THREE STARS: Goal-Scorers Shine in Series Win
Erie, Pennsylvania – We all knew the playoffs would be exciting, but absolutely nothing would have prepared Otters Nation for the explosion of goals across the first two games of Round One.
With a history of high-scoring goals against the Saginaw Spirit in the regular season, the Erie Otters continued this trend in Game One with an astounding eight-goal second period to defeat the defending Memorial Cup champs 8-5.
After a crowd-silencing Game One win, the Otters followed it up in Game Two with an even more deafening 9-5 victory, with two players scoring hat tricks.
At home for the first time in the series, the Otters would fall 3-2 in OT, but surge back in Game Four with a 7-3 victory.
On the road once more with a chance to end the series for good, the Otters overcame a two-goal deficit with the third hat trick of the series to defeat the Saginaw Spirit 6-3 and move on to Round Two.
Here are the players who made this week happen.
THIRD STAR – DYLAN EDWARDS
Dylan Edwards has been nothing short of exceptional this playoff series.
In Game One’s 8-5 victory, Edwards added insult to injury with a goal nine seconds after the first Otters’ goal of the game, making it a 2-0 game in the second period. Just after the fourteen minute mark in the second period, Edwards picked up his first assist of the playoff series on Martin Misiak’s insurance goal to make it a 6-5 game.
Edwards earned Second Star honors in Game Two with a four-point performance. Starting with an assist in the first to tie the game at 1-1, Edwards also helped put the Otters up 3-2 on a power play opportunity in the opening minutes of the third period. Edwards would have his first goal of the game twelve minutes later on a power play to make it a 4-3 game. In the third period, Edwards would tack on his second goal of the night to give the Otters an 8-5 lead.
In Tuesday’s home OT loss, Edwards had an assist on Erie’s first goal of the night, where he found Sam Alfano on the power play.
Edwards picked up another goal, his fourth of the playoff series, on Erie’s bounce-back 7-3 win at home. In the opening four minutes of the third period, Pano Fimis found Edwards on a power play to extend the Otters’ lead 6-4.
On Saturday night in Erie’s series-taking win, Edwards notched one goal and two assists. Under three minutes into the second frame, Edwards and Sam Alfano found Martin Misiak for a power play goal to cut the Saginaw lead to 2-1. Three minutes later, Edwards scored his fifth goal of the series to equalize at 2-2. In the third period, Edwards found Misiak again on the power play to kickstart a four-goal streak to secure the Otters’ victory.
SECOND STAR – PANO FIMIS
It’s Playoff Pano!
Pano Fimis so far has had a commanding Round One run, with back-to-back First Star nights thanks to five goals and three assists in the first two games.
In Game One on the road, Fimis both started and ended the scoring for Erie, stamping his name on both sides of the eight-goal onslaught in Erie’s 8-5 victory.
It was a true hat trick for Fimis in Game Two, with all three goals coming within the final 20 minutes of play. With assists across all three periods, Fimis struck early for his first goal, just 30 seconds into the final period to give the Otters a 5-3 lead. His second of the night, eight minutes after Misiak earned his hat trick, put Erie up 7-5 and the buzz of another hatty entered the Dow Event Center. In the final four minutes of play, Fimis slammed the door shut with his third goal, unassisted, to secure his hat trick and give the Otters a 2-0 lead going into Game Three at home.
After falling in Game Three, Fimis had a four-point night in Game Four with two goals and two assists. Fimis grabbed his first assist in the second period, where he found Sam Alfano to put the Otters up 3-2. Within 75 seconds, Fimis put the puck in the back of the net twice for both the game winner and the insurance goal, but the overager would cap off his night with a power play assist just under the four-minute mark to give the Otters a 6-3 lead.
FIRST STAR – MARTIN MISIAK
Tip your hat to Martin Misiak!
Misiak would dip his toes in the water with a Game One goal in the second period to give the Otters an astounding 7-0 lead with six minutes left to play, but the Marty Party would truly begin on Saturday in Game Two.
Misiak’s road to a hat trick would begin in the first period, when Misiak found the back of the net to tie the game up 1-1. He struck gold for the second time early in the second period to put the Otters up 3-2 over the Spirit, as well as assisting Dylan Edwards 12 minutes later. Misiak’s third and final goal, which would end up being the game-winner, put the Otters up 6-4 on a power play opportunity.
In Game Three’s 3-2 overtime loss, Misiak picked up an assist on each of Erie’s goals, as well as an additional assist in Game Four’s 7-3 home victory.
Capping off the series in a truly explosive way, Misiak captured his second hat trick of the series to propel the Otters into a 6-3 victory, as well as into Round Two. Early in the second period, Misiak put the Otters on the board with a powerplay goal, cutting the Saginaw lead to 2-1. Three minutes later, Misiak would find Dylan Edwards to tie the game up 2-2. In the third frame, the Otters now down 3-2, Misiak would notch his second power play goal of the game to tie the game at 3-3. Five minutes later, Misiak would strike again for his second hat trick of the series, as well as the game-winner.
For the first time since 2017, the Otters will see Round Two! Kicking off on Thursday, April 10, the Otters will face the first-seeded, rival London Knights. The Otters will remain in London for Game Two on Saturday before returning home for Games Three and Four on Tuesday and Thursday.
