What: Erie Otters (3-5-1-0) at London Knights (4-2-0-0)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: John Labatt Centre – London, Ontario
On the air: WFNN-AM/1330, www.ottershockey.com (live stream)
Players to watch
Erie – C Greg McKegg (7 goals, 9 assists, 16 points), C Mike Cazzola (4-9-13), RW Shawn Szydlowski (3-7-10), LW David Broll (2-4-6), D Tyler Hostetter (2-5-7)
London – RW Vladislav Namestnikov (3-5-8), RW Jared Knight (4-2-6), RW Seth Griffith (0-6-6), LW Michael MacDonald (2-2-4), C Daniel Erlich (1-2-3)
Fast facts
Erie – A night after losing for the ninth straight time in Windsor, the Otters look to snap an 18-game losing streak and 23-game winless skid in London. The Otters’ last win in London was on Dec. 27, 2002 – their first visit to John Labatt Centre. … They are 2-4-0-0 on the road this season. … They have won two straight overall against the Knights, including a 5-2 home win on Oct. 2. … McKegg’s seven-game point streak ended in Windsor on Thursday. … Szydlowski has points in five straight games (three goals, eight points). … The Otters remain without RW Anthony Luciani (undisclosed injury), D Brett Cook (undisclosed injury) and rookie C Connor Crisp (concussion). Crisp, a second-round pick in the 2010 OHL Priority Selection, still hasn’t made his OHL debut. … D David Shields and LW Brett Appio also missed Thursday’s game. … Rookie D Mark Gazdic and RW Scott Mitchell (season debut) replaced them in the lineup. … The Otters have allowed power-play goals in eight of nine games this season.
London – The Knights have scored a league-low 19 goals, but are third best in goals against (18). … They followed their loss to the Otters with a 3-0 home win against Belleville and 5-4 shootout win in Windsor last weekend. … G Michael Houser, who backed up rookie Igor Bobkov in the loss to the Otters, earned his first OHL shutout in the win against Belleville. Houser has a 4-1-0-0 record, 2.29 goals-against average and .929 save percentage in five games this season. … C Phil Varone, who missed half of last season with a shoulder injury, has missed the past two games since reportedly injuring his knee against the Otters. … The Knights have a league-low 99 penalty minutes.
Up next: vs. Ottawa (Saturday, 7 p.m.), at Sault Ste. Marie (Oct. 22, 7:30 p.m.)
- Victor Fernandes
