What: No. 4 Erie Otters vs. No. 5 Windsor Spitfires
When: Saturday, 7 p.m.
Where: Tullio Arena
On the air: WFNN-AM/1330, www.ottershockey.com (live stream)
Fast facts
Erie – The Otters have won nine straight games. They haven’t lost since a 6-5 home loss to Peterborough on Feb. 26. … Their 2-1 win in Game 1 on Thursday at WFCU Centre in Windsor, Ontario, was the Otters’ first playoff victory since March 25, 2009, when they beat London in Game 3 of a first-round series. … The Otters won for only the fourth time in the past 17 playoff games since their last series win against Sarnia in 2004. … The Otters are 6-2 all-time when winning the first game of a series. … G Ramis Sadikov stopped 40-of-41 shots to earn his first OHL playoff win in his third appearance. … The winner of the last two series between these teams has won the OHL championship and advanced to the Memorial Cup (Otters in 2002, Spitfires in 2010). … The Otters’ penalty kill was successful on 10-of-11, man-down situations in Game 1. The unit finished No. 2 overall in the regular season (83.2 percent). … C Phil Varone scored short-handed in the opener – his 12th goal in 20 career playoff games. … RW Brett Thompson had two assists in the win. Yet he’s still looking for his first career playoff goal (0 goals, 4 points in 6 games). … Former Otters coach Dave MacQueen (1999-2006) is expected to attend tonight’s game. His son, Zack MacQueen, plays right wing for the Spitfires.
Windsor – The Spitfires split two games in Erie during the regular season – a 3-2 win Oct. 29 and an 8-2 loss Feb. 5. … They were 18-14-2-0 on the road in the regular season. … G Jack Campbell had a strong performance in the Game 1 loss (35 saves on 37 shots) after struggling in the regular season (24-14-2-2 record, 3.80 goals-against average, .884 save percentage). … D Ryan Ellis, a Nashville Predators prospect, was held scoreless in Game 1 after being the first OHL defenseman in 16 years to reach 100 points in the regular season. … RW Zack Kassian, a Buffalo Sabres prospect, had an assist Thursday.
Up next: Game 3 at Windsor (Monday, 7:05 p.m.), Game 4 at Erie (Wednesday, 7 p.m.)
– Victor Fernandes
