The Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League are proud to announce that defenseman Adam Pelech (Pell-eck) is one of 28 players who will represent Team Canada at the 2012 Canada-Russia Challenge in August.

A native of Toronto, Pelech rebounded after an early-season injury and was a steady influence on the blue line, collecting 20 points in 44 games. He was the first player in OHL history to receive the Ivan Tennant and Bobby Smith Awards for academic excellence in April.

At the Otters Annual Awards Banquet in April, Pelech took home Player of the Year and Defenseman of the Year honors, joining Chris Campoli as the only defensemen to be named as Otters Player of the Year.

Pelech has had considerable experience at the international level, winning gold medals with Canada and Team Ontario at the 2011 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka and the 2011 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, respectively.

He also helped Canada win a bronze medal at the World Under-18 Championships in the Czech Republic, the country’s first medal at the event since 2008. Pelech served as an assistant captain and was named by opposing coaches as one of Canada’s top three players at the tournament.

The 2012 Canada-Russia Challenge is a collaboration between Hockey Canada, the Canadian Hockey League, Halifax Mooseheads and Halifax Trade Centre Limited, which will see Canada and Russia’s national junior programs face off in four games, two in Russia and two in Canada, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the 1972 Summit Series. The series begins August 9 in Russia and concludes August 14 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Canada’s roster, comprised of three goaltenders, 10 defensemen and 15 forwards, was selected by Kevin Prendergast, head scout of the men’s Program of Excellence for Hockey Canada, along with Hockey Canada senior director of hockey operations and national teams Scott Salmond, and the team’s coaching staff, comprised of head coach Steve Spott, Mario Duhamel, Don Nachbaur and André Tourigny.

- From Erie Otters news release

Erie Otters defenseman Adam Pelech headlined the winners as the sole owner of three awards at the team’s annual Awards Banquet held Sunday afternoon at the Bayfront Convention Center.

The second-year defenseman rebounded after an early-season injury and was a steady influence on the blue line, collecting 20 points in 44 games. Pelech took home Player of the Year and Defenseman of the Year honors, joining Chris
Campoli as the only defensemen to be named as Player of the Year.

Pelech also won the Sertz Family Scholastic Award as the team’s top student-athlete for the second straight season. Earlier in the week, Pelech became the first player in OHL history to win the Ivan Tennant Memorial Award and the Bobby Smith Trophy and he also was part of a Team Canada squad that captured the bronze medal at the IIHF World Under-18 Championships.

Pelech’s Toronto Marlboros teammate Connor Brown won a pair of trophies after an excellent first season in the OHL with 53 points, second best among league rookies. Brown won the Most Sportsmanlike Player award and shared Rookie of the Year honors with Stephen Harper, who led 1995-born players with 24 goals this season.

For the first time in team history, five players were joint-winners of the Most Valuable Player award. In addition to Pelech, Brown and Harper, forwards Dane Fox and Luke Cairns also shared the trophy.

Other award winners from the Otters 17th Annual Awards Banquet included Fox (Leading Scorer), Cairns (Most Improved Player), Ramis Sadikov (Locastro-Bonini Three Star Award), Connor Crisp (Bassin Award for Dedication), Travis Wood and Jake Evans (co-winners of the Vince Scott Award for Determination) and Mac McDonnell (Steve Nimigon Humanitarian Award).

- From Erie Otters news release

Tampa Bay Lighting F Ryan Malone, a former Pittsburgh Penguin, has received no suspension for his hit to the head of Montreal Canadiens D Chris Campoli, a former Erie Otter. Check out the video and the explanation regarding no suspension by clicking the links.

WINDSOR, Ontario – The Erie Otters are still alive. They can credit Anthony Luciani for that.

Luciani scored his fourth goal of the game 4 minutes, 3 seconds into the overtime in Game 5 to seal the Otters 6-5 win against Windsor in front of 5,945 at WFCU Centre on Friday night.

Luciani stole the puck from Spitfires all-star defenseman Ryan Ellis at the side of the net and slipped a shot through goaltender Jack Campbell’s pads to force Game 6 on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. at Tullio Arena.

