The shootout already had ventured into the ninth round. Yet Erie Otters goaltender Oscar Dansk wanted it to last longer.
After eight failed attempts, Dansk hoped to give his teammates another chance against London Saturday night at Erie Insurance Arena. But Knights rookie Kyle Platzer scored the only goal of the nine-round marathon to hand the Otters a 4-3 loss in front of 2,667 fans.
The Otters (2-3-1-1) settled for one point and three out of four during their two-game weekend homestand. Meanwhile, the Knights (4-2-0-0) earned their second straight win despite squandering a two-goal, second-period lead. Dansk finished with 19 saves on 22 shots in regulation and overtime before his stellar effort in the shootout. His counterpart, Kevin Bailie, had 26 saves on 29 shots through 65 minutes of action and several more quality saves in the shootout.
No. 1 pick Connor McDavid, Connor Brown and Stephen Harper scored for the Otters. Brown added an assist for a two-point outing.
Seth Griffith and Bo Horvat had a goal and assist apiece for the Knights, while Max Domi added a goal.
McDavid continued his impressive start to his rookie season by scoring 1 minute, 55 seconds into the opening period – his third goal in two nights and fourth goal in seven games. He slid past the Knights’ defense and slipped a shot past Bailie to hand the Otters a 1-0 lead. But that lead didn’t last long, as Domi tied the score at 1 at the 6:23 mark with his fourth goal of the season.
Domi escaped a crowd of defenders behind the Otters’ net and squeezed a shot between the right post and Dansk’s left pad. Then Griffith, who burned the Otters for three goals in an 8-2 Knights’ win in London Sept. 21, scored his seventh goal in six games to snap the 1-1 tie with 8:28 left in the period. Griffth tied Oshawa’s Boone Jenner for the OHL lead in goals.
The Otters dominated at the start of the second. They held the Knights without a shot on goal for nearly eight minutes. Meanwhile, the Otters’ offense generated several quality scoring opportunities. Yet while Bailie stymied the Otters, including key saves in close on Johnny McGuire and Luke Cairns, Bo Horvat scored on the Knights’ first shot of the period to build a 3-1 lead at the 7:56 mark.
But the Otters converted their first power play of the game, as Brown turned a fortunate bounce off a defender in front of the net into his fourth goal of the season. His rebound to Bailie’s left with 2:48 left in the period sent the Otters into the third trailing 3-2.
Then the Otters capitalized on their second power play of the game 9:27 into the third to complete the comeback. After Nick Betz stole the puck from a Knights defender, linemate Jake Evans found Harper in front for his fourth goal of the season.
Harper appeared to give the Otters a 4-3 lead on a power play late in regulation. But the officials whistled the play dead for offsides, a call Harper disagreed with but Otters coach Robbie Ftorek defended. Scott Harrington nearly sealed the Knights’ win in overtime, but his shot from the point glanced off the post and into the ground. Then the Otters killed off a power play in the final 1:32 of the extra period, sending the game into the shootout. But the Otters couldn’t beat Bailie, while Platzer slipped a shot through Dansk’s pads
* News and notes: Head coach Dan Bylsma and former forward Bill Guerin headlined a group of Pittsburgh Penguins officials at the game. Knights defensemen Harrington and Olli Maatta are Penguins prospects. … Scott Howson, the Columbus Blue Jackets’ executive vice president of hockey operations and general manager, attended both games this weekend to watch Dansk, the NHL club’s second-round draft pick this past June. … The Otters scratched Anthony Cortellessa (flu) and Dane Fox (broken foot). Liam Maaskant, Justin Felker and Mitch Eisenberg were healthy scratches. Maaskant and Eisenberg haven’t dressed for a game this season.

