OTTERS EARN CRUCIAL POINT AGAINST GUELPH IN SHOOTOUT LOSS ON SCHOOL DAY
Erie, Pennsylvania – Buses arriving as the sun rises, an 11 A.M. puck drop, and a early morning game in February can only mean one thing – the annual School Day Game was back in session! After back-to-back wins to close out January, and three-straight home ice victories, the Erie Otters welcomed the Guelph Storm in to kickoff February. Looking for their first win against Guelph, Erie would hope to put on a show for the students of the tri-state area.
Erie would come out flying to start the first period, controlling all the time of possession as well as the game’s first six shots. Erie would be rewarded in the opening four minutes, as Noah Sedore (13) would receive a perfect feed from Sam Alfano to give Erie a 1-0 lead. The tide would start to turn in favor of the Guelph Storm as the halfway mark of the first period. The Storm would finally be rewarded for their shooting spree, as Cooper Walker (10) would strike on Guelph’s first power play. On the second power play of the night for the Storm, they would once again find the back of the net from Jake Karabela (15) to give Guelph a 2-1 lead after 20, leading in shots 14-10.
The battle back for Erie would start in the second period, as the team would battle to even shots in the middle frame at 12-12. Ondrej Molnar (3) would be the recipient of terrific feeds from Carey Terrance and Elias Cohen to knot things up at two near the halfway mark. Erie’s jubilation would last for only :60, as Braeden Bowman (18) would put Guelph right back on top, 3-2. Thus would end the second period, with a 26-22 shots advantage for the Storm.
Working hard all morning would turn into a reward for Erie, as early into period three, Kaleb Smith (7) would score in his 100th Ontario Hockey League game. Despite coming less than 3:30 into the third period, this would prove to be the lone goal of the frame, as the Otters would outshoot Guelph down the stretch 10-7. Both goaltenders would stand strong, with a 3-3 result after three periods of play.
Erie would earn a necessary and critical point after 60 minutes, as the team’s would look to decide things in overtime. Erie would outshoot Guelph 4-1 in the extra frame, but goaltender Patrick Leaver would continue to play impressive in front of the net, preventing the Otters from striking. The lack of goals in sudden death would take the game to the shootout, where Gilmartin, Molnar, and Cohen would fail to score. Valentin Zhugin would have the lone-goal of the shootout, as the Storm would escape with the second point in a 4-3 shootout (1-0) win. Erie drops to 0-4 in the shootout this season.
The Erie Otters will have an off-day Friday, and one final home game for three weeks on Saturday night as the London Knights come to town for Star Wars Night (pres. by the Millcreek Mall). The first 1500 fans in attendance will receive a free Erie Otters/Star Wars poster. Following the game, the Otters will head north to Oshawa to prepare for their final game of the season against the Generals – kicking off eight-straight on the road.
