Otters score 6 unanswered to win home opener 7-3
Erie, Pennsylvania – In another come from behind victory, the Otters pushed through to score six unanswered goals to top Sarnia 7-3 and improved to 4-0 in their home opener Saturday night.
A slow start to the first turned into a rapid-fire final five minutes. Sarnia started off the scoring with two quick goals 30 seconds apart from Patrick White and Davis Brown. Erie didn’t go down quietly with Connor McDavid opening the Otters scoring at 16:27 with help from Alex DeBrincat and Nick Betz. Sarnia took another quick lead from Alexandre Renaud, but Taylor Raddysh came in with Dylan Strome and Mason Marchment to bring the game back to one-goal. A couple of quick scrums within the last 30 seconds put the Otters on a power play to take into the second.
While nothing came of the Otters power play, it wasn’t from a lack of effort. Both goaltenders – Sarnia’s Justin Fazio and Erie’s Devin Williams – came up with huge saves to keep the opposition at bay. But Cory Genovese’s goal at 14:05 tied up the game 3-3. Riley MacRae picked up his first OHL point in his first OHL game after signing with Erie the day before, and Trent Fox was credited with the second assist
McDavid struck again to start the third period and put the Otters up 4-3, with an assist from Betz. A pair of early Sarnia penalties gave the Otters a 5-on-3 advantage that Erie used to take a three-goal lead, both goals from DeBrincat. Travis Dermott and Strome both picked up assists, with McDavid adding one on each goal.
At 5:29, tensions boiled over. Kevin Spinozzi, Pavel Zacha, Quentin Maksimovich, and Betz all dropped the gloves, resulting in a slew of penalties. Zacha and Betz were both hit with game misconducts, Betz picking up two. Hayden Hodgson had a match penalty, and Genovese sat for tripping. With all penalty minutes on the board, the four-on-four went scoreless, but Darren Raddysh finished up the Otters 7-3 lead with a power play goal on the end of the penalty to Hodgson to solidify Erie’s home opener victory.
The night’s points added another game to the scoring streaks of McDavid (three games), Raddysh (two games) and DeBrincat (two games). Strome has had three assists in all four games of the season, bringing his season total to 12.
The Otters take the week off before heading on the road for a home-and-home with Kitchener on Friday, October 10 and Saturday, October 11.
The Iron Workers Local Union No. 3’s Hardest Working 3 Stars of the Game:
3. Dylan Strome – 3A
2. Alex DeBrincat – 2G 2A
1. Connor McDavid – 2G, 2A