- Victor Fernandes

Oscar Dansk remains a work in progress, even after his stellar 34-save performance Friday night against Brampton.
“I’m just taking it a day at a time,” the rookie goaltender said before the Erie Otters’ game against London Saturday night at Erie Insurance Arena.
Dansk missed time in the preseason while recovering from a knee injury suffered in the summer while playing for his native Sweden’s national junior team at USA Hockey’s National Junior Evaluation Camp in Lake Placid, N.Y. So Dansk is still working on his timing.
“It’s something I work on every day. You get better and better every day,” said Dansk, who believes he produced a solid overall effort in his first five games of the season. He entered his outing against the Knights with a 2-3-0-0 record, 4.51 goals-against average and .891 save percentage. He surrendered 19 goals on 110 shots in his losses to Niagara, London and Ottawa.
Yet he stopped 81-of-83 shots in wins against Brampton and Peterborough. “It’s up to me to prove myself,” said Dansk, who added that his return to full strength was slowed by “different opinions from different people” regarding his rehabilitation. But he’s ready to play now. And on Saturday, he was ready to face the Knights, who scored seven goals on 39 shots against him in London Sept. 21.
“I’m really pumped,” he said. “We’re looking to rebound.”
Sherry Bassin, Otters managing partner and general manager, isn’t concerned about Dansk’s inconsistent start early this season.
Besides the knee injury and subsequent slow rehabilitation, Bassin said, goaltending coach Peter Sidorkiewicz was unable to work with Dansk and backup Devin Williams on the ice until this past Tuesday. The ongoing renovations at the downtown arena forced the Otters to settle for an abbreviated practice schedule in previous weeks. Yet Ian Clark, the Columbus Blue Jackets’ goaltending coach, is scheduled to arrive in Erie today to work with Dansk, the NHL club’s second-round pick in the draft this past June.
“He’s still not there,” Bassin said of Dansk. “He’s getting there.” Better yet, Bassin said, “the players love playing in front of him.”
* News and notes: Scott Howson, the Blue Jackets’ executive vice president of hockey operations and general manager, attended both games this weekend to watch Dansk play. … The Otters scratched Anthony Cortellessa (flu) and Dane Fox (broken foot). Liam Maaskant, Justin Felker and Mitch Eisenberg were healthy scratches. Maaskant and Eisenberg haven’t dressed for a game this season.

- Victor Fernandes

ST. CATHARINES, Ontario – The Erie Otters mounted a comeback with four goals in the third period Thursday night.
But that outburst wasn’t enough to overcome Niagara’s scoring barrage throughout the Otters’ 7-4 preseason loss at Gatorade Garden City Complex. The Otters also allowed seven goals in a preseason loss to Rouyn-Noranda (QMJHL) last weekend.
The IceDogs scored three goals in the first period and one more in the second to build a 4-0 lead.
Ryan Strome scored early in the third to hand the IceDogs a 5-0 lead before Anthony Cortellessa and Nick Betz scored off rebounds to move the Otters within 5-2. Derek Todosichuk regained Niagara’s four-goal lead at 6-2. Then Luke Cairns scored the first of his two goals to pull the Otters within three again at 6-3. Strome capped his five-point outing with his second goal, and Cairns completed his three-point night, in the game’s final minutes.
Connor Brown had two assists and Cortellessa added a goal and assist for the Otters, which fell to 1-2 in the preseason heading into the finale against Owen Sound Sunday at 2 p.m. in Elmira, Ontario. Travis Wood and Stephen Harper also had an assist apiece. Keinan Brown allowed all seven goals for the Otters. Anthony DiFruscia had two goals for the IceDogs.

The Erie Otters cut 5 more players from training camp today, leaving the roster at 28 heading into tonight’s preseason opener against Niagara at Morgan Firestone Arena in Ancaster, Ontario.
The latest cuts included 2011 draft picks Sean Darroch and Justin Maiolino, who had brief stints with the Otters last season, and free agents Aidan Muir, Sebastian Stangherlin and Lucas Venuto.
Here’s a list of the remaining players in camp:

Veterans: RW Nick Betz, RW Connor Brown, G Keinan Brown, C Luke Cairns, LW Anthony Cortellessa, C Connor Crisp, D Troy Donnay, C Mitch Eisenberg, C Jake Evans, C Dane Fox (injured), D Nathan Glass, LW Stephen Harper, D Liam Maaskant, LW Mac McDonnell, D Jimmy McDowell, RW Johnny McGuire, RW Sondre Olden (expected to join the team Monday), D Adam Pelech, G Devin Williams, D/LW Travis Wood