Otters goaltender Ramis Sadikov (career-high 50 saves) began the game with 10 goals against on his last 70 shots in the past two games. But he was strong through an 18-shot barrage from the Spitfires in the opening period.

Meanwhile, the Otters scored the only goal of the period, as Luciani redirected Phil Varone’s cross-crease pass past Campbell at the 7:11 mark. The Otters had 12 shots in the period.

Sadikov also strong stood through the Spitfires’ 5-on-3 power play early in the second. Yet as the second penalty expired, Spitfires defenseman Adrian Robertson fired a shot from the right side that squeezed through Sadikov’s pads to tie the score at 1 just 3:34 into the period.

But the Otters’ power play awakened in the period. The Otters entered the game having failed on 24 of their first 27 chances. But they scored on three straight chances in a seven-minute span to take a 4-1 lead.

Varone split two defenders at the Spitfires’ blue line and fired a wrist shot past Campbell to break the 1-1 tie at the 8:55 mark. Less than three minutes later, Varone assisted on defenseman Derek Holden’s goal.

Holden fired a wrist shot through a screen to extend Erie’s lead to 3-1. Then Luciani deflected Holden’s shot from the point past Campbell for a 4-1 Otters’ lead with four minutes left in the period.

Varone set up the goal by diving to keep the puck in the zone on a clearing attempt and then making a cross-ice pass to Holden for his third assist and fourth point of the game.

The Otters led 4-1 after two periods despite being outshot 14-9 in the second and 32-20 in the game.

The Spitfires gained some momentum on Alexander Khokhlachev’s power-play goal 4:41 into the third period. But Luciani completed his hat trick – the eighth three-goal game in the franchise’s playoff history – by firing a rebound into an open net 1:10 later. Varone assisted on the goal to tie the Otters’ single-game playoff record with five points set by Brad Boyes (twice) in 2002.

Windsor moved within 5-3 on Kerby Rychel’s goal in front with 10:57 left. Then the Spitfires completed their dramatic comeback with two goals in 41 seconds. Jake Carrick slid a shot past Sadikov to slice the deficit to 5-4 with 3:50 left. Then during a wild scramble in front of the net, Ellis fired a slap shot through the crowd to tie the score at 5 with 3:09 left.

Windsor outshot the Otters 22-7 in the period to extend their advantage to 54-27 heading into overtime.

But Luciani scored on the game’s final shot to seal the Otters’ dramatic win.

* News and notes: The 55 shots against were four shy of the Otters’ postseason record (59 vs. Sarnia on March 26, 2002). … Varone also tied the Otters’ mark of four assists in a playoff game set by Boyes against Sarnia on March 23, 2002, and tied by Chris Campoli against the Sting two years later. … Holden had a goal and two assists. … Coach Robbie Ftorek said Andrew Yogan didn’t travel with the team to Windsor because he was sick. … Campbell allowed six goals on 31 shots in the loss. He has allowed 10 goals on his last 57 shots after stopping 105-of-112 shots in the first three games.

Series schedule

No. 4 Windsor vs. No. 5 Erie

Game 1 – Erie 2, Windsor 1

Game 2 – Windsor 4, Erie 3 (2OT)

Game 3 – Windsor 6, Erie 2

Game 4 – Windsor 7, Erie 4

Game 5 – Erie 6, Windsor 5 (OT)

Game 6 – Sunday at Erie, 4:30 p.m.

Game 7 – Tuesday at Windsor, 7:05 p.m.*

Windsor leads series 3-2

* If necessary

SUMMARY

Otters 6, Spitfires 5 (OT)

Erie  1  3  1  0  —  5

Windsor  0  1  4  0  —  5

1^st Period — 1. Erie, Anthony Luciani 2 (Varone, Shields), 7:11. Penalties — Khokhlachev (W) tripping, :44; Szydlowski (E) hooking, 2:55.

