Erie, Pennsylvania – With a noticeable chill in the air on the advent of the Halloween weekend, the Erie Otters looked to exercise their early-season demons against the Flint Firebirds. Starting the 2021-22 season on the road in Flint, the Otters dropped both games against the Firebirds, 3-0 & 3-2. Now with a four-game split against the Saginaw Spirit under their belts, the Otters looked to put on a show for the Friday night fans.

Things did not start as planned for the Otters, as just :92 into the game, alternate captain Daniel D’Amato was given a match penalty for a sleuth-footing, and the Otters would be without a major piece and on the penalty kill for five minutes. The Logistics+ Penalty Killers were up for the task, allowing only nominal shots in the extended kill. Erie would get its own chance on the Plymouth Tavern power play minutes later, but would be unable to get much going, finding themselves also 0/1 on the man-advantage. Play would go back-and-forth for some time, but neither team would truly grab any momentum or advantage as the final horn sounded. Erie would finish the period strong, taking their final 5 shots uncontested from the Firebirds. When the smoke cleared for the opening 20, shots would be knotted at nines, and the score would read 0-0.

In what looked like it would be a pedestrian period, the offenses pushed, but the goaltending pushed harder. With highlight reel saves on both sides, Marshall Nicholls and Ian Michelone would keep the game scoreless heading to the final period of play – with Nicholls selfless efforts blocking away the Firebirds power play. With 2:15 left in the second period, after a bevy of saves and a mass of humanity in front of the net, goaltender Marshall Nicholls would go off grabbing his glove hand, with what looked like a minor cut on his lower arm. Nolan Lalonde would come in relief, closing out the period without having to make a save. Flint would outshoot Erie in the period 15-10, as both teams would look for the win in the third.

One way or another, there would have to be a winner in tonight’s game, despite the goaltending performances. With a number of men in the box to start the first seven minutes of the period, five-on-five play would finally return, and the Erie Otters would surge to strike. With 7:54 gone by in the period, Noah Sedore (3) would score the game’s first goal for the second game in a row, and give the Otters a 1-0 lead late in the game. Barely :62 later, the Firebirds would strike for their first of the game, as Zack Terry (1) would find a rebound in front from a Braeden Kressler shot, and knot things up 1-1. In a game that looked destined to head to overtime and be decided by sudden death, the killing blow would rather be strcuk by the usual suspect of Brennan Othmann (3), going essentially coast-to-coast and ripping a shot from the high left-circle to beat Lalonde with :30 left. With little time to establish an offensive comeback push, the Otters would drop the decision 2-1, being outshot 39-33.

Erie loses their third-straight against the Firebirds this season, and drops to 2-5 overall. The Otters finish their four-game homestand at the Erie Insurance Arena on Saturday at 7 P.M., playing Flint for the last time until November 19.

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