Erie Otters D Adam Pelech underwent surgery Tuesday to remove pins from his surgically repaired wrist, managing partner/GM Sherry Bassin confirmed today.
Bassin said Pelech will be ready for training camp in late August. He also will be able to train at some point this summer. “It’s just a question of healing,” Bassin said.
Pelech has undergone three surgeries on that wrist since fracturing it early in the 2011-12 OHL season – the first to repair the break in the fall of 2011, the second in May 2012 to remove a screw inserted during the first procedure.
In other news, Bassin said the roster for this weekend’s rookie development camp at Mercyhurst Ice Center will be finalized today. He expects 25-28 players with 1996 and 1997 birth years to participate in the camp. Yet Bassin remained tight-lipped on who he has hired to join coach Kris Knoblauch‘s staff. The staff will be unveiled Thursday night during a welcome reception for first-round pick Dylan Strome at Erie Insurance Arena.
Bassin previously has said he could hire two full-time assistants and a part-time goaltending coach.

- Victor Fernandes

Erie Otters (18-37-3-5) at Owen Sound Attack (39-18-1-5)
When: Today and Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre – Owen Sound, Ontario
On the air: WFNN-AM/1330, www.ottershockey.com (live stream)
Upcoming schedule: Wednesday vs. London, 7 p.m.
What to expect: The Otters snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-4 comeback win in overtime against Windsor Saturday night at Erie Insurance Arena. … D Spencer Abraham scored the winning goal to complete his second two-goal game and three-point outing of his three-year OHL career. He was one point short of matching his single-game best of four points, set in his second career game with Brampton against Barrie Sept. 30, 2010. … F Dane Fox (16 goals, 17 assists, 33 points in 32 games) had two goals and an assist against the Spitfires in his first game back from a two-game, OHL-imposed suspension. … D Adam Pelech (7-30-37) rejoins the lineup tonight after serving a five-game suspension. … C Jake Evans (5-11-16) served his two-game suspension last weekend. But he hasn’t skated since injuring his knee during practice Feb. 25. … The Otters also are without rookie RW Hayden Hodgson (8-4-12), who’s serving a 10-game suspension that carries over to the first three games of the 2013-14 season. … RW Connor Brown (26-40-66) has skated on his own this week as he recovers from a concussion. Brown, who has been symptom-free the past few days, hopes to play this weekend. … Rookie D Justin Felker (neck) has been shut down for the rest of the season. … The Otters have all but clinched the No. 2 pick in the OHL Priority Selection April 6. Ottawa (16-42-0-5) is on pace to secure the No. 1 pick, while Peterborough (22-34-3-4) has the inside track to the third overall spot. … Otters C Connor McDavid (25-35-60) and Sarnia RW Nikolay Goldobin (27-33-60) are tied atop the league’s rookie scoring list. Both teams have five games left. McDavid, who has played five fewer games than Goldobin, leads his counterpart by two assists and trails him by two in goals. … Owen Sound is in a tight battle with Midwest Division rival Kitchener for third place in the Western Conference. The Attack has 84 points, one more than the Rangers, with five regular-season games left. … The Attack have the league’s best scoring defense (155 goals against) despite being the most penalized team (1,173 minutes). They are third on the penalty kill (84 percent). … C Daniel Catenacci ranks among the top 15 overall with 34 goals, 72 points and 111 penalty minutes. … LW Steven Janes (104), D Kurtis MacDermid (101) and LW Kyle Hope (100) also rank among the top 20 in penalty minutes. … G Jordan Binnington ranks among the leaders in wins (29), goals-against average (2.25), save percentage (.931) and shutouts (6). … The Attack won three of the first four meetings with the Otters.

