WEEKEND PREVIEW: FEARSOME FOURSOME CLOSES OUT FEBRUARY
Erie, Pennsylvania – After eight-straight away from home, the end of the road is on the horizon for the Erie Otters. With the team looking to build off a successful northern swing where they took four out of six possible points, they’ll head north for a quick trip. Eight points are up for grabs in a four game week, with the Otters continuing to fight toward a playoff berth in the Western Conference.
Erie’s final road games of February start with one last trip to the Bayshore Community Centre to battle divisional foe Owen Sound. The last game of eight-straight on the road takes Erie to Barrie on Thursday night for one last game with the Colts. After 21 days away, Erie will play at home on Saturday night against the Sudbury Wolves for Kids Takeover Night (pres. by Wendy’s), and close out the month on Tuesday night hosting the Hamilton Bulldogs for Black Ice Night (pres. by Erie’s Black Wall Street).
LAST TIME OUT
Erie started the week off in North Bay against a top Battalion team on Thursday. The first game of the northern three-in-three would result in the first win under new coach Stan Butler, as the Otters beat the Battalion 5-3. The Otters would then head to Sudbury Friday night, falling short in an 8-3 loss to the Wolves. The comeback kids would be in full force Saturday night against the Soo Greyhounds. After trailing 4-0, Erie would score five unanswered and an eventual overtime goal to give Erie a huge 6-5 victory in Sault Ste. Marie.
Erie remains in last place in the OHL Western Conference with an 18-29-1-4 record, but are now just five points away from the SOO for ninth place; 10 points behind Kitchener for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference with a game in-hand.
WHO TO WATCH
Defenseman Alexis Daviault is coming off one of his best weekends with the Otters. After being acquired by the team before the new year, Daviault had a four point weekend (1G+3A) that included his first goal as an Otter. The two-way defenseman has flourished under new head coach Stan Butler. With Erie needing as much help as possible in the defensive zone, look for Daviault to provide key depth in both zones.
Second-year Otter Carey Terrance is coming off a four-goal weekend that put him temporarily atop total team scoring. Terrance recorded two goals against the Battalion, one goal against the Wolves, and one more goal against the Soo. This gives the Erie leading goal-scorer 25 goals on the season, and 10 on the man-advantage. With the NHL Draft mere months away, Terrance continues to showcase his abilities as a top prospect from the CHL.
WHAT’S HAPPENING AT HOME?
Saturday Night is the highly-anticipated, long-awaited Kids Takeover Night (pres. by Wendy’s). Our Second-Annual Kids Takeover Game features Kids running the show from the Press Box to the Bench and everywhere in between. The first 1000 fans in the arena will receive a free Otters Goal Coin Bank (pres. by Rebich Investments), and a specially kid-designed Otters jersey – with proceeds benefitting the United Way of Erie County’s Community Schools Initiative.
Tuesday night closes out February and Black History Month with Black Ice Night (pres. by Erie’s Black Wall Street). Around the arena, fans will be able to shop at the Black-owned business fair featuring member businesses of EBWS, and learn more about the work done by the organization. The team will once again take ice in pregame in the Black History Jerseys created by Jo Dabney. Following the game, jerseys will be available via a virtual auction on DASH Auctions.
KNOW THE FOES
The Otters will play their final game of the season against the Owen Sound Attack at the Bayshore Community Centre on Wednesday night. The Attack currently sit in fifth place in the Western Conference at 26-24-4-1. With the league-leading goal-scorer in Colby Barlow (38), as well as team assist-leader (40) Cedrick Guindon (Montreal), and Deni Goure who has recorded a 50+ point season, Owen Sound is an always difficult divisional foe – even despite being winless in the last four. Owen Sound starts the week with Erie, travels to Kitchener Friday night, and will host London on Saturday night.
The Barrie Colts are next up for the Otters. This will be Erie’s first visit to the Sadlon Arena since November of 2019. The Colts are a top three team in the OHL Eastern Conference with a 31-15-6-2 record on the year. Evan Vierling leads the team across the board (28 G+38 A=68 PTS) while Ethan Cardwell sits tied in the goal scoring column with 28 goals. In net look for Anson Thorton who is fourth in the OHL with a .906SV%. Barrie started the week with a 4-0 loss to the Kingston Frontenacs on Family Day. They will play Erie Thursday and Oshawa on Saturday at home before heading to Niagara Sunday afternoon.
With just a week between battles, the Sudbury Wolves head to Erie to play the Otters Saturday night. Erie will look to get its revenge after losing to the Wolves last Friday. Sudbury, similar to Erie, is fighting for the last playoff spot in their respective conference. The Wolves sit in ninth place with 21-24-5-3 – just a single point behind the Oshawa Generals for the final playoff spot. David Goyette (Seattle) leads the team in goals (32) and points (66). Quentin Musty remains as the team assist-leader with 39 on the year. Top defenseman Nolan Colins (Pittsburgh) is having himself a 20 point season for the team. Similar to Erie playing up north last weekend, Sudbury will play southernmost parts of the OHL starting Friday in Niagara, Saturday in Erie, and Sunday in Hamilton.
Speaking of Hamilton the Bulldogs will make their first trip and first matchup of the season against the Otters on Tuesday night. Hamilton did travel to Erie in the preseason, but this will be the first regular season matchup of the season amongst the two teams. The defending champions sit in sixth place in the OHL Eastern Conference with a 26-24-4-0 record. Logan Morrison leads the team across the board (20 G+35 A=55PTS). Hamilton has three defensive prospects in Jorian Donovan (Ottawa), Gavin White (Dallas), and Artyom Grushnikov (Dallas).The Bulldogs start the week with two home games, Saturday and Sunday against Kingston and Sudbury, before heading to Erie Tuesday.
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!
LISTEN:
The League’s largest radio network, the Otters Radio Network gives fans the most-accessible and high-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 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 Kissin’ Oldies 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 Lavery Brewing Pregame Show starts 20 minutes prior to the Drop The Gloves Puck Drop, hosted by the Voice of the Otters Shawn Bednard.
Make sure to tune in week days 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 weekends 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
March forward! The final month of the Ontario Hockey League regular season awaits in the third month of 2023. Before game action starts, The Brewerie at Union Station will host a full team Meet-and-Greet on Wednesday, March 1 from 5:30 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. for all fans.
Action kicks off with a challenging road-home-road three-in-three, starting against divisional foe Kitchener at The Aud on Friday, looking to take serious points against the team holding the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Erie will return home on Saturday, March 4 for THROWBACK NIGHT, celebrating the history and legacy of the Erie Blades professional hockey team. The Peterborough Petes will be in town, as the “Blades” look for their first win at the EIA.
The weekend closes in the FirstOntario Centre against the Hamilton Bulldogs on Sunday. Notably, this will be Erie’s final trip to Hamilton for at least the next three years, as the aforementioned arena will undergo major renovations. As a result of the renovations, the Hamilton Bulldogs will temporarily transfer operations to Brantford starting in the 2023-23 season.
