WEEKEND PREVIEW: THE PENULTIMATE WEEK OF PLAY

Erie, Pennsylvania – The end is nigh – the second-to-last week of the OHL season is here, as the Erie Otters prepare for a home-road-home three-game weekend.

Erie will start the week with the Niagara IceDogs visiting the Erie Insurance Arena on Wednesday for the last matchup between the cross-conference rivals. Erie will then hit the road to face their final OHL Eastern Conference foe of the season – the Mississauga Steelheads – on Friday night. The weekend comes to a conclusion on Saturday night with the Guelph Storm in town for the CHL TV Game of the Week.

LAST TIME OUT

A final week of American battles took place for the Erie Otters last week, battling Flint (x2) and Saginaw. Erie would fall at Flint on Wednesday and at Saginaw on Thursday with both scores being 4-1 in favor of the home team. After the loss on Thursday night, Erie was eliminated from OHL playoff contention. On an Office-celebrating Saturday night at the EIA, Erie would battle head in a 7-4 loss to the Flint Firebirds.

WHO TO WATCH

Rookie forward Alex Messier continues to flourish under head coach Stan Butler. On Saturday night, Messier scored the first of two-goals-in-30-seconds for Erie for his third-career goal. Messier has now scored three goals in the last month for Erie, including goals in back-to-back Saturday. The rookie continues to look toward the future, making the most of every opportunity he gets on the ice. 

Speaking of flourishing, Sam Alfano is coming off a four-goal week for the Otters. Alfano scored the lone goals in the trip to Michigan, then came home to score two goals Saturday night. In his last eight games, Alfano has recorded eight points (7G+1A) including points in four-straight games. In his Sophomore season, Alfano has 30 points (17G+13A) – the man who has been the “Big Rig” for Erie this season continues to prove why in the final frame of the season.  

WHAT’S HAPPENIN’ AT HOME?

The final meeting of the season against Niagara is a Winning Wednesday. If the Otters win, all fans in attendance will receive a ticket to next Wednesday’s home game against the Kitchener Rangers. When WE win, YOU win!

We honor our brave First Responders and the heroes of our community on Saturday night for First Responders Night (Pres. By Plyer Entry Systems). All First Responders are eligible for a free ticket to the game courtesy of Plyler Entry Systems by showing their Badge or I.D. at the Erie Insurance Box Office. The Otters will take the ice in pregame in specialty First Responder tribute jerseys, with post-game jersey auction proceeds benefiting Auto Racers for Kids Charity.

Saturday night’s game has also been deemed the Canadian Hockey League’s “Game of the Week”, and will feature a free-to-watch broadcast on CHL TV. More information on how to watch the game is below.

KNOW THE FOES

The cross-conference rival Niagara IceDogs are first due up of Erie. This is the final matchup of the year between the two teams. Niagara sits with an 11-43-8-1 record at the bottom of the OHL Eastern Conference. Zakary Lavoie leads the team across the board (24G+27A) recording a 50+ point season. Fellow forward Daniel Michaud (22G+26A) is right on the edge of a 50-point season currently at 48 points. In net look for Owen Flores who has a .809 SV% on the year. Niagara will start their week in the Erie, head to Barrie Saturday night, then play Sunday afternoon at home against Peterborough.  

The Mississauga Steelheads are next up for the Otters – a team Erie has seen success against as of late. This is Erie’s final trip to the Paramount Fine Foods Centre, where they last played to 3-2 loss in a shootout. Mississauga sits with a 29-26-6-0 record and sits in sixth place in the Eastern Conference. James Hardie has been the leader of the team all season having a 75 point season (36G+39A). The Steelheads were one of the more active teams when the trade deadline came around this year. One addition was Sarnia’s Angus Macdonell, who has scored 14 goals in the 25 games he has played for the team. In net for the Steelheads look for Alessio Beglieri, who has a .869 SV% on the year. Mississauga plays in Peterborough Tuesday night, heads home for Barrie on Wednesday, over to Erie on Friday, then closes the week in Oshawa Sunday night. 