- Victor Fernandes

Plymouth Whalers (34-17-5-4) at Erie Otters (17-36-3-5)
When: Today, 7 p.m.
Where: Erie Insurance Arena
On the air: WFNN-AM/1330, www.ottershockey.com (live stream)
Upcoming schedule: Saturday vs. Windsor, 7 p.m., March 8-9 at Owen Sound, 7:30 p.m.
What to expect: The Otters have lost five straight – two shy of their matching season-worst skid set Jan. 21 to Feb. 3 – and eight of their last 10 games. … They will play without four regulars suspended by the OHL – forwards Dane Fox (14 goals, 30 points in 31 games), Jake Evans (5-11-16) and Hayden Hodgson (8-4-12) and defenseman Adam Pelech (7-30-37). … Hodgson will miss the final seven games of the season and first three games of the 2013-14 season for a hit that injured rookie LW Henri Ikonen, Kingston’s leading scorer, in last Sunday’s loss. … Evans will miss both games this weekend for instigating the second fight in the same stoppage during that game. … Fox completes a two-game suspension tonight for instigating a fight in the last five minutes of a loss to Sarnia Feb. 22. … Pelech completes his five-game suspension this weekend for a 5-minute cross-checking penalty and game misconduct Feb. 18 in London. … The Otters also remain without captain Connor Brown (concussion). He hopes to resume skating next week, and holds out hope he can rejoin the lineup before the season ends March 16 against Guelph. … Otters coach Kris Knoblauch said club officials would like to recall prospects to fill in for those missing players. But those prospects are still in the playoffs with Tier II teams. Knoblauch was unsure if they could arrange call-ups in time for tonight’s game. … Otters C Connor McDavid (24-34-58) and Sarnia RW Nikolay Goldobin (26-32-58) are tied atop the league’s rookie scoring list. Both teams have seven games left. McDavid leads Goldobin by two in assists and trails Goldobin by two in goals. … Plymouth entered Thursday night’s game at Niagara leading the West Division by five points over Sault Ste. Marie and second in the Western Conference. … The Whalers have won eight of their last 10 games. … They began Thursday leading the league with 246 goals scored. The Otters have allowed 277 goals, the second-worst total. … Plymouth can sweep the four-game season series from the Otters with a win. … C Vincent Trocheck, a Pittsburgh native, ranks second in the league with 42 goals, third with 91 points and seventh with 49 assists. He has 18 goals and 41 points in 20 games since being acquired from Saginaw Jan. 10. … Windsor (24-29-1-6) entered Thursday night’s home game against OHL-leading London trailing Saginaw by nine points for the Western Conference’s final playoff spot. The Spitfires have seven games left. … They had lost seven of their previous 10 games.
Note: Plymouth’s record doesn’t include Thursday night’s game at Niagara.

* More online: Check out Otters rookie winger Hayden Hodgson’s thoughts on his 10-game suspension on the Shootout hockey blog at GoErie.com/blogs/shootout and Twitter at www.twitter.com/goeriehockey.

- Victor Fernandes

Erie Otters rookie winger Hayden Hodgson has been suspended for 10 games – the final seven games of this season and the first three games of the 2013-14 season – for his five-minute interference penalty and game misconduct Sunday against Kingston at Erie Insurance Arena.
OHL vice president Ted Baker said Hodgson delivered a hit to an unsuspecting, vulnerable player that caused a “significant injury.”
Meanwhile, Otters center Jake Evans will serve a two-game suspension this weekend for instigating the second fight in the same stoppage of play in Sunday’s game. He fought defenseman Dylan DiPerna, who wasn’t suspended. Baker said DiPerna shouldn’t have received a game misconduct because Evans instigated the fight. Kingston defenseman Ryan Hutchinson was issued a two-game suspension for a game misconduct stemming from his actions following a fight with Evans in the same game. Hutchinson kicked an Otters helmet across the ice and threw a chair in the runway while heading to the Frontenacs dressing room.
The Otters already have two other players, defenseman Adam Pelech and forward Dane Fox, serving league-imposed suspensions.
Pelech, who has been suspended twice this season, will serve the final two games of a five-game ban this weekend. He was given a major cross-checking penalty and game misconduct Feb. 18 against London. Fox completes a two-game suspension by missing Friday’s home game against Plymouth. He was given a game misconduct for instigating a fight in the last five minutes of a Feb. 22 game against Sarnia.

- Victor Fernandes

Erie Otters rookie RW Hayden Hodgson has been suspended for 10 games – the final seven games of this season and the opening three games of the 2013-14 season – for his five-minute interference penalty and game misconduct in Sunday’s loss to Kingston at Erie Insurance Arena.
The Otters already have two other players, defenseman Adam Pelech and forward Dane Fox, serving league-imposed suspensions. Pelech, who has been suspended twice this season, will serve the final two games of a five-game suspension this weekend. He was given a five-minute, cross-checking penalty and game misconduct Feb. 18 against London. Fox completes a two-game suspension by missing Friday’s home game against Plymouth. He was given a game misconduct for instigating a fight in the last five minutes of last Friday’s loss in Sarnia.
In related news, Kingston defenseman Ryan Hutchinson was issued a two-game suspension for a game misconduct stemming from a fight against Otters center Jake Evans Sunday. Hutchinson also kicked an Otters helmet across the ice and threw a chair in the runway while heading to the Frontenacs dressing room. Evans hasn’t received any additional penalties for another fight that led to his ejection in that same game.