Prospects: G Oscar Dansk (signed), D Justin Felker (agreed to terms), RW Hayden Hodgson (agreed to terms), C Blake Jones, D Artem Kuleshov (unsigned, expected to join the team Monday), C Connor McDavid (signed), D Patrick Murphy (signed), C Kyle Pettit (signed)

CAMP ROSTER
(subject to change)
Goaltenders (5)
Oscar Dansk – 2012 CHL Import Draft (1st round), 2012 NHL Entry Draft (Columbus, 2nd round)
Daniel DeKoning – 2012 OHL Priority Selection
Jake Ireland – 2012 OHL Priority Selection
Nate Miller – 2011 OHL Priority Selection (9th round; Millcreek Township native)
Devin Williams – Veteran

Left defense (9)
Kyle Allan – 2011 OHL Priority Selection (15th round)
Greg Allen – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (6th round)
Travis Dermott – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (9th round)
Justin Felker – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (2nd round)
Kris Grant – Veteran
Artem Kuleshov – 2012 CHL Import Draft (2nd round)
Adam Pelech – Veteran
Sebastian Stangherlin – Free-agent invite
Travis Wood – Veteran

Right defense (10)
Troy Donnay – Veteran
Nathan Glass – Veteran
Nathan Kohler – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (14th round)
Liam Maaskant – Veteran
Jimmy McDowell – Veteran
Patrick Murphy – 2011 OHL Priority Selection (5th round; played 9 games with Erie in 2011-12)
Darren Raddysh – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (5th round)
Riley Robertson – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (3rd round)
Troy Saunders – 2011 OHL Priority Selection (12th round)
Francesco Tolfa – Free-agent invite

Centers (9)
Luke Cairns – Veteran
Jake Evans – Veteran
Blake Jones – 2011 OHL Priority Selection (14th round)
Justin Maiolino – 2011 OHL Priority Selection (13th round; played 2 games with Erie in 2011-12)
Connor McDavid – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (No. 1 overall)
Mac McDonnell – Veteran
Aidan Muir – Free-agent invite
Kyle Petit – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (2nd round)
Bryan Sienerth – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (13th round; Millcreek Township native)

Left wing (10)
Anthony Cortellessa – Veteran
Connor Crisp – Veteran
Jordan Dunin – 2011 OHL Priority Selection (7th round)
Mitch Eisenberg – Veteran
Nathan Feric – Free-agent invite
Dane Fox – Veteran (fractured foot; not expected to participate in camp)
Stephen Harper – Veteran
Quentin Maksimovich – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (11th round)
Lucas Venuto – Free-agent invite
Kurt Wolff – Free-agent invite

Right wing (7)
Nick Betz – Veteran
Connor Brown – Veteran, 2012 NHL Entry Draft (Toronto, 6th round)
Sean Darroch – 2011 OHL Priority Selection (8th round; played 7 games with Erie in 2011-12)
Hayden Hodgson – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (3rd round)
Thomas Lattavo – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (6th round)
Johnny McGuire – Veteran
Sondre Olden – Veteran

The Erie Otters made a valiant comeback attempt against Guelph Sunday afternoon.

But the Storm held on for a critical 6-4 win against the Otters in front of 2,864 fans at Tullio Arena.

Guelph (28-31-2-4) moved two points ahead of Sault Ste. Marie in the race for the Western Conference’s final spot in the OHL playoffs. Both teams have three regular-season games left. The Storm also are one point behind seventh-place Windsor, which also has three games left.

Meanwhile, the Otters (10-49-3-3) moved one regulation loss closer to equaling the 2006-07 club’s franchise record of 50. The 2011-12 club already owns the mark for most overall losses in a season (55), which surpassed the 53 defeats in 2006-07. The 2011-12 club already is assured of setting the mark for fewest losses in a season. The Otters are five wins behind the 2006-07 team with three games left.

