INSTANT CLASSIC FROM DOWNEY, SEDORE’S FIRST CAREER HAT TRICK PROPEL OTTERS TO 5-2 WIN IN FLINT

Flint, Michigan – The weekend road trip for the Erie Otters would bring them to the Vehicle City for the first time in the 2022-23 season. With a solid weekend outing up to Sunday afternoon’s contest, Erie would try and turn their recent performances into a win. Looking for revenge from an early season loss to Flint, Erie would come in also looking for their first win of the weekend.

In one of the best played periods of the season for Erie, the Otters would take a 3-0 lead from the opening 20. Under five minutes into the game, Carey Terrance and Pano Fimis (11) would rush into the offensive end on a penalty kill, and turn it into a shorthanded goal. Just past the halfway mark of the first, Noah Sedore (9, 10) would strike for his first of two goals in the period with a self-made opportunity from a turnover fired into the back of the net. Sedore would add a power play goal later in the first, and Erie would outshoot Flint 12-8 enroute to a 3-0 lead. Kyle Downey would have eight saves.

While scoring was the story of the first, it would be stoppages that would be the tale of the tape in period two. Facing 17 shots in the second period, Kyle Downey would stop all 17 to keep Flint off the board. Erie would kill off an early four-minute double minor to go 5/5 on the penalty kill through 40 minutes of play. Erie would muster just four shots in the period but maintain its 3-0 lead heading into the final frame.

Shots would be heavy from both sides in the third period, as the teams would combine for 30 shots on net. Scoring wouldn’t start for the Erie Otters until past the halfway mark of the third, when Noah Sedore (11) would cap off a natural hat trick for the first of his career. Erie would jump to a 4-0 lead. The shutout for Kyle Downey would come to an unfortunate end on the 35^th shot of the night from Flint, as Coulson Pitre (18) would sneak one from the blue paint in. Just over two minutes later, Flint would strike again from Braeden Kressler (20) to make it a two-goal game with over five minutes left. With the net empty, Malcolm Spence (9) would put the game on ice with an empty-netter to put the final nail in the coffin for a 5-2 victory. Kyle Downey would make a career-high 41 saves on 43 shots faced in the win.

Thus concludes the weekend road trip for the Erie Otters, returning back to Erie 1-2 on the trip and ready to prepare for a Thursday road game at Niagara. Erie will then host Kitchener on Saturday and Niagara on Sunday as part of UPMC Health Plan Member Appreciation Weekend. Erie will take the ice in specialty Hockey Fights Cancer jerseys to benefit the Hillman Cancer Fund on Saturday.