- Victor Fernandes

Erie Otters (17-33-3-5) at Windsor Spitfires (22-28-1-6)
When: Thursday, 7:05 p.m.
Where: WFCU Centre – Windsor, Ontario
On the air: WFNN-AM/1330, www.ottershockey.com (live stream)
Upcoming schedule: Friday at Sarnia, 7:05 p.m., Sunday vs. Kingston, 2 p.m.
What to expect: The Otters would be eliminated from OHL playoff contention for the second straight season and sixth time since the 2001-02 league championship season with a loss in regulation, overtime or shootout tonight. … The Otters are on pace to earn the No. 2 pick in the OHL Priority Selection. They have the second-worst record in the league, behind only Ottawa, which entered Wednesday night’s game at Belleville with a 15-38-0-4 mark. Peterborough stands third worst at 20-30-3-4. … The Otters are expected to play without captain Connor Brown because of a head injury suffered in Monday’s loss at London. The second-year winger, who leads the team with 26 goals, 40 assists and 66 points, has played in every game – 126 in all – since joining the club a season ago. … League officials will announce today if D Adam Pelech will be suspended for a five-minute, cross-checking penalty and game misconduct against the Knights. League vice president Ted Baker didn’t rule out suspending Pelech indefinitely if more time is needed for the review. Pelech was suspended indefinitely before being issued a four-game ban less than a month ago for a five-minute kneeing penalty and game misconduct Jan. 23 against Saginaw. … C Connor McDavid (24-31-55) holds a three-point lead over Sarnia RW Nikolay Goldobin (24-28-52) in the league’s rookie scoring race. Brampton LW Blake Clarke (18-27-45) trails McDavid by 10 points. … J.P. Labardo (20-34-54) has scored 20 goals in a season for the first time in his five-year OHL career. … The Otters lost the first two meetings with the Spitfires by a goal – 2-1 in Windsor Oct. 18 and 3-2 two nights later at Erie Insurance Arena. They meet for the final time March 2 in Erie. … Windsor has lost five straight games and eight of its last 10 to fall 11 points behind Saginaw in the race for the Western Conference’s final playoff spot. Any combination of Windsor losses, as well as Spirit wins in regulation, overtime and shootouts, totaling 12 points would eliminate the Spitfires from contention. … The Spitfires rank near the bottom of the league with 169 goals scored and 221 goals against. … RW Kerby Rychel, son of Spitfires vice president and general manager Warren Rychel, ranks among the league leaders with 33 goals and 69 points. … C Alexander Khokhlachev has 13 goals and 28 points in 18 games since leaving the Kontinental Hockey League in his native Russia to rejoin the Spitfires. … RW Josh Ho-Sang, McDavid’s former teammate with the Toronto Marlboros and the fifth pick in the 2012 OHL draft, has 11 goals and 37 points in 52 games.

- Victor Fernandes

The Erie Otters will wait until Thursday to learn whether D Adam Pelech will be suspended for his 5-minute, cross-checking penalty and game misconduct in Monday’s loss at London.
OHL Vice President Ted Baker said league officials continue to review the incident. He said the league will issue a ruling before the Otters’ game Thursday night at Windsor. Baker didn’t rule out suspending Pelech indefinitely if more time is needed to continue the review.
Less than a month ago, Pelech was indefinitely suspended for a 5-minute kneeing penalty and game misconduct Jan. 23 against Saginaw until a review was completed. He served two games before being suspended for an additional two games.
“It’s never good,” Baker said, when a player already has served a suspension so close to another potential suspension. But the first suspension was for a physical infraction, Baker said. Now Pelech is being looked at for a stick infraction. Baker said the situation would be more serious if Pelech was being reviewed a second time for a similar infraction.

- Victor Fernandes

LONDON, Ontario – The London Knights made sure the Erie Otters had no chance to win Monday afternoon.
The Knights scored twice in the opening four minutes of a three-goal first period, and added five more in the third, on the way to beating the Otters 8-1 in front of 9,046 fans at Budweiser Gardens. The defeat moved the Otters (17-33-3-5) closer to official OHL playoff elimination.
Any combination of Otters losses, as well as Saginaw Spirit wins and overtime defeats, totaling three points officially ends Erie’s postseason hopes. That number could shrink to one if the Spirit beat Windsor tonight. Meanwhile, London (41-12-2-2) set out to avenge a 4-3 loss to the Otters Friday night at Erie Insurance Arena.
The Knights took control from the outset, as Bo Horvat scored the opening goal 50 seconds into the game and Josh Anderson followed at the 4:09 maek of the period. J.P. Labardo sliced that lead in half 45 seconds later. The overage forward recorded the first 20-goal season of his five-year OHL career. But London regained a two-goal lead at 3-1 on Max Domi‘s power-play score with 2:30 left in the period.
After a scoreless second period, the Knights capitalized three times on a five-minute power play, including a 5-on-3 chance for two minutes, to spark a five-goal third. The Otters were left short-handed by a series of penalties early in the period , including a major cross-checking infraction and game misconduct against defenseman Adam Pelech. Domi scored his second of three goals at the 3:45 mark, followed by Matt Rupert‘s goal 20 seconds later. Then Nikita Zadorov scored 7:09 into the period to open a 6-1 Knights’ lead.
Domi capped his hat trick, and Alex Broadhurst also scored, to cap the stretch of five unanswered goals in less than seven minutes. Otters goaltender Oscar Dansk allowed the first seven goals on 33 shots before being replaced by Devin Williams, who stopped five of six shots.
Domi finished with four points for the Knights, while Horvat, Zadorov and Matt Rupert had a goal and assist apiece.

