WEEKEND PREVIEW: Holiday Weekend at Home

Erie, Pennsylvania — It’s the penultimate week of the regular season as the Erie Otters kick-off a stretch of six games in nine days to conclude the campaign, starting with two on home ice. 

It all begins Friday as the Otters welcome the Kingston Frontenacs to town for the one and only time this season for our St. Patrick’s Day Celebration. The weekend concludes on Saturday with the Niagara IceDogs in town for Memorabilia Madness Night and the second-to-last home game of the year.

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 organization 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

The weekend would open for the Erie Otters with a trip to London to take on the Knights. The home side would dominate proceedings in the early part of the contest, jumping out to a 5-0 lead before the halfway mark of the game. Erie would get themselves a goal back as Tyler Cooper found the back of the net but from there the Knights would take over again, scoring another four-unanswered before an Evan Headrick tally would give the Otters a small consolation as they would go onto fall 10-2 at the hands of their biggest rivals.

Saturday would see the Knights return the favor and head to Erie to conclude the home-and-home, plus the season series. London would strike first near the conclusion of the first period to take a 1-0 lead before Erie’s Kase Kamzik would strike to tie the game heading into the first intermission. The game would play out in a very defensive fashion with the Knights scoring right near the end of the second period to give them the lead heading into the third. Erie was not able to generate much offense from there and after adding an empty-netter, the Knights would go onto win by a final of 3-1.

The season’s final three-in-three would end with the Saginaw Spirit making their last visit to town of the year. The visitors would jump out to a 1-0 lead before the Otters would counter with four un-answered goals coming from Jake Murray twice, Kayden Edwards and Julius Saari to take a 4-1 lead through the midway point. The Spirit would find their groove offensively as they would strike with two goals to trim the deficit to one at 4-3. Just moments later, Cayden Smith would score his first OHL goal to restore a two-goal lead heading into the third period. The final frame was all Spirit as they would score four-goals in a comeback 7-5 win over the Otters.

TWO IN-A-ROW AT HOME

Erie kicks off their weekend with a Friday night tilt with the Kingston Frontenacs making their one and only trip to town.

The Otters will end their weekend with a Saturday night battle with the Niagara IceDogs, Erie’s geographic rivals making their third and final trip to the Flagship City.

WHO TO WATCH

After a lengthy quiet streak, first-year forward Jake Murray broke out in a big way Sunday and is hoping to end his opening year in the OHL on a high-note. Murray came into Sunday’s game with just three points since November 26. He was able to break out of the slump with a two-goal performance in the Otters’ 7-5 defeat to the Saginaw Spirit. With just six games left in the season, Murray is looking to end his campaign strongly as he hopes to build for a massive sophomore campaign in the OHL.

With the Erie Otters now officially out of the postseason picture, Cayden Smith is a youthful name to watch. Smith has been thrust into the Otters’ lineup of late thanks to injuries and his staying power should be there for all to see. Smith is coming off of his first OHL goal in the Otters’ defeat to Saginaw on Sunday. Looking to be the first of many for Smith, the Newmarket, ON native is looking to make a name for himself as he plays for a job next season and the Otters look to see what they have in this former Aurora Tiger Alternate Captain who had 52 points in 49 OJHL games this season.

KNOW THE FOE

The Kingston Frontenacs are about as unfamiliar as it gets for the Erie Otters, a team they only see twice a season, and the first meeting coming back on October 5, a 1-0 win for the Fronts. Kingston is led offensively by forward Alex McLean, who was acquired at the trade deadline from the Guelph Storm. Former Otter Alex Misiak has also been solid in Kingston where he has linked up with fellow Slovakian Tomas Pobezal. The Fronts have also seen terrific goaltending from Matthew Minchak and Gavin Betts, both of whom have save percentages over .900 heading into the weekend.

Contrary to Kingston, the Otters know the Niagara IceDogs quite well as they play game two of their three second-half meetings. Last time at the Meridian Centre on February 26, in a very exciting game, the Otters would score with just about five seconds left to send the game to overtime then a shootout. The IceDogs are still missing forward Ryan Roobroeck, however, Riley Patterson continues to lead the way with a terrific season up-front. The IceDogs look to use these final games as a tune-up as they look forward to a more-than-likely first round playoff series with the Ottawa 67’s.

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 put an end to the 2025-26 season with a busy four-game week, taking them to Windsor and Sarnia, home for the EIA finale and then to Niagara to put a bow on the season.