The Storm grabbed a 2-0 lead late in the first period, as Brock McGinn scored the first of his two power-play goals with 4 minutes, 36 seconds left. Hunter Garlent followed with a goal 2:04 later.

Guelph’s lead reached 3-0 on McGinn’s goal 9:49 into the second period. But the Otters began to mount their comeback with rookie Mitchell Eisenberg’s third career OHL goal 47 seconds later. The Storm regained a three-goal lead at 4-1 on Jason Dickinson’s goal with 40 seconds left in the period.

But the Otters capitalized on Storm winger Scott Kosmachuk’s four-minute penalty for high sticking early in the third. Dane Fox and Anthony Cortellessa scored with the man advantage 1:09 apart to move the Otters within 4-3 at the 5:11 mark of the period.

Kosmachuk answered with his 29^th goal of the season, which handed the Storm a 5-3 lead, only to have Otters rookie Jake Evans score with 3:08 left. Evans’ goal pulled the Otters within 5-4. But Zack Mitchell scored into empty net with 37 seconds left – his 34^th goal of the season – to seal the Storm’s win.

McGinn (two goals) and Garlent (goal, assist) paced the Storm, while Garret Sparks made 31 saves.

Adam Pelech had two assists for the Otters, which had only 15 skaters – three below the league’s maximum – for the second straight game. J.P Cesario, who joined the team last week on emergency loan from Owen Sound, stopped 25-of-30 shots in his Otters’ debut.

SUMMARY

Storm 6, Otters 4

Erie  0  1  3  —  4

Guelph  2  2  2  —  6

1^st Period — 1. Guelph, Brock McGinn 11 (Kosmachuk, Finn), 15:24 (pp). 2. Guelph, Hunter Garlent 14 (Pereira), 17:28. Penalties — McCarthy (E) interference, :20; Kosmachuk (G) tripping, :35; Harper (E) hooking, 3:04; Kosmachuk (G) interference, 4:56; Pelech (E) tripping, 14:53.

2^nd Period — 3. Guelph, McGinn 12 (Kosmachuk, Finn), 10:11 (pp). 4. Erie, Mitchell Eisenberg 3 (McCarthy), 10:58. 5. Guelph, Jason Dickinson 12 (Gaskin), 19:20. Penalties — Donnay (E) interference, 1:23; Pereira (G) holding, 6:02; Evans (E) slashing, 8:49; Maaskant (E) roughing, 18:49; McNaughton (G) roughing, 18:49.

3^rd Period — 6. Erie, Dane Fox 22 (Pelech, Cairns), 4:02 (pp). 7. Erie, Anthony Cortellessa 7 (Pelech, Brown), 5:11 (pp). 8. Guelph, Scott Kosmachuk 29 (Garlent), 15:20. 9. Erie, Jake Evans 11 (unassisted), 16:52. 10. Guelph, Zack Mitchell 34 (unassisted), 19:23 (en). Penalties — Menard (G) tripping, :19; McCarthy (E) instigator, :19; McCarthy (E) 5-min. fighting, :19; Pedan (G) 5-min. fighting, :19; McCarthy (E) 10-min. misconduct, :19; Kosmachuk (G) 4-min. high sticking, 3:12; Harper (E) roughing, 4:57; Finn (G) roughing, 4:57.

Shots on goal — Guelph, 11-13-7—31; Erie, 9-10-16—35.

Goaltenders — Guelph, Garret Sparks 25-25-1-3 (35 shots, 31 saves); Erie, J.P. Cesario 0-1-0-0 (30 shots, 25 saves).

Power plays — Guelph (2-5), Erie (2-5).

Referees — David Gauthier, Steve Picco. Linesmen — Rick Janco, Mike Harrington.

Attendance — 2,864.

Three stars

* Brock McGinn, Storm (2 goals) ** Scott Kosmachuk, Storm (goal, 2 assists) *** Anthony Cortellessa, Otters (goal)

The Erie Otters had a new goaltender in for the second straight game.