2^nd Period — 2. Windsor, Adrian Robertson 1 (Carnevale, Johnston), 3:34. 3. Erie, Phil Varone 2 (Holden, Sadikov), 8:55 (pp). 4. Erie, Derek Holden 1 (Varone, Cairns), 11:15 (pp). 5. Erie, Luciani 3 (Holden, Varone), 16:00 (pp). Penalties — Szydlowski (E) elbowing, :46; Shields (E) delay of game, 1:34; Kuhnhackl (W) roughing, 7:13; Johnston (W) checking to the head, 10:45; Kassian (E) slashing, 14:58.

3^rd Period — 6. Windsor, Alexander Khokhlachev 3 (Robertson, Kuhnhackl), 4:41 (pp). 7. Erie, Luciani 4 (Varone), 5:51. 8. Windsor, Kerby Rychel 1 (Carnevale, Ellis), 9:03. 9. Windsor, Jake Carrick 4 (Kuhnhackl, Khokhlachev), 16:10. 10. Windsor, Ryan Ellis 3 (Kassian, Brown), 16:51. Penalties — Cook (E) holding, 3:52; Erie, too many men (served by Luciani), 11:59.

Overtime — 11. Erie, Luciani 5 (unassisted), 4:03. Penalties — None.

Shots on goal — Erie, 11-9-7-4—31; Windsor, 18-14-22-1—55.

Goaltenders — Erie, Ramis Sadikov 2-2-1 (55 shots, 50 saves); Windsor, Jack Campbell 3-1-1 (31 shots, 25 saves).

Power plays — Erie (3-4), Windsor (1-5).

Referees — Darcy Burchell, Scott Oakman. Linesmen — Darryl Wolfe, Geoff Rutherford.

Attendance — 5,945.

Three stars

* Anthony Luciani, Otters (4 goals) ** Phil Varone, Otters (goal, 4 assists) *** Adrian Robertson, Spitfires (goal, assist)

Brett Thompson (Contributed/Terry Wilson, OHL Images)

The Erie Otters’ milestone night nearly became a record-setting night.

Brett Thompson had four goals and six points to headline an 8-2 win against Windsor in front of 5,417 at Tullio Arena Saturday night. He tied the franchise’s single-season record for goals in a game and fell one point short of the franchise mark of seven on a night when the Otters celebrated their 1,000^th game.

Thompson teamed with linemates Phil Varone (goal, four assists) and Anthony Luciani (goal, three assists) for six goals and 15 points in the game. They combined for nine goals and 24 points in the two-game weekend sweep of the Spitfires (27-17-2-3) and Sault Ste. Marie.

The Otters (27-23-1-1) watched the pregame ceremony honoring the 1,000^th game in the 15-year-old franchise’s 1,000^th game, starting with Sean Courtney’s title-clinching goal in the 2002 OHL finals.

Then they watched DVD messages from former Otters Brad Boyes, Chris Campoli and Ryan O’Reilly, followed by the introduction of alumni T.J. Aceti, Chris Berti, Courtney, Mike McKeown, Steve Nimigon and Brad Yeo. But the current Otters didn’t initially turn the emotion into momentum.

Instead, the Spitfires took a 1-0 lead on defenseman Ryan Ellis’ rocket from the left point 3:43 into the opening period. Meanwhile, the Otters failed to capitalize on several early scoring chances.

Yet they finally tied the score at 1 on Thompson’s goal with 2:59 left in the period. He poked a rebound of Luciani’s shot past Spitfires goaltender Jack Campbell. Then 1:41 into the second, Shawn Szydlowski scored his 29^th goal of the season off an assist from Brady Austin to snap the tie.

Thompson added his second goal of the night to extend the Otters’ lead to 3-1 at the 4:18 into the period.

He assisted on rookie Luke Cairns’ power-play goal – his first goal in 30 games – at the 7:04 mark for a 4-1 Otters’ lead. Then Thompson recorded his second hat trick of the season and third of his OHL career to cap the Otters’ fourth-goal outburst in a 6-minute span. Thompson has five goals in his past two games.

