Otters Rout Generals 6-0
October 7, Erie vs Oshawa
After starting the season 1-3, the Erie Otters defeated the Oshawa Generals 6-0 at home.
With all three losses coming on the road, the Otters turned to veteran goaltender Troy Timpano against the Generals. Timpano, 18, was acquired from the Sudbury Wolves during the offseason in exchange for draft picks to stabilize an Otters net seeing the departure of long-time starter Devin Williams.
The first period was a scoreless endeavour through nineteen minutes until Allan McShane, playing the game on the Otters’ first line between Alex DeBrincat and Taylor Raddysh, jumped on a loose rebound resulting from a DeBrincat point-shot to give the Otters a 1-0 lead going into the second period. The Otters used their speed and physicality to great effect, gaining them a shot-advantage of 9-4.
Contrasted against the first twenty minutes of play, the second period opened up quickly as Erie’s Jordan Sambrook walked in from the point to snap a hard shot past Oshawa goalie Jeremy Brodeur’s glove. Oshawa had two separate odd-man rushes broken up by Erie defenseman TJ Fergus’s intelligent positioning, which kept the score 2-0 in Erie’s favor going into the third period.
Determined to keep the game from running away from them, Oshawa started the third with renewed vigor, blistering the Otters with 5 shots early in the period. Timpano, who had seen a relatively light workload through the first forty minutes, stood strong with support of the Otters defense to keep their lead 2-0. Shaun Bily registered the Otters first shot of the period at 9:30, sneaking a hard shot through Brodeur’s five-hole to put Erie up 3-0. Bily’s goal would begin a string of Erie scoring chances, with Darren Raddysh scoring shorthanded on a 2-on-1 rush and Vanya Lodnia sniping a shot past Brodeur minutes later. Patrick Fellows scored a sixth goal with less than a minute left in the game, and Erie finished its rout of Oshawa by winning 6-0.
Shaun Bily, Allan McShane, and Ivan Lodnia each had a goal and assist apiece; McShane’s tally was his first career OHL goal. Alex DeBrincat had two assists, and Troy Timpano, in his debut with the Otters, made 26 saves to secure the shutout. Jeremy Brodeur, in net for Oshawa, made 24 saves on 30 shots in the loss.
The Erie Otters return on home ice October 8 to take on the Flint Firebirds.
