This week, I’ll break down all 20 OHL clubs division by division and unveil my predictions for the 2012-13 season. Today, let’s look at the Western Conference’s West Division (listed in alphabetical order):

Plymouth Whalers
Coach/GM: Michael Vellucci
2011-12 finish: 47-18-2-1, 1st division, 2nd conference
Playoff finish: Lost to Kitchener 4-3 in conference semifinals
Key players: LW Stefan Noesen (38 goals, 44 assists, 82 points; signed with Ottawa), C Mitchell Heard (29-28-57; signed with Colorado), RW Alex Aleardi (36-29-65), LW J.T. Miller (25-37-62; signed with N.Y. Rangers; G Matt Mahalak (19-8-0-0 record, 2.66 goals-against average, .923 save percentage, 3 shutouts; Carolina prospect)
Key losses: G Scott Wedgewood (28-10-2-1, 3.02, .911, 3 SO; signed with New Jersey), D Beau Schmitz (14-40-54, +37; signed with Carolina), C Andy Bathgate (19-44-63)
Outlook: The Whalers had a chance to reach the Western finals last season, but they lost Game 7 at home to Kitchener. They lost some key players off that team, but the Whalers still have are strong enough to make a deeper run this season.

Saginaw Spirit
Coach/GM: Greg Gilbert/Jim Paliafito
2011-12 finish: 40-22-4-2, 3rd division, 5th conference
Playoff finish: Lost to London 4-2 in conference semifinals
Key players: C Vincent Trocheck (29-56-85; signed with Florida), LW Brandon Saad (34-42-76; signed with Chicago), LW Garret Ross (25-29-54), C Eric Locke (20-20-40), D Dalton Young (5-15-20)
Key losses: LW Josh Shalla (40-36-76; signed with Nashville), RW Michael Fine (22-45-67), C John McFarland (20-21-41; signed with Florida), D Brad Walch (5-18-23, +21)
Outlook: Trocheck and Saad headline an offense that ranked fifth in the league a season ago with 259 goals. Now they have to solidify a defense that allowed 259 goals, the fourth most in the league. Clint Windsor and Jake Paterson are the keys in net.

Sarnia Sting
Coach/GM: Jacques Beaulieu
2011-12 finish: 34-27-2-5, 2nd division, 4th conference
Playoff finish: Lost 4-2 to Saginaw in conference quarterfinals
Key players: C Alex Galchenyuk (0-0-0 in 2 games; signed with Montreal), G J.P. Anderson (27-23-2-4, 3.03, .908, 3 SO), LW Reid Boucher (28-22-50), D Connor Murphy (8-18-26; signed with Phoenix), D Alex Basso (9-27-36, +5)
Key losses: RW Nail Yakupov (31-38-69 in 42 games; signed with Edmonton), C Brett Thompson (32-38-70; former Otter), C Ryan Spooner (29-37-66; signed with Boston), LW Tyler J. Brown (21-27-48), D Adrian Robertson (10-28-38, +13)
Outlook: Yakupov, the No. 1 pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, isn’t expected to rejoin the Sting. But Galchenyuk, the No. 3 pick in the draft, returns after missing nearly all of last season with a knee injury. But can the Sting overcome other key losses?

Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
Coach/GM: Mike Stapleton/Kyle Dubas
2011-12 finish: 29-33-2-4, 5th division, 9th conference
Playoff finish: Did not qualify
Key players: C Nick Cousins (35-53-88; signed with Philadelphia), G Matt Murray (13-19-0-1, 4.08, .876; Pittsburgh prospect), D Ryan Sproul (23-31-54, +16), RW Andrew Fritsch (13-19-32 in 35 games; Phoenix prospect), LW Michael Schumacher (26-24-50)
Key losses: C Brett Findlay (20-36-56; traded to Peterborough), C Carson Dubchak (16-16-32)
Outlook: The Greyhounds are trying to avoid a third straight season out of the playoff picture. But does Stapleton, the Otters’ former associate and assistant coach, have enough talented depth to make that happen in a challenging conference?