Keinan Brown, on emergency loan from Peterborough, made 33 saves in his Otters’ debut Saturday night at Tullio Arena. But that wasn’t enough, as the Otters lost to Kitchener 6-4 in front of 3,245 fans.

The Otters (10-48-3-3) are assured of setting a new franchise record for fewest wins in a season. They trail the 2006-07 club (15 wins) by five wins with four games left in the season.

The Otters (10-48-3-3) actually built a 2-1 first-period lead on goals from goals from rookie Jake Evans and Mac McDonnell. Evans scored 1 minute, 3 seconds into the game on assists from Sondre Olden and Troy Donnay – 44 seconds after Radek Faksa, the Rangers’ high-scoring rookie, opened the scoring.

Then McDonnell snapped the 1-1 tie on McDonnell’s goal with 7:41 left in the period. Connor Crisp and Mitch Eisenberg assisted on the goal, with Crisp earning his first point of the season in his first game at forward. Crisp, who missed the first five months recovering from shoulder surgery, made his season debut last Sunday as an emergency goaltender in a 13-4 loss at Niagara.

But 1:02 later, Brent Pedersen’s goal tied the score at 2 and sparked the Rangers’ decisive four-goal outburst that built a 5-2 lead. Tobias Rieder scored 10 seconds into the second to give the Rangers (40-22-1-1) the lead for good at 3-2. He scored again, this time on the power play, at the 2:30 mark of the period.

Faksa capped the offensive surge followed with his second goal of the game 5:19 into the period.

Anthony Cortellessa scored twice, with 8:17 left in the second and again 7:37 into the third, to move the Otters within a goal 5-4. But goaltender John Gibson, who stopped Otters forward Luke Cairns on a penalty shot midway through the second, and the Rangers’ defense held off the Otters the rest of the way.

Then Andrew Crescenzi scored into an empty net, his 24^th goal of the season, with 37 seconds to seal the Rangers’ victory. Rieder paced the Rangers with two goals and two assists. Ben Thomson had two assists while Gibson stopped 32-of-36 shots. Cortellessa (two goals), McDonnell (goal, assist) Donnay (two assists) and Eisenberg (two assists) led the Otters with two points apiece.

KINGSTON, Ontario – The Erie Otters enjoyed a strong start in Kingston Friday night.

They held a two-goal lead in the opening 4½ minutes. But it was all downhill from there.

The Frontenacs scored nine of the game’s final 10 goals, including four straight goals in a decisive seven-minute stretch of the second period, to hand the Otters a 9-3 loss in front of 3,180 at K-Rock Centre.

Anthony Cortellessa and Jake Evans scored less than three minutes apart to give the Otters (8-41-3-2) an early two-goal lead. But Spencer Green’s goal at the 11:48 mark of the first sparked a streak of seven consecutive goals that was capped by Cody Alcock’s second of three goals five minutes into the third.

The Otters allowed their second-highest goal total of the season. They surrendered 10 in a 10-2 loss to Guelph Sept. 30. The Frontenacs (17-32-3-3), which are last in the Eastern Conference, finished with 57 shots on goal against overage goaltender Ramis Sadikov (48 saves).

The Otters have allowed 119 shots in their last two games.

Evans scored his second goal of the night early in the third for the Otters, which played without veterans Dane Fox and Adam Pelech, who reportedly were out with the flu. Alcock had four points to lead the Frontenacs, while Alex Gudbranson (goal, two assists) and Darcy Greenaway had three assists.

Kingston had points from 15 of their 18 skaters. The Otters return to action Sunday at 2 p.m. in Ottawa.

SUMMARY

Frontenacs 9, Otters 3

Erie  2  0  1  —  3

Kingston  1  4  4  —  9

1^st Period — 1. Anthony Cortellessa 3 (Cairns, Brown), 1:40 (pp). 2. Erie, Jake Evans 5 (Harper), 4:30. 3. Kingston, Spencer Green 6 (Nevins, Dupuy), 11:48. Penalties — Stokes (K) unsportsmanlike conduct, 1:29; Maaskant (E) high sticking, 5:12; Morbeck (K) elbowing, 18:28.

