THREE STARS: Three Point Weekend Closes October
Erie, Pennsylvania – October finished with an exciting weekend, full of triumphant returns and exciting action on ice!
The week started on Friday on the road against the Barrie Colts, where the Otters saw out a tight 2-1 victory. The Otters would find gold over halfway through the first period and it would be nothing but back-and-forth play for the better part of the game until Erie found the game-winner less than two minutes into the first. Barrie would cut the Otters’ lead in half, but the good guy would see out a victory on away ice.
There would be no rest for the Otters as they would once again take the road on Saturday to play the Kitchener Rangers. The Kitchener attack would come early and in full force and the Otters would take an early 3-0 deficit going into the second. Erie would attempt the comeback with two goals to cut the lead but another offensive surge from the Rangers would see the Otters fall 6-2.
Erie would finish out the week at home, once again playing the Kitchener Rangers. The game’s back-and-forth would result in frustrating stalemates throughout all three periods and eventually force overtime. The Otters would fall less than a minute into OT but would take a point from the battle regardless.
Here are the players who made this week possible.
THIRD STAR: MATTHEW SCHAEFER
The wait is over! The long-anticipated return of Matthew Schaefer is here and he is already making up for lost time!
The alternate captain hit the ice on Thursday for the first time since preseason and reminded everyone what Erie was missing. Halfway through the first frame with a 0-0 deadlock, Schaefer found the back of the net on a power play opportunity to put the Otters up 1-0.
On Saturday, Erie’s top-defensive prospect picked up two assists in front of the home crowd to help the Otters seize a point in the overtime contest against the Kitchener Rangers. Schaefer’s first assist was a joint effort with Carey Terrance to set up Sam Alfano for the goal on another power play. Eight minutes later, Schaefer and Alfano would help Pano Fimis tie the game up 3-3 and force an overtime.
SECOND STAR: MALCOLM SPENCE
Erie’s other own ‘A’ rated NHL draft prospect, Malcolm Spence, extended his point streak to seven points in five games!
Against the Barrie Colts on Thursday, Spence secured the victory just over one minute into the third frame with help from Pano Fimis and Lucas Ambrosio. Spence’s efforts would earn him Second Star honors on the night.
On Friday, Spence would do his part to try and get the Erie offense rolling with a goal, his fifth on the season, late in the second period against the Kitchener Rangers.
In the final game of the week on Friday, Spence had an assist in the final seconds of the first period to put the Otters up. He and Sam Alfano would find Pano Fimis for the period’s only goal and to give the Otters their only lead of the game.
FIRST STAR: SAM ALFANO
After a quiet night on Thursday and one assist on Friday away versus the Rangers, the Big Rig Sam Alfano would light a fire at home to have one goal and two assists on Saturday.
Alfano was involved in all three of the Otters’ goals on Saturday, first with an assist to Pano Fimis in the last thirty seconds of the first frame, before scoring a goal of his own in the third period on a power play opportunity. He would have another assist eight minutes later, again to Fimis, to force an overtime period and ensure the Otters walked away with a point.
The Otters will split the weekend, kicking off their two games away at Brantford on Friday. They’ll head home on Saturday to play the Barrie Colts once again, where it will also be Country Night (pres. by 93.9 The Wolf), so round up your posse and saddle on down to the Erie Insurance Arena! The first 1500 fans in the arena will receive their very own Pop-Up Cowboy Hat.
