Erie Otters (18-40-3-5) at Guelph Storm (38-23-1-4)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Sleeman Centre – Guelph, Ontario
On the air: WJET-AM/1400, www.ottershockey.com (live stream)*
Upcoming schedule: Saturday vs. Guelph, 7 p.m. (season finale)
What to expect: The Otters enter the final weekend of the season tied with the 2007-08 club (18-46-2-2) for the third-fewest, single-season wins in the franchise’s 17-year history. They currently have the fourth-worst, single-season winning percentage (.333) in franchise history, behind only the 2011-12 club (.191), 2006-07 club (.243) and 2007-08 club (.294). … The Otters have topped 300 goals against for the second straight season and fourth time in the past seven years. … The Otters have clinched the No. 2 pick in the OHL Priority Selection April 6. Ottawa (16-43-0-5) will have the No. 1 pick. … Otters C Connor McDavid (25 goals, 37 assists, 62 points) entered Thursday trailing Sarnia RW Nikolay Goldobin (27-36-63) by one point for the league’s rookie scoring title. McDavid leads his counterpart by one assist and trails him by two in goals. The Sting faced Oshawa at home Thursday night. … McDavid needs one point to set a new franchise mark for points by a rookie in a season. He’s tied with Tim Connolly, who had 62 points in the 1997-98 season. McDavid already has broken the club’s mark for assists by a rookie in a season originally held by Brad Boyes (36 in 1998-99). … RW Connor Brown (26-41-67) could finish the season among the league’s top 20 scorers. … C Jake Evans (5-11-16) remained on crutches for Wednesday night’s loss to London at Erie Insurance Arena. … The Otters are holding a raffle as part of their annual Mario Lemieux Foundation Night. Tickets are $5 for one, $20 for five and $50 for 15 and will be drawn Saturday night. The list of 15 prizes include a framed Lemieux sweater signed by 15 players from his fantasy camp and sweaters signed by Lemieux, a Hockey Hall of Famer and Penguins co-owner, and current Penguins Evgeni Malkin and James Neal. … Guelph stands four points behind Midwest Division rival Kitchener with two games left. The Storm need to sweep the Otters this weekend and Rangers losses in Sault Ste. Marie and Saginaw this weekend to clinch the fourth seed and home-ice advantage in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. … The Storm are fourth in the league with 247 goals scored despite having one player among the top 20 in goals (RW Scott Kosmachuk, 33) and no players among the top 20 in points.
* Saturday’s game will air on WFNN-AM/1330

- 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

Erie Otters rookie winger Hayden Hodgson figured he would be suspended for his hit that injured Kingston rookie forward Henri Ikonen last Sunday.
Four games, maybe five – but not 10. “I wasn’t really expecting such a harsh punishment,” he said Thursday after spending extra time on the Erie Insurance Arena ice working with coach Kris Knoblauch. “I’m really kind of ticked about how I’ll miss games next year.”
Hodgson, who will miss the final seven games of this season and the first three of the 2013-14 OHL season, said he was finishing a check as Ikonen cycled the puck near the boards. “I got him in the chest,” he said. “I think it was just a little bit late.” Ikonen’s injury, which has been reported as a concussion, led league officials to suspend Hodgson for 10 games. “I just think it could have been a better outcome,” he said.
Otters captain Connor Brown, who is out with a concussion, watched replays of the hit while doing video work during the loss to Kingston. “It looked a tad late,” Brown said. “But if (Ikonen) wasn’t injured, I don’t think it would have been a penalty. I thought it was an OK hit.”
Otters coach Kris Knoblauch said, “From our side, we think it’s too much. Kingston, they lose their player. They think it’s not enough.”
Either way, Hodgson has to accept not playing for the rest of this season.
“When I found out, I was kind of shocked,” he said. “I’m not going to play until next year, which is kind of depressing. I’ve just got to handle it. (I have to) work hard in practice and in the gym and just make the best of it.”