2^nd Period — 4. Kingston, Nathan Cull 4 (Gudbranson, Steele), 5:06. 5. Kingston, Cody Alcock 19 (Moffat, Kujawinski), 9:00. 6. Kingston, David Mazurek 6 (Hutchinson), 10:28. 7. Kingston, Cull 5 (Alcock, Greenaway), 11:48. Penalties — McCarthy (E) 5-min. fighting, :59; Morbeck (K) 5-min. fighting, :59; Donnay (E) 5-min. fighting, 19:27; Stokes (K) 5-min. fighting, 19:27.

3^rd Period — 8. Kingston, Alex Gudbranson 2 (Morbeck), 4:42. 9. Kingston, Alcock 20 (Gudbranson, Greenaway), 5:00. 10. Erie, Evans 6 (Wood, Grant), 7:13 (pp). 11. Kingston, Alcock 21 (Steele, Greenaway), 9:24 (pp). 12. Kingston, Ryan Kujawinski 12 (Jenkins, Stokes), 18:02. Penalties — Kingston, too many men (served by Mazurek), 6:01; Grant (E) holding, 8:42; Steele (K) goaltender interference, 12:51.

Shots on goal — Erie, 9-17-7—33; Kingston, 22-19-16—57.

Goaltenders — Erie, Ramis Sadikov 4-20-3-1 (57 shots, 48 saves); Kingston, Jacob Riley 1-2-0-1 (33 shots, 30 saves).

Power plays — Erie (2-4), Kingston (1-2).

Referees — Tom Sweeney, Joe Park. Linesmen — Andrew Brown, Jordan Browne.

Attendance — 3,180.

Three stars

* Cody Alcock, Frontenacs (3 goals, assist) ** Nathan Cull, Frontenacs (2 goals) *** Alex Gudbranson, Frontenacs (goal, 2 assists)

Erie Otters (7-38-3-2) at Saginaw Spirit (24-22-0-5)

When: Friday, 7:11 p.m.

Where: Dow Event Center

On the air: WFNN-AM/1330, www.ottershockey.com (live stream)

Up next: at Windsor (Saturday, 7:05 p.m.), vs. Niagara (Wednesday, 7 p.m.)

Fast facts: The Otters have scored a combined one goal in a two-game losing streak after scoring 14 goals in the previous two games, both wins. … The Otters, which have allowed an OHL-worst 237 goals, have surrendered three goals or fewer in seven of their last 11 games. … The Otters are 28 points out of the Western Conference’s final playoff spot with 18 games left. Any combination of Erie losses and wins by eighth-place Guelph or Sault Ste. Marie totaling nine points would eliminate the Otters. … LW Stephen Harper (17 goals, 5 assists, 22 points) leads all players from the 2011 OHL draft class with 17 goals. He’s tied for third among all rookies in goals and among the top 20 in points. … RW Connor Brown (18-17-35) ranks second among rookies in goals, third in points and fifth in assists. … RW Johnny McGuire is expected to serve a one-game suspension for a game misconduct Wednesday against Owen Sound. He fought LW Daniel Zweep at the start of the first period. … LW Anthony Cortellessa (sore back muscle) rejoined the lineup Wednesday after missing both of last weekend’s games. … The Otters have lost five straight overtime or shootout games after posting wins against Kitchener (4-3 in OT) and Guelph (3-2 in SO) on consecutive nights Oct. 28-29. … Saginaw has won three straight and earned points in nine of 10 games (7-1-0-2) to move into sixth in the West standings. The Spirit are three points behind fourth-place Sarnia. … The Spirit are 23-14-0-5 since starting the season 1-8. … The Spirit are sixth in the OHL with 185 goals scored, but are in the bottom five with 205 goals against. Yet they posted their first shutout win of the season in a 3-0 victory against the Otters last Saturday. … C Vincent Trocheck, a Pittsburgh native, is tied for fourth in the league with 40 assists and tied for seventh with 65 points. … LW Josh Shalla ranks among the top 15 in goals (26). … The broadcast of Saturday’s game at Windsor can be heard on a tape-delayed basis after the Erie BayHawks game.

