Otters stage huge comeback, fall in OT 5-4
Erie, Pennsylvania – Erie scored four goals in the third period – three of them in one minute and one second – staging a huge comeback before Owen Sound scored in overtime.
The Otters power play dominated the two minutes Ethan Szypula was in the box for roughing. Owen Sound nearly cleared the puck early, but Travis Dermott grabbed the puck just before it crossed into the neutral zone. Erie held possession for the entire duration of the power play, but couldn’t break Michael McNiven’s defenses. Special teams won the first period for the Attack.
With Alex DeBrincat in the box, Petrus Palmu gave Owen Sound the lead 13:23 into the first with 20 seconds into the power play on the Attack’s first shot. The Attack had another chance with a man advantage while Dermott served a roughing minor, though Nick Betz nearly tied the game with a shorthanded breakaway. Holden Cook put Owen Sound up 2-0 with five seconds to play in the first.
Owen Sound continued to attack in the second period. An early shot by Cook snapped his stick, breaking up the play, and Devin Williams made a couple of solid saves on the Attack to keep them from pulling ahead. With the pressure on the Otters, Connor McDavid carried the puck into the zone, but couldn’t capitalize. The Attack scooped up the puck and skated the other way, Erik Bradford finding the back of the net. Despite a back and forth and continued chances for the Otters, the Owen Sound 3-0 lead carried through the end of the period.
The third period started with the looks of a comeback for the Otters. DeBrincat scored barely two minutes in to cut the Owen Sound lead to two goals. But two minutes later, Bradford netted his second, restoring the Attack’s three-goal lead.
McDavid came into the Owen Sound zone on a breakaway and was pulled down, sending the Otters to the power play with just over three minutes to go. With two minutes and fifteen seconds to go, McDavid poked the puck in and lit the lamp on the power play, cutting the Owen Sound lead in half. Nine seconds later, Kyle Pettit found the back of the net, bringing the Otters within one. With Williams on the bench for an extra attacker, it took just under another minute for McDavid to tie the game, the entire comeback taking one minute and one second before heading to overtime.
In the extra period, the Otters started out buzzing. Raddysh nearly won the game almost immediately, but his shot was wide. Nick Baptiste started to celebrate, but the play was waved off before being reviewed, and the call on the ice stood. Remi Elie put a shot on net that was deflected into the netting, and DeBrincat found Dylan Strome, but Strome was stopped by McNiven. With under a minute to go in overtime, Owen Sound won a face off in the Otters’s zone and Chris Bigras put the puck behind Williams to win the game.
With McDavid continuing his point streak, he ties the Otters record with 18-games, set by Tim Connolly and Rob Hisley. Raddysh and McDavid both notched multiple points with two and three respectively. The Otters put up 21 shots on goal in the third period for a total of 41.
The Iron Workers Local Union No. 3 Ironmen of the Game:
1. Chris Bigras – 1G, 1A
2. Connor McDavid – 2G, 1A
3. Erik Bradford – 2G, 1A