- 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 (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

Erie Otters at (17-32-3-5) at London Knights (39-12-2-2)
When: Today, 2 p.m.
Where: Budweiser Gardens – London, Ontario
On the air: WFNN-AM/1330, www.ottershockey.com (live stream)
Upcoming schedule: Thursday at Windsor, 7:05 p.m.; Friday at Sarnia, 7:05 p.m.
What to expect: The Otters have split the first four games of the six-game season series with the Midwest Division rival Knights, including a 4-3 win at Erie Insurance Arena Friday night. They meet for the final time March 13 in Erie. … The Otters are five points away from being officially eliminated from playoff contention. Any combination of Otters losses and Saginaw wins/overtime losses totaling five points will end Erie’s postseason hopes. … 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 (15-37-0-4). Peterborough stands third worst at 20-29-3-4. … C Connor McDavid (24 goals, 30 assists, 54 points) holds a three-point lead over Sarnia RW Nikolay Goldobin (24-27-51) in the league’s rookie scoring race. Brampton LW Blake Clarke (18-25-43) trails McDavid by 11 points. … RW Connor Brown set a new single-season career high with his 26th goal of the season in a 4-2 loss to Kitchener Saturday night. He already has new career highs with 40 assists and 66 points. … C J.P. Labardo needs one goal for the first 20-goal season of his five-year OHL career. His 34 assists and 53 points nearly equal his totals from the previous four seasons. … C Luke Cairns (10-28-38) has set a new career best in assists and points. … F Dane Fox (12-16-28 in 28 games) has averaged a point per game since returning from a foot injury. He had two goals and an assist Friday against the Knights, his former team. … D Jimmy McDowell has 12 goals this season, four more than in his previous three seasons. He ranks among the league’s top goal-scoring defensemen. … G Oscar Dansk stopped 75-of-81 shots the past two games after allowing 16 goals on his previous 106 shots. … Rookie D Darren Raddysh has played 14 games as an affiliated player, although nine count toward the total of 10 allowed by league rules. He has been a healthy scratch the past two games. … The Knights snapped a four-game losing streak with a 5-1 win at Niagara Sunday. … They remain nine points ahead of Barrie by in the race for the league’s regular-season championship and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. … The Knights are playing without RW Seth Griffith (33-49-82), who is reportedly out with a broken hand. … Rookie G Anthony Stolarz stopped 40-of-41 shots against the IceDogs after making 29 saves on 31 shots in relief of starter Jake Patterson Friday in Erie. … The Knights are 8-9 since posting a 24-game winning streak, which fell one shy of tying the CHL record. … They lead the league with 229 goals scored.

- Victor Fernandes

The Erie Otters had plenty of jump against the OHL-leading London Knights Friday night.
The Otters built an early 2-0 lead and then held on for a 4-3 win in front of 3,060 fans at Erie Insurance Arena. Dane Fox had two goals and an assist against his former team while Connor Brown added three assists for the Otters (17-31-3-5). Oscar Dansk made 30 saves for the Otters.
Matt Rupert, Ryan Rupert and Bo Horvat score while Max Domi had two assists for the Knights (39-12-2-2), which played without injured leading scorer Seth Griffith. Anthony Stolarz took the loss despite stopping 29-of-31 shots in relief of starter Jake Patterson.
Surprisingly, the Otters jumped on the Knights early on the way to taking a 2-0 lead and chasing Patterson from the net after only five minutes and five shots on goal. Luke Cairns opened the scoring by slipping a shot past Patterson for his 10th goal of the season 3:13 into the game. Then linemate Fox, who assisted on Cairns’ goal, flicked a backhand past Patterson at the 5:12 mark.
That goal sent Patterson to the bench in favor of Stolarz. He immediately was tested by Otters rookie Connor McDavid, the first of Stolarz’s 10 saves on 10 shots in the first period. He robbed Cairns of another goal with a right pad save in the final seconds of the period.
But the Otters, which ranked near the bottom of the OHL with 169 goals scored entering the game, continued to pressure one of the league’s stingiest defenses in the second. Erie gained momentum during a trio of 5-on-3 opportunities in a span of four minutes early in the period.
The Otters also regained a two-goal lead at 3-1 on Fox’s second goal of the night 5:51 into the period. Brown earned his third assist of the game on the goal. The Knights pulled within a goal at 3-2 on Horvat’s goal off a rebound 4:22 into the third period.
A great individual effort from McDavid led to his 24th goal of the season and a 4-2 lead with 6:27 left. McDavid slipped from behind the net, and then appeared to mesmerize two Knights’ defenders with his stickhandling, before sliding a shot past Stolarz.
The Knights once again sliced Erie’s lead to a goal at 4-3 with 5:01 left, as Ryan Rupert‘s scored a power-play goal with Stolarz on the bench for an extra attacker. Yet the Otters held on to even the season season with the Midwest Division rival Knights at two games apiece.