Windsor Spitfires
Coach/GM: Bob Boughner/Warren Rychel
2011-12 finish: 29-32-5-2, 4th division, 8th conference
Playoff finish: Lost to London 4-0 in conference quarterfinals
Key players: LW Kerby Rychel (41-33-74); C Brady Vail (22-30-52), LW Chris Marchese (18-25-43; former Otter), D Nick Ebert (6-33-39), RW Joshua Ho-Sang (No. 5 pick in OHL Priority Selection), LW Ben Johnson (18-20-38)
Key losses: C Alexander Khokhlachev (25-44-69; playing in Russia), C Zack MacQueen (18-20-38; son of former Otters coach Dave MacQueen)
Outlook: The unexpected departure of Khokhlachev will hurt thre Spitfires, unless forwards like Rychel, Vail, former Otter Marchese and first-round pick Ho-Sang pick up the slack. But will they have enough on defense and in net to win consistently?

- Victor Fernandes

Sarnia Sting (19-14-1-4) at Erie Otters (5-30-1-1)

When: Today, 7 p.m.

Where: Tullio Arena

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

Up next: vs. Kitchener (Saturday, 7 p.m.), at Owen Sound (Jan. 13-14, 7:30 p.m.)

Fast facts: The Otters return home for two games after losing all three games on an Eastern Conference trip to Barrie, Oshawa and Peterborough last weekend. … The Otters have posted two of their five wins against the Sting. They capped the first half with a 5-3 home win against Sarnia Dec. 17. … LW Sondre Olden (broken finger on right hand) hopes to play this weekend. He suffered the injury during his first shift in the gold-medal game at the IIHF World Junior Championship’s Division I Group A tournament in Germany last month. He hasn’t played for the Otters since Dec. 3. … RW Connor Brown (14 goals, 26 points) was named OHL rookie of the month for December (6 goals, 10 points in 12 games). He leads the team in goals and ranks second in assists (12) and points. … LW Stephen Harper could miss this weekend’s games after reportedly being injured in Tuesday’s semifinal loss to Russia at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Windsor, Ontario. … Sarnia could be without RW Nail Yakupov (21 goals, 53 points in 26 games). He led his native Russia against Sweden Thursday night in the gold-medal game of the IIHF World Junior Championship in Calgary, Alberta. … The Sting have lost five straight and seven of their 10 games to fall 10 points behind Plymouth in the West Division standings and slip to fourth in the Western Conference. … C Brett Thompson has 16 goals and 32 points in 22 games with the Sting. He has a goal and two points in two games against his former team. … The Sting acquired C Ryan Spooner (14-18-32 in 27 games) from Kingston on Thursday for 2011 first-round pick Ryan Kujawinski. … C Charles Sarault (14 goals, 60 points) leads the OHL in assists (46) and ranks second in scoring. He was named player of the month for December (5 goals, 23 points in 11 games).

- Victor Fernandes

The Erie Otters couldn’t snap their long losing streak, even with Brad Boyes in attendance.

The Niagara IceDogs erased a two-goal deficit with a four-goal barrage in the second period to hand the Otters their seventh straight loss, 6-4, in front of 3,076 at Tullio Arena on Wednesday night.

Andrew Agozzino, Joel Wigle, Freddie Hamilton and Ryan Strome scored in the decisive period for the IceDogs (6-6-0-1), which turned a 3-1 deficit into a 5-3 lead.

Dougie Hamilton led the IceDogs with a goal and two assists. Agozzino had two goals while Freddie Hamilton and Strome had two points apiece.

A surprise visit from Boyes, the Buffalo Sabres forward and most revered player in Otters’ franchise history, seemed to inspire the home team. The Otters overcame Agozzino’s goal 1:15 into the game by scoring three straight goals, starting with Brett Cook’s tying goal at the 4:04 mark of the period.

Cook turned assists from Greg McKegg and Brett Thompson into his second goal of the season. Then the Otters scored twice in less than three minutes late in the period to take a 3-1 lead into the intermission.

Rookie winger Sondre Olden scored his team-leading fifth goal of the season, this one on the power play, on assists from Connor Brown and Kris Grant to snap the 1-1 tie with 5:31 left in the first. Then first-round pick Stephen Harper scored his second goal on an assist from Brown with 2:14 left in the period.

But things fell apart for the Otters in the second, as the IceDogs scored four goals to take a 5-3 lead.

