Sixth-Straight Road Victory, Fourth-Straight Win Gives Erie Leads Erie into Regular Season Finale
Windsor, Ontario – All good things must come to an end, and for the Erie Otters, regular season road trips in the Ontario Hockey League would conclude on Thursday night. With a chance not only to finish above .500 on the road, Erie also has a chance to draw themselves closer to the 5th seed in the OHL Western Conference – and extend their winning streak to five-straight games and six-straight away. Now is the time of the year when winning on the road becomes more critical than ever – and Erie has proven of late they are the team up to such a task. Up against a non-playoff team in the Windsor Spitfires, looking to take the series victory, it would be a consequential Thursday night for Erie’s push to their highest ground.
The defensive stoutness of the Erie Otters the night prior wouldn’t quite be at its same effect in the opening period on Thursday. Just 6:24 into the contest, Windsor leading-scorer Liam Greentree (34) would put the Spitfires up 1-0. With a power play shortly after, Erie would respond just 1:11 later as Sam Alfano (27, PPG) would make it a 1-1 game and get the power play on the board on the final regular season road trip. Showing what kind of night it would be, Ryan Abraham (30) would respond shortly after himself from a rebound in front, able to put the Spitfires back on top 2-1 just past the halfway mark of the frame. A final pair of goals would come across from either team to close out the final minutes of the period, as Bruce McDonald (18) and Liam Greentree (35) would exchange goals. Windsor would take a 3-2 lead out of the opening 20, despite Erie outshooting 21-7.
After a wonky opening period, the game would normalize a bit in period two, as the Erie Otters defense would begin settling into the game. With an early penalty taken by Erie, a career-first would come as a result. With an open break, Alex Messier (5, SHG) would score his first-career shorthanded goal just 5:07 into the period to knot things up at 3-3. Not content to allow Erie to have momentum, Valentin Zhugin (21) would put Windsor back out in front near the game’s halfway mark. Erie would get the period’s last laugh, as Martin Misiak (22) would extend his goal-scoring streak to four-straight games to even things up at 4-4. Erie would close out the period with over 90 seconds of power play time bleeding over to the third period, sitting in a 40-15 shot advantage in a 4-4 game.
Period three would be about closing things out for the Erie Otters. Not having held a lead during the game, Erie would finally jump out in front as Alexis Daviault (7) would score his second goal in under a week with 6:31 gone by to put the Otters up 5-4. Goals in three-straight games would see Kaleb Smith (9, GWG) earn the game-winner with 12:35 gone, as Erie would lead 6-4. A late, pulled-goalie goal from AJ Spellacy (20) would look better on the scoresheet for the Spits, but Erie would close the final 12 seconds out and pick up their sixth-straight road win – and a perfect road month of March, going 5-0. Erie would finish with a 6-5 win and a 54-24 shot advantage, as the Otters have won four-straight games, and will look to close the regular season out on a heater.
Erie prepares for the final game in the 2023-24 OHL regular season, battling the Kitchener Rangers on home ice for the regular season finale and Fan Appreciation Night (pres. by Plyler Entry Systems) on Saturday night. With the OHL playoffs beginning in a week, Erie still awaits a few final scores to see exactly what seeding awaits them in their first playoff appearance since 2017.