- Victor Fernandes

SUMMARY

Otters 4, Knights 3
London 1 0 2 — 3
Erie 2 1 1 — 4
1st Period — 1. Erie, Luke Cairns 10 (Fox, Brown), 3:13. 2. Erie, Dane Fox 11 (Brown, Kuzmyk), 5:12. 3. London, Matt Rupert 24 (Domi, Stolarz), 9:19. Penalties — Fox (E) high sticking, 9:31.
2nd Period — 4. Erie, Fox 12 (Brown, Pelech), 5:51 (pp). Penalties — Maatta (L) high sticking, 3:58; M. Rupert (L) delay of game, 5:18; Hughes (L) delay of game, 6:43; Fox (E) roughing, 7:17; Horvat (L) roughing, 7:17; R. Rupert (L) interference, 7:44; Pelech (E) roughing, 13:09.
3rd Period — 5. London, Bo Horvat 25 (Domi, Broadhurst), 4:22. 6. Erie, Connor McDavid 24 (Labardo, Donnay), 13:33. 7. London, Ryan Rupert 9 (Domi, Maatta), 14:59 (pp). Penalties — Betz (E) 14:06.
Shots on goal — London, 10-7-16—33; Erie, 15-13-8—36.
Goaltenders — London, Jake Patterson (5 shots, 3 saves), Anthony Stolarz 4-2-1-0 (31 shots, 29 saves); Erie, Oscar Dansk 9-16-2-3 (33 shots, 30 saves).
Power plays — London (1-3), Erie (1-4).
Referees — Jason Goldenberg, Bob Langdon. Linesmen — Ryan Holmstead, Drew Jackson.
Attendance — 3,060.

Three stars
* Dane Fox, Otters (2 goals, assist) ** Connor Brown, Otters (3 assists) *** Max Domi, Knights (2 assists)

Ottawa 67′s (7-21-0-3) at Erie Otters (7-17-2-3)
When: Today, 7 p.m.
Where: Erie Insurance Arena
On the air: WFNN-AM/1330, www.ottershockey.com (live stream)
Upcoming schedule: Saturday vs. Guelph, 7 p.m.; Sunday at Brampton, 2 p.m.
What to expect: The Otters enter Kris Knoblauch‘s first home game as coach on a season-high, six-game losing streak. They have lost eight of their past 10 games to fall nine points out of a playoff spot in the OHL’s Western Conference. … The Otters and 67′s have two of the OHL’s three worst records. Peterborough (6-20-3-1) stands last overall in the league. … Otters GM Sherry Bassin holds out hope C Dane Fox (broken left foot) could make his season debut this weekend. … The Otters traded D Nathan Glass to Saginaw Wednesday, which opens up a spot on defense for rookie Justin Felker, a second-round pick in the 2012 OHL Priority Selection who has dressed for only 13-of-29 games and has spent some time at forward. … The Otters are 2-10 in one-goal games and 2-14 in games decided by two goals or fewer. … C Connor McDavid, the league’s two-time rookie of the month, leads the team in goals (17), is tied with RW Connor Brown with 36 points and ranks second to Brown with 19 assists. … The 67′s have lost seven straight and 10 of their past 11 games, including a 9-0 defeat at Niagara Thursday night, which left them ninth in the Eastern Conference and nine points out of a playoff spot. … They look to sweep the two-game season series with the Otters. Ottawa won 8-1 at home Sept. 29. … They ranked a respectable 10th in goals scored (99), but had allowed a league-worst 139 goals. … C Sean Monahan, the 67′s leading scorer (36 points in 24 games) and NHL Central Scouting’s top OHL prospect for the 2013 draft, continues to serve a 10-game suspension. … Guelph (18-9-0-3) has used the league’s highest-scoring offense (118 goals) to move into fifth in the Western Conference. … The Storm have seven players with at least 20 points. … Brampton (14-12-3-2 entering Thursday’s game against London) ranks near the bottom of the league with 85 goals scored, but has one of the stingiest defenses (91 goals against). … The Otters hold their fifth annual “Teddy Bear Toss” Saturday. Fans donating a new or gently used stuffed animal will receive a ticket voucher for a future game. Fans will toss the bears onto the ice after the team’s first goal. The club collected 4,951 stuffed animals for the Salvation Army and other Erie-area charities a season ago.

