Erliden Shines, Three Points for Fimis Starts Erie 1-0
Kitchener, Ontario – A rivalry rematch nearly a half-year in the making. What more fitting way for the 2024-25 Ontario Hockey League season to open for Erie than with a revenge match against the team that ended their playoff run, the Kitchener Rangers. With a Friday night showdown at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium, the Otters would look to start off divisional, conference, and league play on the right foot. While shorthanded with a few notable players like Matthew Schaefer and Dylan Edwards out of the lineup, the Otters would get a chance to see what their new faces and young players could do in a high-intensity season opener.
After a heart-pumping pregame ceremony, the tension was thick in the air ahead of period one. Erie’s offense would set the early tone in the game, outshooting the Rangers 4-1 in the opening stretch. With six minutes gone by, Otters rookie Diego Da Silva would see his OHL debut cut short with a match penalty for slewfooting. Despite the perceived setback of the five-minute major penalty kill, Erie would look sharp – and strike first. With a wide-open look on net, Sam Alfano (1, SHG) would pick up right where he left off with the first goal of the Otters’ season 10:05 into the frame. With a successful kill complete, and power play opportunity in-hand, Martin Misiak (1, PPG) wouldn’t take long to find the scoresheet with his first of the year. This goal would give alternate captain Pano Fimis two assists in the opening frame, and put Erie up 2-0 with just over 13 minutes gone by. Despite a late penalty that would carry into period two and being outshot 12-11, Noah Erliden and the Otters would carry their lead into the intermission.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Despite Kitchener coming out with a strong effort in the second period, there would be no changes on the scoreboard through the middle 20 of the game. A lone high stick penalty against Kitchener early on in the frame would be the only infraction of the period. Noah Erliden would once again shine in the frame, stopping 12/12 in the period, as the Otters would go into period three with a 2-0 lead, and a 24-22 shots advantage against them.
A relatively pedestrian start to the third period would be broken up by a mistake by Kitchener goaltender Jackson Parsons that Carey Terrance (1, GWG) would capitalize on to give Erie a 3-0 lead. The sleeping giant of Kitchener’s offense would not stay such for long, as the next two goals would belong to Cameron Arquette (1) and Luke Ellinas (1, PPG) to quickly make it a one-goal game. With an immediate mistake eight seconds after the Ellinas goal, Erie would go on the man-advantage – where once again, Martin Misiak (2, PPG) would get the job done. Desperate late, Kitchener would empty the net, and Sam Alfano (2, ENG) would fill it to open-and-close scoring for a huge road Otter win, 5-2. Shots would close out even at 34 all. This win would be Erie’s first season opening win since 2019, and first on the road since 2017.
The Erie Otters will make their home debut on Saturday night for the highly-anticipated Home Opener 2024 (pres. by Erie County Community College). Preceding the game will be the team’s third-annual Home Opener Fan Fest from 3:00 to 6:00 P.M. on the promenade of the Erie Insurance Arena. This free-to-attend event will feature live music from Karen Waldrup, Alli Walker, and Todd Cameron, fun for the whole family with bounce houses, a vendor fair, face-painting, food trucks, and more. When the Arena doors open, the first 1500 fans will get a whiteout Erie Otters t-shirt (pres. by Erie County Community College) ahead of the first meeting of the season between Erie and the newly-located Brampton Steelheads. Fans can purchase tickets or learn more at OttersHockey.com.