The last team due up for Erie on the week are the Guelph Storm. This is the penultimate meeting between these two teams, as Erie will head to Guelph next Friday for the final road game of the season. Guelph is locked into the Western Conference playoffs, currently in the seventh spot with a 30-27-4-1 record. Guelph looks to acquire what points they can – sitting only one point ahead of the Kitchener Rangers. Matthew Potrias (Boston) sits with 79 points on the year (15G+64A) on the year. Leading goal-scorer Braeden Bowman leads the team with 28 goals on the season. Both Potrias and Bowman join Max Namestnikov and Michael Buchinger (St. Louis) with 50+ point seasons for the Storm. In net look for Patrick Leaver, who has an .884 SV% on the year.  Guelph begins their week Wednesday night at home against potential first-round playoff opponent London. The Storm will then play Sarnia on Friday at home before closing the week out in Erie.  

HOW TO WATCH, LISTEN, & FOLLOW ALONG

WATCH:

“OHL Live” is the Ontario Hockey League’s broadcast home on CHL TV! OHL Live delivers a high-quality viewing experience while providing access to more than 700 OHL games streamed across a range of platforms including:

• PC and/or Tablet on Safari and Google Chrome web browsers
• iOS / Android mobile devices.
• Amazon Fire
• Apple TV
• Roku platforms

For less than $2/game, OHL Live provides live game action all season long, plus free-to-access video-on-demand content and a user-friendly interface that is easy to navigate. For more information, head to watch.chl.ca/ohl!

LISTEN:

The League’s largest radio network, the Otters Radio Network gives fans the most-accessible and high-quality way to experience every moment of Otters’ game night – from pregame to postgame.

Every game can feel like a home game as a fan with the Otters Radio Network. With live-game broadcasts of all 68 Regular Season games, fans can always hear the action as it happens. Thanks to the Broadcast Home for Otters Hockey, iHeart Media Erie, fans can listen to every game LIVE on the iHeart App from ANYWHERE in the world! From Pennsylvania to Transylvania and everywhere in between, you’ll always be in range to hear Otters Hockey.

The Otters Radio Network is larger than ever before on terrestrial & digital radio – from Southeast Michigan to Southwest New York!

• iHeart Media (Erie, PA) is the Flagship Station for the Otters on WJET 1400 AM, and home to Otters Hockey in Pennsylvania. Games can be heard on terrestrial radio on 1400 AM in Erie and surrounding communities of NWPA, or can be livestreamed worldwide on the iHeart App.
• Media One Radio Group – Ohio (Ashtabula, OH) is home to Otters Hockey in Ohio on ESPN 970 WFUN. Games can be heard on terrestrial radio on 970 AM in Ashtabula and surrounding communities of Northeast Ohio and NWPA, or can be livestreamed worldwide on WFUN’s website.
• Media One Radio Group – New York (Jamestown, NY) is home to Otters Hockey in New York State on Kissin’ Oldies 1340 WKSN. Games can be heard on terrestrial radio on 1340 AM in Jamestown and surrounding communities of Southwest New York and NWPA, or can be livestreamed worldwide on WKSN’s website.
• ESPN Radio Michigan Regional Sports Network (Flint, MI) is home to Otters Hockey in Michigan. Games can be livestreamed worldwide on MRSN’s website.

Fans can also listen to the game on any of the Otters’ four radio-homes on the Listen Live page. The Lavery Brewing Pregame Show starts 20 minutes prior to the Drop The Gloves Puck Drop, hosted by the Voice of the Otters Shawn Bednard.

Make sure to tune in week days from 11 A.M. to 5 P.M. on Fox Sports 1330, Happi 92.7 FM, WERG 90.5 FM, 106.3 FM WCTL, Kinzua County 104.3 FM (Warren, PA), Channel 98.9 FM & Sunny 105.7 FM (Corry, PA), FOX Sports Radio Oil City 1120 & 104.1 FM (Oil City),  ESPN 970 WFUN (Ashtabula, OH), WKSN 1340 AM & WQFX 103.1 (Jamestown, NY), and ESPN Radio MRSN (Flint, MI) to hear the ‘Otters Daily Update’, giving you all the insight on your Otters.

FOLLOW ALONG:

If you want to follow along in-real-time to the weekend’s games, make sure you’re following the Otters on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. From live tweets of the action, scoring updates, photos, and highlights, Otters’ social media is the best way to keep up with the team wherever they are.

ONE FINAL WEEK ON THE HORIZON

After a season debut in late September, the final week of the OHL season is upon us. Erie will start their last week at home Wednesday night against the Kitchener Rangers for Women’s Empowerment Night. Erie then hits the road for a Friday matchup versus the Guelph Storm. The Otters will end the season at the EIA Saturday night for Fan Appreciation Night against the Sarnia Sting.