Agozzino scored his second goal of the night, this time with the man advantage, at the 6:42 mark. Then the IceDogs capitalized on sloppy play from the Otters’ power play to take a two-goal lead.

Freddie Hamilton scored short-handed on an assist from David Pacan with 6:33 left in the period. Then a mix-up in front of Otters goaltender Tyson Teichmann led to Strome’s short-handed goal 10 seconds later. Erie rebounded early in the third with a short-handed goal, as Thompson and McKegg teamed to pull the Otters within 5-4 at the 2:45 mark while the IceDogs were on a 5-minute power play. But the IceDogs responded on the same power play, with Dougie Hamilton scoring 57 seconds later.

- Victor Fernandes

Check out this story on Erie Otters forward Brett Thompson from The Sault Star.

Ramis Sadikov’s season debut should take place tonight. It can’t arrive soon enough.

The struggles for the Erie Otters’ young, injury-plagued defense continued from the start Friday night in a 5-1 loss to the Plymouth Whalers in front of 2,158 at Tullio Arena on Friday night.

The Whalers scored on the power play 3:45 into the games to spark a three-goal barrage in the opening period. The Otters (1-9-0-0), which have lost five straight, has allowed at least four goals in all 10 games. They rank last in the OHL with 58 goals against (5.8 per game).

Tom Wilson scored his first goal of the season on Rickard Rakell and Garrett Meurs. Then at the 12:30 mark of the period, Wilson assisted on Mitchell Heard’s team-leading seventh goal. Heard scored off a rebound, with highly touted rookie J.T. Miller also earning an assist on the play.

Plymouth capped the decisive scoring barrage with a goal at the 17:47 mark, as Meurs redirected Dario Trutmann’s centering pass into his third goal and a 3-0 Whalers’ lead. The Otters gained a bit of momentum after killing off the Whalers’ nearly two-minute, two-man advantage to start the second.

The Whalers (5-4-2-0) stole momentum midway through the period. Jamie Devane turned Michael Whaley’s into a 4-0 lead 8:01 into the middle period. Three minutes later, Wilson scored his second goal on assists from Rakell and Danny Vanderwiel for a 5-0 lead. The Otters finally got on the scoreboard, as Brett Thompson scored on assists from Brett Cook and Greg McKegg with 6:08 left in the period.

Wilson (two goals, assist) and Rakell (three assists) led the Whalers with three points apiece. Meurs had two points while goaltender Matt Mahalak made 22 saves to improve to 3-2-0-0 on the season. Tyson Teichmann made 33 saves for the Otters.

- Victor Fernandes

LONDON, Ontario – The Erie Otters had plenty of heart against London on Friday night.

The Otters simply didn’t have enough manpower in a 6-4 loss in front of 8,946 at John Labatt Centre. The Otters (1-7-0-0) dressed only 16 skaters, including nine rookies, because of injuries and illness.

Greg McKegg (minor concussion) was the latest veteran added to an injury list that includes Mike Cazzola (hand surgery), Connor Crisp (shoulder surgery) and Adam Pelech (wrist surgery). McKegg didn’t play Friday and also should miss Saturday’s 7 p.m. game against Windsor at Tullio Arena.

The Otters also faced the Western Conference-leading Knights (7-1-0-0) without veteran forward Brett Thompson (flu) and rookie forward Jake Evans (ill).

Johnny McGuire received a game misconduct late in the first period for removing Knights center Jarred Tinordi‘s helmet during a fight, leaving the Otters with 15 skaters for the rest of the game.

Yet the Otters rallied from an early 2-0 hole against the Knights to take a 3-2 second-period lead. Connor Brown scored late in the first, followed by fellow rookie Sondre Olden’s power-play score 2:45 into the second that tied the score. Chris Marchese’s power-play goal snapped the tie less than two minutes later.

London rallied with three straight goals, capped by rookie Bo Horvat’s score with 7:12 left in the second, to take a 5-3 lead into the third. Yet Marchese sliced London’s lead in half 9:08 into the third.

However, Vladislav Namestnikov scored into an empty net with 32 seconds left to seal the Otters’ fate.

Olden led the Otters with a goal and two assists, while Brett Cook and Travis Wood had two assists apiece. Rookie winger Mitchell Eisenberg had an assist for his first OHL point. Namestnikov paced the Knights with two goals and an assist. Michael Houser made 37 saves.

