Generals sit 13-9-1-3 sit in ninth place in the Eastern Conference with 30 points. Oshawa is one point behind Sudbury in the Eastern Conference playoff standings. Ryan Gagnier leads the team in assists (23) and points (36) while Stuart Rolofs leads in goals (14). The Generals have added some new faces to the roster including Sarnia’s Ryder McIntyre, Flint’s Luca D’Amato, and Kitchener’s Joseph Serpa. Oshawa travels to Kitchener Friday night before their trip to Erie on Saturday.
Monday sees the Mississauga Steelheads come to town for the third matchup of the season. Another middle ground team with a record of 17-16-4-0 sits in fifth place in the OHL Eastern Conference. The Steelheads made a huge splash at the trade deadline, trading both Luca Del Bel Belluz and Ethan Del Mastro to Sarnia in exchange for Porter Martone and Angus Macdonell. The Steelheads would also trade Owen Beck and a pick to the Petes in exchange for Justin Van Volsen, Justin De Zoete, and Stevie Leskovar. The new Steelheads join top scorer James Hardie (24G+21A) as they make to push into the playoffs.
HOW TO WATCH, LISTEN, & FOLLOW ALONG
WATCH:
“OHL Live” is the Ontario Hockey League’s broadcast home on CHL TV! OHL Live delivers a high-quality viewing experience while providing access to more than 700 OHL games streamed across a range of platforms including:
- PC and/or Tablet on Safari and Google Chrome web browsers
- iOS / Android mobile devices.
- Amazon Fire
- Apple TV
- Roku platforms
For less than $2/game, OHL Live provides live game action all season long, plus free-to-access video-on-demand content and a user-friendly interface that is easy to navigate. For more information, head to watch.chl.ca/ohl!
LISTEN:
The League’s largest radio network, the Otters Radio Network gives fans the most-accessible and high-quality way to experience every moment of Otters’ game night – from pregame to postgame.
Every game can feel like a home game as a fan with the Otters Radio Network. With live-game broadcasts of all 68 Regular Season games, fans can always hear the action as it happens. Thanks to the Broadcast Home for Otters Hockey, iHeart Media Erie, fans can listen to every game LIVE on the iHeart App from ANYWHERE in the world! From Pennsylvania to Transylvania and everywhere in between, you’ll always be in range to hear Otters Hockey.
The Otters Radio Network is larger than ever before on terrestrial & digital radio – from Southeast Michigan to Southwest New York!
- iHeart Media (Erie, PA) is the Flagship Station for the Otters on WJET 1400 AM, and home to Otters Hockey in Pennsylvania. Games can be heard on terrestrial radio on 1400 AM in Erie and surrounding communities of NWPA, or can be livestreamed worldwide on the iHeart App.
- Media One Radio Group – Ohio (Ashtabula, OH) is home to Otters Hockey in Ohio on ESPN 970 WFUN. Games can be heard on terrestrial radio on 970 AM in Ashtabula and surrounding communities of Northeast Ohio and NWPA, or can be livestreamed worldwide on WFUN’s website.
- Media One Radio Group – New York (Jamestown, NY) is home to Otters Hockey in New York State on Kissin’ Oldies 1340 WKSN. Games can be heard on terrestrial radio on 1340 AM in Jamestown and surrounding communities of Southwest New York and NWPA, or can be livestreamed worldwide on WKSN’s website.
- ESPN Radio Michigan Regional Sports Network (Flint, MI) is home to Otters Hockey in Michigan. Games can be livestreamed worldwide on MRSN’s website.
Fans can also listen to the game on any of the Otters’ four radio-homes on the Listen Live page. The Lavery Brewing Pregame Show starts 20 minutes prior to the Drop The Gloves Puck Drop, hosted by the Voice of the Otters Shawn Bednard.
Make sure to tune in week days from 11 A.M. to 5 P.M. on Fox Sports 1330, Happi 92.7 FM, WERG 90.5 FM, 106.3 FM WCTL, Kinzua County 104.3 FM (Warren, PA), Channel 98.9 FM & Sunny 105.7 FM (Corry, PA), FOX Sports Radio Oil City 1120 & 104.1 FM (Oil City), ESPN 970 WFUN (Ashtabula, OH), WKSN 1340 AM & WQFX 103.1 (Jamestown, NY), and ESPN Radio MRSN (Flint, MI) to hear the ‘Otters Daily Update’, giving you all the insight on your Otters.
FOLLOW ALONG:
If you want to follow along in-real-time to the weekends games, make sure you’re following the Otters on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. From live tweets of the action, scoring updates, photos, and highlights, Otters’ social media is the best way to keep up with the team wherever they are.
UP NEXT
Erie won’t see home ice again until the final weekend of January, as the team takes on four-straight opponents on the road.
Erie will have three games in four days on a western road trip, as the team heads to Shane Wright and the Windsor Spitfires on Thursday, January 19. The Otters will have their final road game against the Sarnia Sting on Friday, January 20 at the Progressive Auto Sales Arena. After an off-day on Saturday, the Otters close out the weekend with their first trip to the Dort Financial Center in Flint, MI of the season to battle the Firebirds,
The Otters will return home for a few days reprieve, before a one-day trip to St. Catharine’s, ONT to battle the Niagara IceDogs for the final time on the road.
