WEEKEND PREVIEW: Back From Break

Erie, Pennsylvania — The Otters are back from the break as they kick-off a busy four-game week taking them on the road for the first two before heading home for the following two to wrap-up the week.

It all starts with the Otters final visit of the season to the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium to battle the Rangers. Tuesday, December 30 with see Erie’s first of two visits to the “Telephone City” to battle the Brantford Bulldogs. Those same Bulldogs will visit Erie the following night for the annual New Year’s Eve clash. The weekend concludes on Saturday January 3 for the first game of the new year with Erie taking on the Windsor Spitfires at the EIA.

AHEC YEAH!

NWPA AHEC’s Weekend Preview brings the latest news, promotions, and what YOU need to know before YOU go further into the new year.

Northwest Pennsylvania Area Health Education Centre is a non-profit organisation 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!

 LAST TIME OUT

Last Friday, the Otters would welcome in the Sarnia Sting for the final time this season in a huge clash in the Western Conference standings. Erie would begin the game by scoring four-unanswered goals including the first Otters goal for Evan Headrick. Michael Dec, Gabriel Frasca and Ritter Coombs would be the other scorers to get Erie going early, with the latter being a short-handed goal. Sarnia would answer with the next two but then a strong third period from the Otters would allow them to seal a 6-2 win with Dec and Frasca each adding a second. 

Last Saturday would mark the final game of the first half of the OHL season as the Otters would welcome in the Flint Firebirds. Luc Plante and Cal Hughes would get the Otters’ offense going early and the team out to a 2-0 lead. The Birds would bounce back with the next two before Tyler Cooper would tie the game at 3. Flint would go onto score the next two and win the game by a final of 5-3, ending Erie’s first half of the OHL schedule.

ROAD TO END THE YEAR, HOME TO START IT

Erie heads to Kitchener and Brantford to kick-off their busy four-game week before heading home.

Wednesday sees the Otters welcome in the Brantford Bulldogs for the final time this season on New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.

2026 starts at the EIA with the first of two home match-ups with the Windsor Spitfires on Chill Vibes Night.

WHO TO WATCH

Tyler Cooper is coming off of his first real “game” at the OHL level, collecting two points (1G+1A) in Erie’s defeat to Flint on December 20. Just turning 16 on December 6, Cooper is hoping for a strong second half as he adjusts to life in the OHL. With a battle-tested lineup and Alex Misiak away at World Juniors, this should give the Chicago-area native a big opportunity to show off his skills at this level and build off of a huge end to the first half of his inaugural campaign in the OHL.

Newly-acquired forward Evan Headrick got off to quite the start in an Otters uniform in his first game with Erie on December 19, scoring his first goal of the season on his first shot of his first shift. This former first round pick of the Kitchener Rangers will have the opportunity to take on his former team Sunday as he hopes to show them what they’re missing. Headrick has made quite the mark in a short time in the Flagship City and will hope to keep it rolling into the second half of the season.

KNOW THE FOE

The Kitchener Rangers enter the second half at the top of the Midwest Division and potentially primed to make a run in the Western Conference. Following the acquisition of over-age forward Dylan Edwards from Erie to slot in around talented forwards like Jack Pridham and Christian Humphreys, and the award of the Memorial Cup to Guelph, this could be the perfect season for the Rangers to go all in, especially in a year where the West is very wide open. Erie gets their first crack at this new-look Rangers squad after beating them at the Aud the last time they met on December 2.

The top team in the OHL, the Brantford Bulldogs will be the Otters opponent for two games this week, taking place on back-to-back days. Still missing some key players away at the World Juniors, this team is still as strong as it gets. Forwards Jake O’Brien and Marek Vanacker were returned from Team Canada’s camp and should feature prominently this week. Goaltending has been a strong-suit of this team as well with Ryerson Leenders and David Egorov forming quite the tandem. These two games will pose quite the challenge for the Otters but not one they can’t overcome.

Following the Bulldogs, one of the top teams in the Western Conference will make their way into town, that being the Windsor Spitfires. The Spits are led by an exciting core of Ethan Belchetz, Liam Greentree (who will be away at World Juniors with Team Canada) and Defenseman Carson Woodall. The Spits are engaged in a heated battle at the top of West Division with the Flint Firebirds and in-turn, the number one seed in the Western Conference. Saturday’s match-up with be the first time Erie plays Windsor this season with the two meeting up once a week for the next three weeks (Jan. 3, Jan. 8, Jan 16).

HOW TO WATCH, LISTEN, & FOLLOW ALONG

The new home of Otters hockey is Flo Hockey!

Delivering a high-quality viewing experience, Flo Hockey provides access to more than 700 OHL games, and games from the QMJHL, AHL, ECHL, and more, streamed across a range of platforms, including PC and Tablet on Safari and Google Chrome web browsers, as well as iOS and Android mobile devices.

Fans can also see the NHL’s stars of tomorrow on the Amazon Fire, Apple TV, V and Roku platforms – right from the comfort of their homes!

For more information, head to flohockey.tv!

:

• PC and/or Tablet on Safari and Google Chrome web browsers
• iOS / Android mobile devices.
• Amazon Fire
• Apple TV
• Roku platforms

Flo Hockey 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 flohockey.tv.

 

LISTEN

Listen to Otters Hockey all across Erie County with iHeart Media Erie and the Otters broadcast network!

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.

• 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 the surrounding communities of NWPA, or can be livestreamed worldwide on the iHeart App.

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, the Otters’ social media is the best way to keep up with the team wherever they are.

UP NEXT

The Otters will hit the road for a three-in-three Western swing with stops in Windsor on January 8, Sarnia on January 9 and London on January 10.