ER 6 | SAR 3
ERIE, PA – In a spirited first game of the best-of-seven series, the Otters skated away with a 6-3 win on home ice to give them a 1-0 series advantage ahead of Game #2 in Sarnia on Saturday evening. The Otters – who finished 2nd in the CHL Top 10 Rankings – fired 51 shots in the direction of Justin Fazio and found the back of the net 6 times.
Drake Rymsha opened the scoring at 3:20 of the first period on the powerplay; jumping all over a juicy rebound left in front by Troy Timpano. Jeff King and Jordan Kyrou were awarded the assists on Rymsha’s first career OHL playoff goal.
The Otters responded with three goals of their own despite going 0/4 with the man advantage in the opening stanza. Kyle Maksimovich scored twice for the home side while Warren Foegele chipped in a single to give Erie a 3-1 lead through 20 minutes of play.
The Sting made it a one-goal game at 11:15 of the second period when Jordan Ernst found the back of the net from a difficult angle. Theo Calvas was credited with the lone assist on the Ernst tally.
The OHL’s leading scorer would respond for the Otters; regaining the two goal lead just 1:45 later with his first of the post-season. DeBrincat’s eventual game-winning goal was assisted by linemates Dylan Strome and Taylor Raddysh.
Raddysh and Kyrou would exchange goals in the first half of the third period before Anthony Cirelli would put the game to bed with his first of the post-season at 16:44 of the third period. Cirelli’s powerplay goal was assisted by Dylan Strome and Alex DeBrincat.
After a chippy opening contest, the two teams will get set to do battle at the Progressive Auto Sales Arena on Saturday night for Game #2 of the 7 game series. Tickets are available online here, by calling (519) 541 1717 or by visiting the Box Office between the hours of 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM on Friday. The Box Office will be open again at 10:00 AM on Saturday morning.
STING NOTES:
- Both Jordan Kyrou and Drake Rymsha tallied a goal and an assist in the contest
- Justin Fazio turned aside 45 of 51 shots faced
- The Sting powerplay was 1/2 while the Otters finished 1/6 with the man-advantage
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