The Otters’ barrage ended Campbell’s night after five goals on 17 shots. But Thompson and the Otters weren’t done, as he assisted on Varone’s power-play goal with 58 seconds left in the period. Luciani and Thompson added another goal apiece early in the third to complete the best night of his career. Varone’s five points also were a career high.

SUMMARY

Otters 8, Spitfires 2

Windsor  1  0  1  —  2

Erie  1  5  2  —  8

1^st Period — 1. Windsor, Ryan Ellis 17 (unassisted), 3:45. 2. Erie, Brett Thompson 31 (Luciani, Varone), 17:01. Penalties — Sadikov (E) tripping (served by Luciani), :19; McGuire (E) 5-min. fighting, 5:10; Czinder (W) 5-min. fighting, 5:10; Appio (E) 5-min. fighting, 6:06; Duininck (W) 5-min. fighting, 6:06; Crisp (E) 5-min. fighting, 9:12; Rychel (W) 5-min. fighting, 9:12; Vail (W) hooking, 14:21.

2^nd Period — 3. Erie, Shawn Szydlowski 29 (Austin), 1:41. 4. Erie, Thompson 32 (McKegg, Holden), 4:18. 5. Erie, Luke Cairns 4 (Thompson), 7:04 (pp). 6. Erie, Thompson 33 (Varone), 7:54. 7. Erie, Phil Varone 24 (Thompson, Luciani), 19:02 (pp). Penalties — Cook (E) holding, 4:44; Rychel (W) tripping, 6:56; Brown (W) charging, 14:45; Ellis (W) interference, 17:59.

3^rd Period — 8. Erie, Anthony Luciani 19 (Cairns, Varone), 4:13 (pp). 9. Erie, Thompson 34 (Varone, Luciani), 9:06. 10. Windsor, Brady Vail 2 (Rychel, Webermin), 14:16. Penalties — Carnevale (W) goaltender interference, 2:51; Vail (W) goaltender interference, 3:58; Windsor, bench minor (served) Czinder), 4:13; Luciani (E) tripping, 11:51; Cazzola (E) slashing, 12:14.

Shots on goal — Windsor, 14-8-13—35; Erie, 13-20-8—41.

Goaltenders — Windsor, Jack Campbell 16-11-1-2 (17 shots, 12 saves), Michael Nishi (24 shots, 21 saves); Erie, Ramis Sadikov 27-16-1-1 (25 shots, 24 saves), Festarini (10 shots, 9 saves).

Power plays — Windsor (0-4), Erie (3-7).

Referees — Darcy Burchell, Dave Gauthier. Linesmen — Matthew Traub, Mike Malott.

Attendance — 5,417.

Three stars

* Brett Thompson, Otters (4 goals, 2 assists) ** Phil Varone, Otters (goal, 4 assists) *** Anthony Luciani, Otters (goal, 3 assists)

Greg McKegg (Contributed/Toronto Maple Leafs)

Erie Otters forward Greg McKegg and former teammates Justin Hodgman and Michael Liambas are among 63 players heading to the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ training camp, which begins Friday in Toronto. McKegg and Liambas concluded play in the Maple Leafs Rookie Tournament on Tuesday with a 2-1 win against the Ottawa Senators at John Labatt Centre in London, Ontario.

Otters forward Shawn Szydlowski played for the Senators. But he didn’t receive an invitation to the NHL club’s main camp, which includes former Otters defenseman Chris Campoli.

At the NHL Prospects Tournament at Center Ice Arena in Traverse City, Mich., Otters forward Andrew Yogan scored a goal in the New York Rangers‘ 7-2 win against the Dallas Stars in the fifth-place game on Wednesday. The Rangers haven’t announced their roster for training camp.

Former Otters winger Luke Gazdic played for the Stars. Now he heads to Stars’ main camp this weekend in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

Former Otters goaltender Jaroslav Janus stopped 3o-of-34 shots in a 4-3 double-overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in the third-place game. Defenseman David Shields played for the St. Louis Blues. But he won’t join former Otters Brad Boyes and Carlo Colaiacovo at main camp.