The Mississauga St. Michael’s took advantage of the man advantage Wednesday night.

The Majors scored three power-play goals on six chances – headlined by Dylan DeMelo’s go-ahead goal 8:12 into the third period – to rally past the Erie Otters 4-2 in front of 2,218 fans at Tullio Arena.

DeMelo led the Majors (8-1-0-0) with a goal and two assists, while goaltender Spencer Martin earned the win in his OHL debut after being a late addition to the lineup in place of veteran J.P. Anderson.

Meanwhile, injury woes and third-period struggles led to the Otters’ second straight loss and sixth defeat in seven games to start the season. The Otters allowed three goals in the final period.

Before the game, the Otters added veteran center Mike Cazzola to an injury list that includes defenseman Adam Pelech (wrist surgery) and forward Connor Crisp (shoulder surgery).

Cazzola undergoes surgery today in Erie to repair a small fracture in his hand and will miss the next month. The Otters also were without veteran forward Brett Thompson, a 40-goal scorer the past two seasons, because of the flu.

Yet the surging Majors also were short-handed, as they were without veterans Devante Smith-Pelly (who remains with the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks), Joseph Cramarossa, Jordan Mayer and Stuart Percy.

So the teams were evenly matched in the opening period, with the Otters taking a 1-0 lead on rookie Connor Brown’s second career goal. He stole the puck at the Majors’ blue line, raced in on net and fired a shot under the crossbar for a 1-0 lead with 4:06 left in the period.

The Majors tied the score at 1 on the power play, as Sergey Kuptsov scored his sixth goal of the season on assists from David Corrente and DeMelo with 49 seconds left in the period. But the Otters capitalized on a power play early in the second.

Chris Marchese turned rookie defenseman Travis Wood’s point shot into a rebound goal 6:37 into the period. Rookie Sondre Olden also assisted on the goal. The Otters seemed to gain momentum from that goal. They outshot the Majors 15-9 in the period. Erie nearly capitalized on several of them, especially during a 5-minute power play that carried into the third.

However, the Otters didn’t extend their one-goal lead. The inability to finish proved costly for the Otters.

Derek Schoenmakers scored on the power play, with assists from Riley Brace and DeMelo, to tie the score at 2 at the 3:18 mark of the third. Then the Majors turned a 5-minute charging penalty against Otters rookie Tyler McCarthy into their third power-play goal of the game. DeMelo scored on assists from Justin Rasmussen and Corrente with 11:48 left. McCarthy also received a game misconduct.

Spencer Cobbold capped the Majors’ win with his first OHL goal late in the game.

- Victor Fernandes

The Erie Otters were in unfamiliar territory Friday night – leading after two periods.

The Otters were in unfamiliar territory at the end of the game, too. They were ahead.

Behind career highs from Greg McKegg (six points) and Luke Cairns (five points), the Otters snapped a season-opening, four-game losing streak with a 7-5 win against defending champion Owen Sound in front of 1,997 fans at Tullio Arena.

But the Otters (1-4-0-0) needed a strong final period to seal the elusive win.

The Attack (3-4-0-0) opened the scoring 4:33 into the first, as Joseph Blandisi scored from in front off a pass from Holden Cook. But young players helped the Otters even the score before the first intermission.

Shortly after a strong shift from rookies Stephen Harper and Jake Evans and second-year winger Johnny McGuire, first-year defenseman Travis Wood fired a wrist through a screen and past Attack goaltender J.P. Cesario with 6:17 left. Cairns and rookie Nathan Glass had the assists, with Glass earning his first OHL point.

Yet the Attack took the lead again early in the second – with help from the Otters.

Matt Petgrave’s cross-ice pass from the left wing deflected off rookie defenseman Liam Maaskant’s stick and slipped past Otters goaltender Chris Festarini 1:39 into the period. Yet the Attack returned the favor, as Derek Holden’s rebound bounced off a defender to tie the score at 2 less than two minutes later.

Holden, who was scratched as an extra overager in three of the first four games, scored again at the 4:06 mark – this time on the power play. He fired a wrist shot under the crossbar to snap the 2-2 tie.