- Victor Fernandes

Erie Otters captain Connor Brown was named OHL player of the week for totaling two goals, seven points and a plus-6 rating in wins against Oshawa and Peterborough. He had two goals and two assists – his first career four-point game – in a 6-3 win against the Petes Friday. He added three assists in a 6-1 win against the East Division-leading Generals Saturday.
Brown is tied for third in the league with 16 goals and ranks among the top 15 overall with 28 points. Otters goaltender Oscar Dansk also was considered for the award after posting a 2-0-0-0 record, 2.00 goals-against average and .957 save percentage in the team’s first two-game winning streak of the season. He stopped 90-of-94 shots overall, including a career-high 49 saves against the Generals.
Other candidates were Owen Sound forward Daniel Catenacci (three goals, eight points in three games) and London forward Matt Rupert (five goals, seven points in three games).

Owen Sound turned a one-goal game into a rout in rapid-fire fashion.
The Attack scored four goals in a span of 2 minutes, 50 seconds early in the third period to pull away to a 6-1 win against the reeling Erie Otters in front of 2,702 at Erie Insurance Arena Saturday night. The Otters (4-10-1-2) head to Mississauga Sunday for a 2 p.m. game with a four-game losing streak. Connor Brown scored the lone goal for the Otters. Daniel Catenacci and Gemel Smith had a goal and two assists apiece for the Attack (12-2-0-2). The frontline duo combined for six goals and eight assists in the two-game sweep.
Owen Sound dominated from start to finish in the opening period, as they outshot the Otters 15-4 and took a 1-0 lead with 6:03 left on Kurtis MacDermid’s first OHL goal. The young defenseman’s seemingly innocent shot from the blue line slipped through a crowd and through Otters goaltender Oscar Dansk. Yet the Otters played a more spirited brand of hockey in the second, sparked by a power play that entered the game ranked fourth in the league at 26.9 percent. Brown scored off a rebound of Adam Pelech’s point shot – the captain’s seventh goal in the past five games and team-leading 13th of the season – to tie the score at 1 at the 7:18 mark.
But the Attack responded on the power play, with Cameron Brace firing a slap shot from the blue line off the left post and into the net – his 13th goal of the season – to snap the tie with 8:38 left in the period. The Otters finished the period with a 12-10 advantage in shots.
Then the Attack built a two-goal lead at 3-1 with the man advantage, as Smith was left open on the back post for a rebound goal 4:10 into the third period. His ninth goal of the season sparked the decisive stretch of four unanswered goals in less than three minutes.
Holden Cook bounced a shot from behind the net off Dansk’s pads and into the net for an unassisted goal and a 4-1 lead at the 5:55 mark of the period. Off the ensuing faceoff, Catenacci scored his 11th of the season 16 seconds later for a 5-1 Attack lead.
Then Gilbert Gabor turned into a 2-on-1 into a 6-1 Attack lead at the 7-minute mark. At that point, Owen Sound had more goals in the period (four) than the Otters had shots on goal (three). The Attack finished with a 40-22 advantage in shots.
Dansk stopped 34-of-40 shots in a losing effort, while rookie Connor McDavid’s 15-game point streak ended. He failed to record a point for the first time since the season opener Sept. 20 against Niagara. Brandon Hope stopped 21-of-22 shots to win for the Attack.
Meanwhile, 11 players recorded points for the Attack, which remained one point ahead of Barrie for the top spot in the league.

- Victor Fernandes