NWPA AHEC WEEKEND PREVIEW: The Time is Nye for Otters Hockey Homecoming
Erie, Pennsylvania – The 2024-25 season welcomes you home, Otters Nation! Last season’s playoff run still sings in the veins of the Erie hopeful, and head coach Stan Butler is looking to make playoff appearances a habit. Every player, from seasoned vets like Malcolm Spence and Pano Fimis to wide-eyed rookies like Tyler Challenger and Keagan Knight, is itching to step onto the ice and get this season started.
The Flagship City won’t have to wait long for home hockey, with the Home Opener 2024 (pres. by Erie County Community College) kicking off on Saturday, September 28 against the Brampton Steelheads – formerly of Mississauga – and we’ll need every fan’s help to fill up the Erie Insurance Arena. The final game of the 2023-24 season for the Otters saw more than 6,000 fans pack the EIA, and we hope to see all of you back again for Saturday’s Home Opener.
Before we can celebrate together at home, the Otters begin their season away on Friday with a familiar foe: The Kitchener Rangers.
AHEC YEAH!
The first week of the OHL season is here – and NWPA AHEC’s Weekend Preview” will bring the latest news, promotions, and what YOU need to know before YOU go into the season.
Northwest Pennsylvania Area Health Education Center is a non-profit organization committed to helping communities in Northwest Pennsylvania meet their primary health care needs and enhance the quality of health in our region especially the rural and underserved communities.
‘AHEC’ maintains partnerships with community, government, and educational agencies and institutions that will connect students to careers, professionals to communities and communities to better health.
Head to nwpaahec.org to learn more or to apply!
LAST TIME OUT
The Otters held their own in preseason, pouring out 29 goals in six games while finishing with a 1-5 record. The Otters exhibited pure offensive dominance in their win with 10 goals against the Saginaw Spirit. They took both the Kitchener Rangers and the London Knights through overtime and into shootouts before falling. By the time preseason wrapped up, the Otters found themselves ranked eighth in the OHL preseason Power Rankings – as well as a majority of league media pinning the Otters as “most surprising team” this season.
Faces old and new stood out during preseason, including fourth-year/OA Pano Fimis, with three goals and four assists across six games. Defensively, rookie Lucas Ambrosio pulled his weight with the vets and put up a pair of points to have one goal and one assist under his belt going into the regular season. Between the pipes, Charlie Burns stepped into the shoes left behind by last year’s Ben Gaudreau and put up 90 saves off of 103 shots, and even had an assist of his own in Erie’s shootout loss against the London Knights.
Take preseason results with a grain of salt, but these Erie Otters are sure to cause some trouble on the ice for opponents.
SING PRAISES FOR FAN FEST
Otters Nation can enjoy more than just the Home Opener, but the third-annual Home Opener Fan Fest as well on September 28 – starting at 3:00 P.M.!
This family-friendly event will feature vendors, food trucks, and live music from country music stars Karen Waldrup, Alli Walker, and Todd Cameron! Fans of all ages can enjoy various yard games, kid-focused entertainment, and the fan-favorite Red Carpet player entrance!
Fans ages 21 and up can also enjoy a selection of adult beverages while partaking in the festivities.
Don’t forget fans, Saturday also kicks off this season’s Arena District, featuring all your favorites from last season – Flagship City Food Hall, Lavery Brewing Company before doors open, The BrewErie at Union Station after the game, and Voodoo Brewing Company before and after the game.
WHO TO WATCH
Heavy weighs the crown of expectation, and it’s the veteran Pano Fimis who led the Otters in points out of preseason with seven (4G+3A). He carries his streak of leading in points over from the 2023-24 regular season, where he led the team with 76 points (25G+51A) and again in the playoff run with 11 points (4G+7A).
Tyler Challenger has already begun to make waves coming out of preseason. The rookie and 10th overall pick in the OHL Priority Selection Draft has three assists to his name as an Erie Otter. At 6’5” and 195 lbs., the center’s staggering physicality adds even more dimension to an already explosive Erie offense.
KNOW THE FOE
You may remember it was the Kitchener Rangers who dashed the Otters’ playoff run last year after an intense, offensive six-game series. In preseason, the Otters and the Rangers found themselves in a shootout before Erie fell 4-3. The Rangers took every single preseason game into a shootout as well, winning five of the six close contests and losing 4-3 to the Brantford Bulldogs. Tanner Lam leads the Rangers in points with seven (2G+5A) going into his sophomore season, and rookie goaltender Jason Schaubel has held his own in the shootouts to boast a .875 SV% and only allowing six goals off of 48 shots. Erie opens their season in Kitchener on Friday night in what is expected to be a near-sellout crowd.
Going into their first season in a new location, the Brampton Steelheads come out of preseason 1-3. Their singular win comes in the shape of a 2-1 victory over the Barrie Colts. Players to watch out for include the sophomore defenseman Finn Harding, who notched one goal and four assists in preseason, and Porter Martone, with two goals and one assist going into the regular season. Of course, this will also be a homecoming of-sorts for former Otters captain Spencer Sova and goaltender Jacob Gibbons, both traded to Brampton during the preseason. Expectations are high for the new-look Steelheads, with OHL media selecting Brampton as the winners of the Central Division, and to go far in carrying the mantle for the division in 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:
Listen to Otters Hockey all across Lake Erie on the league’s largest radio network! The Otters Radio Network gives fans the most-accessible and highest-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 96.7 FM/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 Legends 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 Otters Hockey Pregame Show starts 20 minutes prior to puck drop, hosted by the Otters broadcast team of Shawn Bednard and Trevor Kubeja.
Make sure to tune in weekdays 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 weekend’s 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
The Otters will return to conference play next week when they leave for their first weekend road trip of the season.
Erie will crack open October on Friday with a game against the London Knights at 7 P.M. at the soon-to-be-renamed Budweiser Gardens. London and Erie have enjoyed intense games in their rivalry series the last few seasons, and with the Knights expected to win the Midwest Division per OHL Media, the Otters will do their part to ensure such is not the outcome – starting with game one of the Sweet Caroline series.
They’ll take to the road again on Saturday to play the defending Memorial Cup champion Saginaw Spirit with a projected 7:05 PM puck drop. This will be both Saginaw and Erie’s first interdivisional game in the Western Conference, and promises to be the start of another great addition of the budding rivalry.
Erie faced both of these teams in the preseason, dropping both games against London by just one goal and winning against the Spirit in a decisive 10-6 victory.