Cairns and McKegg, who fell one point of equaling the franchise mark of seven points, assisted on both of Holden’s goals. But the Otters’ lead didn’t last long, as Gemel Smith slipped past the defense to score the tying goal 5:06 into the period.

The teams combined for four goals in the opening five minutes and six goals overall in the period.

McKegg’s stretch pass to a streaking Brett Thompson turned into Thompson’s third goal of the season and a 4-3 Otters lead with 5:32 left in the second. McKegg earned his third assist and Glass his second on the goal. Then Cairns and McKegg combined for a power-play goal for a 5-3 Otters’ lead with 3:47 left.

The Attack sliced their deficit in half 1:01 into the third, as Artur Gavrus deflected a bouncing puck past Festarini. But Cairns scored his second goal of the game to regain a two-goal lead with 9:55 left, only to have the Attack move within one goal again at 6-5 on Jake Dotchin’s goal with 7:18 left in the game. But Brett Cook’s power-play goal with 4:06 left sealed the win.

SUMMARY

Otters 7, Attack 5

Owen Sound  1  2  2  —  5

Erie  1  4  2  —  7

1^st Period — 1. Owen Sound, Joseph Blandisi 2 (Cook), 4:33. 2. Erie, Travis Wood 1 (Cairns, Glass), 13:43. Penalties — Smith (O) high sticking, :10; Thompson (E) interference, 1:16; McGuire (E) 5-min. fighting, 4:26; Zweep (O) 5-min. fighting, 4:26; Catenacci (O) tripping, 6:09; Gavrus (O) 4-min. checking from behind, 15:02; Thompson (E) roughing, 15:02; McDonnell (E) roughing, 18:26; Gilbert (O) hooking, 18:50.

2^nd Period — 3. Owen Sound, Matt Petgrave 3 (unassisted), 1:39. 4. Erie, Derek Holden 1 (McKegg, Cairns), 3:28. 5. Erie, Holden 2 (McKegg, Cairns), 4:06 (pp). 6. Owen Sound, Gemel Smith 2 (unassisted), 5:06. 7. Erie, Brett Thompson 3 (McKegg, Glass), 14:28. 8. Erie, Luke Cairns 1 (McKegg, Cook), 16:12 (pp). Penalties — Appio (O) hooking, 3:53; McKegg (E) roughing, 6:21; Catenacci (O) roughing, 6:21; Festarini (E) hooking (served by McKegg), 12:09; Gilbert (O) checking to the head, 16:00; McCarthy (E) 5-min. fighting, 18:09; Appio (E) 5-min. fighting, 18:09; Gilbert (O) interference, 18:35.

3^rd Period — 9. Owen Sound, Artur Gavrus 1 (Smith, Childerley), 1:01. 10. Erie, Cairns 2 (McKegg), 10:05. 11. Owen Sound, Jake Dotchin 1 (Smith, Halmo), 12:42 (pp). 12. Erie, Brett Cook 1 (McKegg, Thompson), 15:54 (pp). Penalties — Brown (E) hooking, 11:52; Petgrave (O) high sticking, 14:46.

Shots on goal — Owen Sound, 8-10-10—28; Erie, 9-11-10—30.

Goaltenders — Owen Sound, J.P. Cesario 1-1-0-0 (30 shots, 23 saves); Erie, Chris Festarini 1-2-0-0 (28 shots, 24 saves).

Power plays — Owen Sound (1-4), Erie (3-8).

Referees — Craig Spada, Seth Ferguson. Linesmen — Jesse Wilmot, Adam Harris.

Attendance — 1,997.

Three stars

* Luke Cairns, Otters (2 goals, 3 assists) ** Greg McKegg, Otters (6 assists) *** Derek Holden, Otters (2 goals)

SARNIA, Ontario – Three goals in the third period by the Sarnia Sting were the difference, as the Erie Otters lost their season opener at RBC Centre Friday night 5-2.

Nail Yakupov, Craig Hottot and Charlie Sarault all scored in the third for the Sting, as they handed the Otters a season-opening loss.

Alex Basso scored first for the Sting while on the power play, but his goal was quickly neutralized by Sondre Olden’s first OHL goal.

The Norwegian took a feed from Connor Brown down the left wing of the Sarnia zone and fired a wrist shot from the circle through the glove of Brandon Maxwell to tie the game nine minutes, five seconds into the game.