In other NHL camp news, defenseman Tyler Hostetter will attend the Philadelphia Flyers‘ main camp, which begins Friday at The Virtua Center Flyers Skate Zone in Vo0rhees, N.J. Hostetter signed an entry-level contract with the Flyers last September.

- Victor Fernandes

Erie Otters winger Anthony Luciani and defenseman David Shields declined contract offers from NHL clubs this summer.

The Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks offered Luciani, a 20-year-old overager, an AHL/ECHL deal after he attended the club’s rookie development camp in July.

But his agent, Neil Sheehy, of Boston and Minneapolis-based Sheehy Hockey, LLC advised him not to accept it, Luciani said. Until he declined the offer, Luciani planned to represent the Blackhawks in the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ rookie tournament, set for Sept. 11-14 at John Labatt Centre in London, Ontario.

“My agent knows what’s best, so I went with him,” Luciani, who received interest from the Blackhawks after producing 38 goals and 68 points last season, said before the Champions for Education Golf Tournament at Lake Shore Country Club on Monday – the unofficial start to Otters’ training camp.

“You can always do better (with a contract offer),” Luciani said. “I’m just going to play (my final junior season) and see how it goes.”

Shields, 19, the St. Louis Blues‘ sixth-round pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, chose not to accept the club’s qualifying offer in June, which Shields described as a three-year deal at the league’s minimum rookie salary and with no signing bonus.

“It’s just basically to be with them for another three years,” said Shields, who has until June 1, 2011 – the NHL’s signing deadline for 2009 draft picks – to avoid becoming a free agent.

“It’s definitely a risk,” Shields said. “But in the long run, I think it’s a good (decision). I think I can really show that I want it and get more of an offer for me. I know it’s a really big year.”

Shields will play for the Blues in the NHL Prospects Tournament, set for Sept. 11-15 in Traverse City, Mich. A strong performance could lead to an invitation to main camp later in the month.

* Speaking of better offers: Forward Shawn Szydlowski, 20, an overager, originally planned to join Luciani at the Blackhawks’ rookie development camp. But while Chicago’s interest began to grow cold, Szydlowski received an invitation to the Ottawa Senators‘ development camp in July.

“Everything went well there,” Szydlowski said. So he will play for the Senators in the Maple Leafs’ rookie tournament against, among other prospects, Otters teammate Greg McKegg, Toronto’s third-round pick in the 2010 NHL draft.

Senators officials “told me they would give me an honest shot” to earn a spot at main camp and, ultimately, a contract, Szydlowski said. “Now that I’ve got an opportunity to do this, (I’ll) hopefully prove something to them and then have another year in Erie, if I come back.”

* Belief system: Coach Robbie Ftorek believes more players believe in the team’s ability to surpass its achievements of the past two seasons, which included 67 wins and two first-round defeats in the OHL playoffs. But his work isn’t complete.

“Shame on me because I believe in what we can do,” Ftorek said. “But I haven’t convinced (all of) the players yet to believe. It takes them to believe and to trust and rely upon one another and care about one another. If they do that, then we’ll be successful. We’re working at it.”

* Speaking of Ftorek: He remains intent on focusing on nothing beyond the current day. Before the golf tournament on Monday, he was asked about his expectations for the 2010-11 season.

“I want to get through my first shot off the tee box,” he said. “Then we’ll worry about the other stuff. We’re going to take it again one game at a time and let the other things take care of themselves.”

* News and notes: The Erie Otters Fan Club will hold its next meeting on Sept. 7 at 6:30 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, 707 Sassafras Street. … Former Otters defenseman Chris Campoli (2000-04) played in the golf outing, but wasn’t expected to skate with the team in camp. He signed a one-year contract with Ottawa, worth a reported $1.4 million, in July.

- Victor Fernandes

Former Erie Otters defenseman Chris Campoli has re-signed with the NHL‘s Ottawa Senators. Read more by clicking the link.