- Victor Fernandes

Rookie goaltender Devin Williams deserved a better outcome Wednesday night.

He stopped 33-of-34 shots in the opening 65 minutes and four more in a six-round shootout in his third career OHL start. Yet the Erie Otters still lost to Owen Sound 2-1 in front of 2,135 at Tullio Arena.

Daniel Catenacci, who scored the Attack’s lone goal in the second period, slipped a wrist shot past Williams on the game’s final attempt to hand the Otters (7-38-3-2) their second straight defeat.

“He’s got a great temperament,” Otters coach Robbie Ftorek said of Williams. “He just goes about his business. The guys play hard in front of him. Too bad we couldn’t get that (win) for him.”

Stephen Harper erased the Attack’s early 1-0 lead in the shootout with a goal in the second round. The rookie winger’s tying goal 3 minutes, 27 seconds into the third period forced overtime and the shootout.

Williams and Attack veteran Jordan Binnington traded saves in the next three rounds. Then Binnington began the final round by stopping rookie Travis Wood. Catenacci followed with the decisive goal.

Ftorek also called upon Dane Fox, Luke Cairns and rookies Connor Brown and Mitchell Eisenberg. Sondre Olden, one of the team’s best offensive performers, surprisingly wasn’t involved in the shootout. When asked about that, Ftorek said he believed the players he used “were going to score for us.”

* News and notes: Anthony Cortellessa (sore back muscle) rejoined the Otters’ lineup after missing both games last weekend. … Liam Maaskant was a healthy scratch while fellow Wood stepped in on defense.

- Victor Fernandes

SUMMARY

Attack 2, Otters 1

Owen Sound  0  1  0  0  1  —  2

Erie  0  0  1  0  0  —  1

1^st Period — None. Penalties — McGuire (E) 5-min. fighting, :07; Zweep (O) 5-min. fighting, :07; McGuire (E) game misconduct, :07; Zweep (O) game misconduct, :07; Eisenberg (E) tripping, 2:40; Harper (E) tripping, 17:36; Bigras (O) hooking, 18:42.

2^nd Period — 1. Owen Sound, Daniel Catenacci 26 (Gavrus, Halmo), 17:14 (pp). Penalties — Hope (O) delay of game, 2:56; Williams (E) delay of game (served by Betz), 4:15; Cutting (O) cross checking, 9:58; Donnay (E) 5-min. fighting, 12:59; Gabriel (O) 5-min. fighting, 12:59; Fox (E) instigating, 16:53; Fox (E) 5-min. fighting, 16:53; Dotchin (O) 5-min. fighting, 16:53; Fox (E) 10-min. misconduct, 16:53; Rose (O) tripping, 18:36.

3^rd Period — 2. Erie, Stephen Harper 17 (Betz, Evans), 3:27. Penalties — Cortellessa (E) 5-min. fighting, 7:37; Blandisi (O) 5-min. fighting, 7:37.

Overtime — None. Penalties — None.

Shootout — Fox (E) no goal; Gavrus (O) goal; Harper (E) goal; Blandisi (O) no goal; Eisenberg (E) no goal; Bigras (O) no goal; Cairns (E) no goal; Brace (O) no goal; Brown (E) no goal; Rose (O) no goal; Wood (E) no goal; Catenacci (O) goal.

Shots on goal — Owen Sound, 9-8-14-3-1—35; Erie, 8-8-11-3-0—30.

Goaltenders — Owen Sound, Jordan Binnington 15-13-0-1 (30 shots, 29 saves); Erie, Devin Williams 1-1-0-1 (34 shots, 33 saves).

Power plays — Owen Sound (1-4), Erie (0-4).

Referees — Mike Cairns, Chris Carnegie. Linesmen — R.J. King, Daryl Wolfe.

Attendance — 2,135.

Three stars

* Jordan Binnington, Attack (29 saves, 5 SO saves) ** Devin Williams, Otters (33 saves, 4 SO saves) *** Stephen Harper, Otters (goal, SO goal)