Otters can’t outlast attack, fall 5-4
Owen Sound, Ontario – The Otters came back from an early two-goal deficit to tie the game twice before ultimately falling to the Attack 5-4. Connor McDavid’s two points in the second period lifted him to 100 points in 38 games.
Despite outshooting the Attack, the Otters were held scoreless through the first period. Just over six and a half minutes into the first, Ryan Heeps gave Owen Sound the lead before Erik Bradford put them up by two goals two minutes later. Devin Williams was relieved for Daniel Dekoning who made a few big saves to keep the Owen Sound lead to a minimum. Cory Genovese and Jacob Busch dropped the gloves eleven minutes in, both taking five minute fighting majors.
The chances of the first period turned into goal for the Otters in the second. Two minutes in, Alex DeBrinact notched his fortieth goal of the season from McDavid and Remi Elie. Three minutes later, a flurry in front of the Owen Sound net saw Nick Betz get the puck across the ice, Kurtis MacDermid returned it, and Betz put the puck behind Jack Flinn to tie the game.
As an Otters power play expired, McDavid scored his thirty-seventh goal from Dylan Strome and DeBrincat, reaching the 100-point mark, and giving the Otters a 3-2 lead. Petrus Palmu tied the game once again for the Attack before Bradford put Owen Sound back into the lead. With 1:12 to play in the second, Elie tied the game once again from Strome and Nick Baptiste on the power play to close the period.
McDavid and DeBrincat started the third with a big two-on-one, but Flinn stopped that rush before robbing Betz. Penalties landed the Otters in trouble throughout the second half of the third. With Donnay in the box for interference, Palmu netted his second of the night for the 5-4 lead.
While it was the only goal allowed in the third, the ensuing penalties kept Erie down a man for what was largely the rest of the period. Elie was called for checking from behind before Donnay returned to the box for tripping. Baptiste was assessed a 10-minute misconduct for persisting at the same time Betz was sent to the penalty box for roughing. The Otters picked up a bit of a power play when Damir Sharipzyanov took an interference penalty, but the Attack killed the penalty and McDavid spent the final eight seconds sitting for checking from behind, finishing off the Attack’s 5-4 victory.
With McDavid’s one hundredth point, the Otters have back-to-back seasons with two players reaching the century mark after Connor Brown and Dane Fox did it in the 2013-14 season. McDavid – his point streak at 23 games – is now fourth in the OHL scoring race, one point behind London’s Christian Dvorak, six points behind Strome, and 12 points behind Mitchell Marner, also of London. DeBrincat sits fifth in the OHL for goals, tied with Dvorak for fourth, and is one goal back from tying second and third. He is the only rookie in the top-20. McDavid is eighth while Strome sits at eleventh.
The Otters face the Attack again Saturday night on the road before welcoming Barrie to Erie Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
The Iron Workers Local Union No. 3 Ironmen of the Game:
1. Chris Bigras – 4A
2. Erik Bradford – 2G
3. Connor McDavid – 1G, 1A
