WEEKEND PREVIEW: Holiday Weekend at Home

Erie, Pennsylvania — The Otters continue their homestand at the EIA for the weekend, battling two West Division opponents, taking on the Sarnia Sting on Thursday evening and the Flint Firebirds Saturday to send the Otters into the holiday break.

An action-packed weekend sees Erie take on a Sarnia team chasing them in the Western Conference standings and a Flint team at the top in the West. Erie looks to keep things rolling on home ice, where they have had plenty of success this season and look to head into the week-long holiday break with a pair of wins.

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 Thursday at the EIA, the Otters opened this homestand against the Brantford Bulldogs, the number one team in the OHL. Erie would strike first with Mclean Agrette finding the back of the net before Brantford would score the next two. The Otters would then answer with Alex Misiak striking to make it a 2-2 game. The Bulldogs would strike for two again before Gabriel Frasca would make it a 4-3 game. Brantford would then flex their muscles and show why they are where they are in the standings, scoring four-unanswered to put the game to bed and gain an 8-3 lead. Erie would get a consolation as Tyler Cooper would score his first OHL goal to make it an 8-4 contest with the Bulldogs winning by that score. 

Saturday would be a special night at the EIA as the Otters would come together to honor late owner Jim Waters, a year-on from his passing. Erie would score the first goal of the game, coming in the second period as Dylan Edwards would make it 1-0 Erie. On a 5-on-3, Battalion defenseman Kent Greer would strike to tie the game at 1-1. The game would be tied heading into the third period. Late in the contest on the power play, Gabriel Frasca would fire a shot through traffic that may or may not have been tipped to give the Otters a 2-1 lead. Frasca would add an empty-netter to make it 3-1, the lead that the Otters would hold onto to pick up a very emotional victory.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

Erie welcomes in the Sarnia Sting on a 3-2-1 Friday with $3 Labatt Blue Light’s, $2 Hot Dogs and $1 popcorn until the start of the third period.

Saturday will see the Otters take on the Flint Firebirds on Winter Wonderland Night. The EIA will transform into a holiday paradise with appearances from Santa and a wish granted alongside Make-A-Wish.

WHO TO WATCH

Michael Dec has been a strong source of offense for the Otters since being acquired from the Owen Sound Attack in early November. He comes into the weekend’s games on a six-game point streak where over that stretch, he has 13 points (4G+9A). Last weekend, he picked up three points, all assists in Erie’s two games last time out. Dec has been on a tear for the Otters and they will hope to continue to get this type of production from him as with new linemates.

Captain Gabriel Frasca has also put together a nice run of late, picking up points in 11 of his last 13 games, a stretch where he has tallied 16 points (10G+6A). On an ever-changing roster, Frasca will hope to keep up his production has he continues to work alongside Dec. Coming into the weekend’s games, Frasca has points in his last four games as he trails Dec for the longest such streak on the team.

KNOW THE FOE

The Sarnia Sting enter Friday’s game in the basement of the Western Conference, but just two points behind the Otters for the final playoff spot. Led by new Head Coach Mathieu Turcotte and an exciting young group with newly named captain Alessandro Di Iorio and leading scorer Beckham Edwards, this Sarnia team has a very bright future as they work through some growing pains. Friday’s game is another big one for playoff seeding, even as early as we are in the season still with the holiday break still to come. 

The Flint Firebirds have been one of the biggest surprises in the OHL this season, heading into the weekend with the chance to lead the way in the Western Conference at Christmas. New York Rangers prospect Nathan Aspinall leads the way offensively, putting together a terrific season. His side-kick Alex Kostov has been lethal in front of goal as well and combining this with the outstanding goaltending they’ve gotten from Mason Vaccari, the Birds look to be one of the more difficult teams to take down in the West, getting better and better since the Otters last saw them at the end of October.

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

This weekend ends the official first half of the season for the Otters as they prepare for a four-game week taking them into the new year which begins in Kitchener on December 28.