The Erie Otters have a rare winning streak.
The Otters captured their second straight win with a 7-4 come-from-behind victory against Brampton in front of 2,565 at Tullio Arena Friday night. The Otters (7-37-3-1) rallied from a 3-0 second-period deficit.
Erie was propelled by rookie Connor Brown’s first OHL hat trick and the power play’s four goals on five chances. Luke Cairns added three assists, as 12 different Otters contributed points.
The Battalion (27-14-3-6), which entered the game near the bottom of the OHL with 147 goals scored, took control with two goals in the opening 7 minutes, 20 seconds.
Matt MacLeod scored off a scramble in front 1:57 into the game. Jamie Lewis and Jordan Auld assisted on the goal. Then Brandon Robinson scored off assists from Brett Mackie and Patrik Machac 7:20 into the opening period for a 2-0 lead.
Brampton extended its lead to 3-0 on Robinson’s second goal of the night 7:04 into the second period.
But Brown’s tip-in on the power play 8:48 into the second ignited the Otters’ three-goal comeback. Fellow rookie Stephen Harper poked a rebound of Kris Grant’s shot past Battalion goaltender Keegan Wilson 1:20 later to pull the Otters within 3-2. Then Adam Pelech’s blast from the point, which briefly lifted the net off its moorings, tied the score at 3 with 1:59 left in the period.
Meanwhile, Otters goaltender Ramis Sadikov overcame his struggles earlier in the game to stop 20-of-21 shots in the middle period. The Otters entered the third tied despite being outshot 36-17. Sadikov finished with 47 saves to offset Brampton’s 51-30 shot advantage.
Both teams took a conservative approach through the opening half of the third. But the Otters capitalized on the power play for the second time, this time from an unexpected source – Mac McDonnell.
He scored his first goal since Dec. 10 and fifth of the season on an assist from Troy Donnay to snap the 3-3 tie with 9:26 left. The Battalion tied the score at 4 with 6:13 left on Sam Carrick’s 26th goal of the season.
But the Battalion’s second penalty for delay of the game – and the fourth such penalty overall – led to Brown’s tiebreaking power-play goal with 3:13 left. McDonnell’s second goal iced the victory.
- Victor Fernandes
SUMMARY
Otters 7, Battalion 4
Brampton 2 1 1 — 4
Erie 0 3 4 — 7
1st Period — 1. Brampton, Matt MacLeod 7 (Lewis, Auld), 1:57. 2. Brampton, Brandon Robinson 11 (Mackie, Machac), 7:20. Penalties — Maaskant (E) delay of game, 13:56; Pelech (E) delay of game, 3:48.
2nd Period — 3. Brampton, Robinson 12 (Machac), 7:04. 4. Erie, Connor Brown 16 (Grant, Cairns), 8:48 (pp). 5. Erie, Stephen Harper 16 (Grant, Olden), 10:08. 6. Erie, Adam Pelech 2 (Fox, McDowell), 18:01. Penalties — Mackie (B) interference, 7:40; Pelech (E) tripping, 14:29.
3rd Period — 7. Erie, Mac McDonnell 5 (Donnay), 10:34 (pp). 8. Brampton, Sam Carrick 26 (Goodrow, Miller), 13:47. 9. Erie, Brown 17 (Wood, Cairns), 16:37 (pp). 10. Erie, McDonnell 6 (McCarthy), 17:13. 11. Erie, Brown 18 (Cairns), 19:42 (pp-en). Penalties — Wind (B) tripping, 1:04; Carrick (B) delay of game, 8:41; Watters (B) delay of game, 14:55; Carrick (B) cross checking, 18:25; Donnay (E) roughing, 18:25; Miller (B) roughing, 18:25; Carrick (B) 10-min. misconduct, 18:25.
Shots on goal — Brampton, 15-21-15—51; Erie, 9-8-13—30.
Goaltenders — Brampton, Keegan Wilson 9-5-3-2 (29 shots, 23 saves); Erie, Ramis Sadikov 4-18-3-1 (51 shots, 47 saves).
Power plays — Brampton (0-3), Erie (4-5).
Referees — Keith Kaval, Joe Celestin. Linesmen — Ryan Holmstead, Jesse Wilmot.
Attendance — 2,565.
Three stars
* Connor Brown, Otters (3 goals) ** Mac McDonnell, Otters (2 goals) *** Ramis Sadikov, Otters (47 saves)
