NW PA AHEC PLAYOFF PREVIEW: An All-American Showdown in Round 1
Erie, Pennsylvania – The time has come Otters Nation! It’s playoff time (pres. by Rebich Investments) in the city of Erie!
For the second year in a row, the Erie Otters have clinched a playoff berth. This year, seeded fifth in the Western Conference, Erie will start their postseason run with a seven game series against the fourth-seeded Saginaw Spirit.
It’s a battle in the USA with a rare all-American meeting in the Ontario Hockey League, and after a 6-4 end to the regular season, the Otters are ready to continue their success into the postseason.
As the higher ranked team, the Saginaw Spirit will host the first two games of the series. Game 1 in Saginaw will take place on Thursday at 7:05 PM. The Otters will have a brief rest in the series before getting Game 2 under way on Saturday, again at 7:05 PM.
The series will come home on Tuesday, April 1st. Game 4 will take place on Thursday at the EIA. Both these games will have 7 P.M. start times.
AHEC YEAH!
NWPA AHEC’s Playoff Preview brings the latest news, promotions, and what YOU need to know before YOU go into the playoffs.
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!
REGULAR SEASON RECAP
The two American powerhouses met four times over the regular season, splitting the season series evenly with two wins and two losses each.
Their first meeting, all the way back in October, saw the Otters falling 7-3 on the road. Pano Fimis and Gabriel Frasca scored their first goals of the season in their first meeting against the Spirit. On the road against Saginaw again in November, the Otters surged with a 7-5 victory, powered by a four-goal game by the captain Carey Terrance.
Facing the Spirit at home for the first time in December, the Otters once again secured the victory with an 8-2 final. Sam Alfano earned a hat trick on home ice to drive Erie’s offense. In their final meeting in January, the Otters fell to the Spirit 6-2 at home.
There were 40 goals scored throughout the entirety of the series and the two teams, in season-typical fashion, split them with 20 each. Their meetings throughout the 2024-25 season always proved to be high-scoring affairs, with at least 8 goals being scored in every game, so we can expect to see a thrilling series between Erie and Saginaw.
PLAYOFF HISTORY
These two American teams have met twice in playoff history: The first time these teams faced off in the postseason, in 2014, the Otters took the series in five games. Two years later in 2016, the Otters took the series in four straight games.
Erie will look to continue this playoff streak going against Saginaw, but the defending Memorial Cup champions will allow no room for error.
AROUND THE ARENA
The playoffs will come to the EIA on Tuesday! For Game 3, Rebich Investments will be providing the first 2500 fans to enter the arena with a Whackpaper giveaway (pres. by Rebich Investments)!
Make sure to pack the Erie Insurance Arena for both home games – Tuesday and Thursday – and show your support for your Otters!
WHO TO WATCH
From the new kids on the block to the seasoned veterans, the Erie Otters have no shortage of stars.
With playoff experience under their belts, overagers Pano Fimis and Sam Alfano will be crucial in leading the Otters in this first round against the Spirit. With 86 points, Fimis leads the Otters with 32 goals and 54 assists. Fimis also boasts an impressive 985 face off wins in the 2024-25 regular season.
Hot on his tail is Sam Alfano, with a team-high 41 goals and 43 assists to total 84 points through the regular season.
Another Erie standout this season is Malcolm Spence, who is making quite the name for himself in his NHL draft year. Currently ranked as a potential Top-10 pick, Spence has two gold medals representing Canada and holds 73 points (32G+41A) with the Otters this season.
The Otters have more than just veteran experience, though. Rookie Oliver Phillips and call-up Kayden Edwards logged their first OHL goals against the London Knights.
With depth in the line-up, we can expect a full team effort in the first round of playoffs.
Noah Erliden, Erie’s first round Import Draft pick from Sweden, has been stellar in the crease for the Otters. With two shutouts and 28 total wins, Erliden boasts a .895 SV% on the season with 1470 saves on 1642 total shots faced this season.
KNOW THE FOE
There’s much to know about the defending Memorial Cup Champions.
The Saginaw Spirit defeated the London Knights last year 4-3 to take home the cup. They dropped the conference final to the Knights initially, but were seeded second in the Memorial Cup round robin tournament. The Spirit defeated the Moose Jaw Warriors 7-1 in the semi-finals before enacting their revenge on the London Knights to win the Memorial Cup.
This year, the Saginaw Spirit have been propelled by the NHL draft eligible Michael Misa. Misa, announced on Monday to have won the 2025 Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy, was the OHL’s top scorer with 134 points (62G+72A). Misa was kept pointless in only five games to become the first Saginaw player in franchise history to take home the Eddie Powers trophy. Misa and Erie’s Malcolm Spence will have to put their friendship to the side for this upcoming series. Former teammates for both the Mississauga Senators and representing Canada on the international stage, Misa and Spence became fast friends and regularly used the other to push themselves. In their final season as Senators, Spence and Misa finished second and third respectively on the team in scoring.
Another Saginaw star, Zayne Parekh, has been making waves in the OHL. With 107 points (33G+50A), Parekh finished second in points for the Spirit, 27 points behind Misa.
Calem Mangone closed the regular season with a hat trick against the Flint Firebirds, giving him a total of 33 goals on the season. With 50 assists, Mangone totaled 83 points in the regular season. Saginaw’s over-ager recently committed to Lake Superior State University to continue his amateur hockey career.
In net for Saginaw, Kaleb Papineau has 12 wins and 6 losses in 23 games played. He has a .878 SAV% with 513 saves off of 584 total shots faced.
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!
Select Erie Otters away games will also be simulcast on Facebook Live on the Erie Otters Hockey Club Facebook Page. Please see the team social media for more details.
Fans in Northeast and Southwest Ohio have the opportunity to watch tape-delayed Erie Otters home broadcasts as a part of the team’s new partnership with Rock Entertainment Sports Network. Check the programming schedule on your local Gray Media station for more information.
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
It’s too soon to say what’s next for the Otters. If necessary, Game 5 will be played on the road on April 5th. Game 6 will return to Erie on the 7th if the series continue, and the final game of the series will be played in Saginaw on April 8th.