Brett Ritchie scored on a two-on-one just over a minute later to put the Sting back in front. However, a hard check by Chris Marchese during an Otters’ penalty kill led to their first shorthanded goal of the season. Brown picked up the loose puck and started a two-on-none, waiting until the last moment to find Marchese, as he rang the puck just under the crossbar to make it two-all with four minutes, 19 seconds left in the first.

The second period was more defensive than the first, but neither team was short on chances. Chris Festarini stopped Ritchie with a terrific right arm save on a breakaway and Brett Thompson was denied by the outstretched right pad of Maxwell.

The goalies kept the scoreline at two apiece going into the third. The third was where the Sting were able to pull away, and despite Festarini’s best efforts with 35 saves, the Otters could not find the offense to take at least a point on the road.

Brown led the way for the Otters with two assists, while Nathan Glass, Stephen Harper and Jake Evans had solid debuts despite not appearing on the scoresheet. The Otters continue on the road to Plymouth to take on the Whalers Saturday at 7 p.m.

- From Erie Otters news release

The Erie Otters dropped their preseason opener 2-0 to Niagara at Tullio Arena on Saturday night.

But Otters coach Robbie Ftorek said he was “pleased with what they did on the ice.”

The Otters featured a lineup filled with young players, nine of which made their OHL debut. They faced a veteran-laden IceDogs club that included NHL first-round picks Dougie Hamilton, Ryan Strome and Mark Visentin.

But the Otters battled the IceDogs from start to finish.

Chris Festarini and Tyson Teichmann, who are vying for the No. 1 goaltending job, allowed a goal apiece while splitting time in net. Festarini stopped 17-of-18 shots while Teichmann had seven saves.

Mitch Bennett snapped the scoreless tie 7 minutes, 35 seconds into the second period on the IceDogs’ first power-play chance of the game. The IceDogs finished 1-for-2 compared to the Otters’ 0-for-5. David Pacan capped the scoring with 4:32 left in the game.

The Otters scratched several veterans from the lineup – goaltender Ramis Sadikov, defensemen Brett Cook, Derek Holden and Kris Grant and forwards Mike Cazzola, Greg McKegg and Brett Thompson.

Left wing Sondre Olden, the club’s highly regarded top pick in the CHL Import Draft, also was scratched because the International Ice Hockey Federation hasn’t officially approved his paperwork. Sherry Bassin, Otters managing partner and general manager, expects that to happen Tuesday or Wednesday. Bassin also announced the signings of several prospects – 2011 draft picks Nick Betz, Patrick Murphy and Travis Wood, 2010 pick Connor Brown and 2009 pick Johnny McGuire.

SUMMARY

IceDogs 2, Otters 0

Niagara  0  1  1  —  2

Erie  0  0  0  —  0

1^st Period — 1. None. Penalties — Niagara, too many men (served by Desautels), 5:17; Shipley (N) hooking, 15:28.

2^nd Period — Niagara, Mitch Bennett (Strome, F. Hamilton), 7:35 (pp). Penalties — D. Hamilton (N) elbowing, :50; McCarthy (E) roughing, 6:51; Cairns (E) hooking, 9:33; Verhaeghe (N) hooking, 9:40; Beukeboom (N) slashing, 17:53.

3^rd Period — 2. Niagara, David Pacan (F. Hamilton), 15:28. Penalties — McGuire (E) 5-min. fighting, 2:57; Desautels (N) 5-min. fighting, 2:57; McGuire (E) game misconduct, 2:57; Desautels (N) game misconduct, 2:57; Cairns (E) delay of game, 6:25; Windsor (N) delay of game, 6:25; D. Hamilton (N) cross checking, 6:54.

Shots on goal — Niagara, 10-11-5—26; Erie, 11-6-9—26.

Goaltenders — Niagara, Mark Visentin (13 shots, 13 saves), Mike Gallardi (13 shots, 13 saves); Erie, Chris Festarini (18 shots, 17 saves), Tyson Teichmann (8 shots, 7 saves).

Power plays — Niagara (1-2), Erie (0-5).

Referees — Craig Spada, Keith Kaval. Linesmen — Ray King, Mike Harrington.