KITCHENER, Ontario – The Erie Otters’ postseason hopes continued to slip away Friday night.
Kitchener’s three-goal second period sent the Otters to a 5-1 loss in front of 7,294 fans at Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.
Meanwhile, Saginaw and Windsor won Friday, leaving the Otters 13 points behind the eighth-place Spirit and nine behind No. 9 Windsor in the race for the Western Conference’s final playoff spot heading into today’s 7 p.m. rematch with the Rangers at Erie Insurance Arena.
The Otters (15-25-3-5), which have 20 games left in the regular season, have lost three straight games and six of their last seven. In the latest defeat, the Otters played the Rangers (27-14-1-5) to a scoreless tie. But rookie Justin Bailey‘s goal 46 seconds into the second period, and Tobias Rieder‘s goal 1 minute, 5 seconds later, sparked Kitchener’s run to a 3-0 lead. Ryan Murphy also scored midway through the period.
The Otters hoped to mount a comeback following J.P. Labardo‘s 16th goal of the season 3:02 into the third period. But Matia Marcantuoni scored at the 7:05 mark to regain the Rangers’ three-goal lead. Derek Schoenmakers capped the scoring with 2:29 left.
Devin Williams stopped 41-of-46 shots in a losing effort for the Otters, while Joel Vienneau made 31 saves on 32 shots for the Rangers.
Luke Cairns had an assist for the Otters. Murphy led Kitchener with a goal and two assists, while Ben Thomson had two assists. Otters defenseman Adam Pelech was given an indefinite suspension for his knee-on-knee hit against Saginaw’s Zach Bratina Wednesday. The league hasn’t issued an official ruling.

Erie Otters (15-24-3-5) at Kitchener Rangers (26-14-1-5)
When: Today, 7 p.m.
Where: Kitchener Memorial Auditorium – Kitchener, Ontario
On the air: WFNN-AM/1330, www.ottershockey.com (live stream)
Upcoming schedule: Saturday vs. Kitchener, 7 p.m.
What to expect: The Otters enter a home-and-home series with the Midwest Division rival Rangers trailing eighth-place Saginaw by 11 points in the chase for the final playoff spot in the OHL’s Western Conference. They are seven points behind No. 9 Windsor. … The Otters play 11 of their 21 games against division opponents – Kitchener (four times), London (three), Owen Sound (twice) and Guelph (twice). Those teams hold four of the top five spots in the conference standings. … The Rangers are third in the division and fourth in the conference. They are 17 points behind frontrunning London and six behind third-place Owen Sound. … The Otters and Rangers have split the first four games of the eight-game season series, with each team winning once at home and on the road. Erie won the past two meetings 6-2 and 4-3 in a shootout Dec. 14-15. … Otters officials are awaiting word from the league today on defenseman Adam Pelech, who could be suspended for his knee-on-knee hit against Saginaw LW Zach Bratina Wednesday night. Pelech received a five-minute kneeing penalty and game misconduct. … G Oscar Dansk (concussion) remains day to day. He hadn’t returned to practice as of Thursday. … Rookie C Connor McDavid has four goals in his last 14 games after totaling nine goals in 13 November games. However, he has 14 points in those past 14 games. He still leads the league’s rookie scoring race with 49 points, eight ahead of Sarnia RW Nikolay Goldobin. … The Rangers are 7-2-0-1 in their last 10 games. … The Rangers rank 16th in the league with 134 goals scored and 19th on the power play (16.1 percent). But they are third with 118 goals against and second on the penalty kill (85.4 percent). … G John Gibson, a Pittsburgh native, ranks among the league leaders with a 2.41 goals-against average and .927 save percentage. … LW Joshua Leivo ranks among the top 20 scorers with 52 points. … Frank Corrado joins Pelech (34 points) among the top 10 defensemen with 31 points.

- Victor Fernandes