Otters bounce back against London, win 4-2
Erie, Pennsylvania – The Otters bounced back Saturday night at home for a thrilling 4-2 win over the London Knights, the one hundredth win for Otters head coach Kris Knoblauch in front of a sold-out crowd.
Connor McDavid thrilled the crowd at Erie Insurance Arena early with the Otters on a power play thanks to a roughing call on Owen MacDonald. With a burst of speed down the wing after getting the puck from goaltender Devin Williams, McDavid cut through the London defense and put a backhand shot behind Michael Giugovaz for a 1-0 lead three minutes in.
The Otters had other big chances from Nick Betz, Nick Baptiste, and Remi Elie, but Giugovaz continued to make saves on Erie. Aaron Berisha put London on the board with about four and a half minutes to go. With the Knights on the power play, Williams made a huge save on the London power play to keep the Knights from taking the lead to close out the period.
Erie kept up the pace in the second period, spending a lot of time in the London zone. Baptiste opened the period, scoring on the power play with help from McDavid and Dylan Strome. Fourteen seconds later, Jake Marchment and Cory Genovese found Kyle Pettit who found the back of the net for the 3-1 Otters lead.
Elie was called for hooking, sending London to the power play. Williams made a great save on Josh Sterk, but Matt Rupert was able to put the puck past the Otters netminder, bringing London within one. Williams continued to make big saves on the Knights throughout the rest of the period, keeping the Otters in the lead into intermission.
After killing off an early penalty, Williams was caught facing a three-on-one but stood tall and made a save that brought the crowd to its feet, keeping the Otters ahead. The Knights kept coming, a shot looking like it went behind Williams being waved off immediately. Erie’s penalty kill was put to the test, going to work on back to back penalties and killing both. London pulled Giugovaz for an extra attacker, but McDavid and Elie carried the puck the other way before Elie popped the puck into the empty net, solidifying the Otters’ 4-2 victory.
Strome’s assist tied him with London’s Mitchell Marner in the OHL scoring race with 93 points each. McDavid extended his point streak to 15 games and added another game to his assist streak for a total of six. Williams made 25 saves and picked up the lone assist on McDavid’s opening goal. The Otters outshot the Knights 30-27. The win closed out the season series with the Knights, the Otters going 5-1 against London.
The Otters welcome the Guelph Storm Wednesday night at 7 p.m. before Owen Sounds comes to Erie for the weekend, playing back-to-back Friday and Saturday night at 7.
The Iron Workers Local Union No. 3 Ironmen of the Game:
1. Devin Williams – 25 saves
2. Connor McDavid – 1G, 2A
3. Christian Dvorak – 1A
