EC3 WEEKEND PREVIEW: Back at Home Base for Military Appreciation
Erie, Pennsylvania – After plenty of action on the road to start off the 2023-24 Ontario Hockey League season, it’s finally time for some home-cooking for the Erie Otters. Seven of the team’s next eight games will be on home ice at the Erie Insurance Arena, starting this weekend with a pair.
Erie’s two-game set kicks off on Friday against the Sudbury Wolves for the first and only time at home this season with a 7:00 P.M. puck drop. This is Erie’s first Friday home contest of the season, and one of just three this year. On Saturday, Erie will take on the Flint Firebirds for the second time this season at 7:00 P.M. This game is the annual and highly-acclaimed Military Appreciation Night, honoring active duty and retired military of our community.
MARCH TOWARD YOUR GOALS!
The new class of EC3 was welcomed with free Tuition in October – if you’re kicking yourself for missing out, it’s never too early to look ahead to the Spring Session!
With flexible online and in-person educational opportunities all across Erie County, EC3 is working to educate around your schedule. If you’ve ever asked yourself “Is an associate’s degree or certificate worth it?” — the answer is a resounding “yes!” Whether your goal is to increase your employable skills in the short term or build toward a more advanced degree in the long term, an associate’s degree or certificates can serve as a stepping stone both academically and professionally.
It’s not too early to apply! For more information on Erie County Community College of Pennsylvania – including their free Spring Tuition – head to EC3PA.org.
LAST TIME OUT
Erie had a perfect weekend to kick off November – coming home with a clean sweep in their three-game road trip for the first time since February 2017.
The weekend started at the home of the 2024 Memorial Cup, the Dow Event Center in Saginaw, where Erie’s offense scored its highest road game goal total yet in an exciting 6-5 victory over the Spirit. Blackhawks’ prospect Martin Misiak was the runaway winner of the First Star honors with a four point night that included his first-career OHL Hat Trick.
Friday night in Flint was all about snatching victory from the jaws of (near) defeat! Heroic late efforts by Bruce McDonald – who would score the team’s third goal and the Otters shootout game-winning goal – and Ben Gaudreau – who stopped 3/3 in the shootout – would earn the Otters their second-straight win, and first in the skills competition since January 2022.
Looking for revenge on the Sarnia Sting for an October home loss (6-4), Erie would lead from bookend to bookend enroute to a 5-3 homecoming victory for Ben Gaudreau. Ducks’ prospect Carey Terrance would score his golden goal (#10) and the game-sealing empty-netter for a two-goal night, and a clean Erie sweep.
Erie’s record would improve to .500 (7-7-2) with the trio of wins, and now enjoys the comforts of home for nearly the remainder of the month.
ALL ABOUT THE DEALS FOR MEALS
Friday is truly Fri-YAY this season at the Erie Insurance Arena! As the end-of-the-work-week party continues to build its acclaim the last few seasons, fans can now enjoy every Friday as 3-2-1 Friday.
No need to hit your hard-earned paycheck hard – save money on the food and drink you love the most. For $3, fans (21+) can enjoy drafts of Labatt Blue Light. $2 will get you a famous Smith’s Hot Dog. $1 will put a hop in your pop – giving you a popcorn! This incredible concession deal is only available on Friday nights, so don’t miss your chance to blow off some work-week steam.
STAND & SALUTE
TEN-HUT! At ease. On Saturday night, the celebration of Military Appreciation Night makes its triumphant return to the Erie Insurance Arena. Working alongside community organizations, business partners, and individuals, the Erie Otters have been able to donate over 1200 tickets to the Erie Veterans Affair Hospital, the Pennsylvania Soldiers & Sailors Home, and the Veterans Miracle Center of Erie as a token of appreciation for the sacrifice made by our military men and women.
On Saturday, the Otters will take the ice in pregame in a specialty Military-themed warmup jersey. After the game, fans can bid to win the jerseys, with all proceeds going to benefit Disabled American Veterans Chapter 73 of Erie & Crawford Counties.
This is always one of the special nights during the hockey season, and to be able to celebrate our active duty and retired military men and women on Veterans Day is truly an honor.
WHO TO WATCH
Martin Misiak may be in danger of melting the ice with how on fire he’s been on the ice. The Slovakian import player notched his first hat trick of his OHL career against the Saginaw Spirit, and currently has 18 points on the season with 9 goals and 9 assists. Misiak’s adaptation into the North American game is starting to hit a fever-pitch, and with the second line of Misiak, Ondrej Molnar, and Bruce McDonald each contributing goals during the weekend sweep, don’t expect things to change any time soon.
Carey Terrance’s presence in the rink has been undeniable this season. The alternate captain currently leads the Otters in points with 20 (11G+9A) after going on an 11 game point streak. With success from the Terrance, Malcolm Spence, Kaleb Smith line during the early go of this season, the third-year Otter will look to continue to contribute to the offensive success of Erie.
KNOW THE FOE
The Sudbury Wolves won their last two games, beating the North Bay Battalion 5-4 in overtime and the Niagara IceDogs 3-1. The Wolves are currently sitting second in the Central Division after their back-to-back wins – narrowly behind the upstart Mississauga Steelheads. Players to watch for the Wolves include Quentin Musty, who had one goal and one assist in the Wolves’ overtime win against the North Bay Battalion (including the game-winner) and goaltender Nate Krawchuk, who picked up 38 saves off of 42 shots in the past two games for a .897 SV% on the season. This is Erie’s first meeting of the season against the highly-acclaimed Wolves, and only on home ice.
You again! The Flint Firebirds went 1-1 last weekend, beating the Mississauga Steelheads 5-1, and losing to yours truly, 4-3. Players to watch for the Firebirds include Braeden Kressler, who just earned OHL Player of the Week after grabbing seven points in three games, including his 100th career point in the OHL, and right-winger Gavin Hayes, who had two goals and one assist in the Firebird’s game against Mississauga. Erie will look to continue its success against West Division foes.
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 Voice of the Otters, Shawn Bednard.
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
It is good to be home – and that’s exactly where the Otters will stay next weekend!
On Friday, November 17, Erie will battle a familiar foe of the Saginaw Spirit. Friday will also be the second-annual Children’s Grief Awareness Night, where the Otters will partner with Highmark Caring Place to honor those who are grieving in our community and all-around the world. The Otters will take the ice in specialty Children’s Grief Awareness Day and Highmark Caring Place themed jerseys, which will be auctioned off to benefit Highmark Caring Place after the game. This game will also be a 3-2-1 Friday, as fans can take advantage of $3 Labatt Blue Light drafts, $2 hot dogs, and $1 popcorns until the start of the third period.
Saturday, November 18 is Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Night – and this will truly be a night that will rock your socks off! With the rival London Knights coming to town for the first time this season, it’ll be a Sweet Caroline singin’ Saturday in Erie. The first 1500 fans in attendance for the game will receive the highly-anticipated “gloves off” Owain Johnston bobblehead (pres. by Rebich Investments). Bring those new, packaged socks – fans can partake in the third-annual Charity Sock Toss (benefitting Community Shelter Services) during the first intermission to help those in need during the winter months. More of the fun of rocking and socking is to-be announced!
Stay Informed:
Keep up-to-date with the latest Erie Otters news by visiting OttersHockey.com, or follow along on social media with the Otters Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
About the Erie Otters:
The Erie Otters are an Ontario Hockey League (OHL) team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1996, the Otters have a rich history of excellence both on and off the ice. The team is committed to creating memorable experiences for its fans and contributing to the growth and well-being of the Erie community.
For further information on the Erie Otters and for media inquiries, please contact Shawn Bednard at [email protected].
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