The Erie Otters had no trouble with Sarnia’s struggling defense on Sunday.

The Otters scored eight times in an 8-2 win, played in front of 4,651 at Tullio Arena, against a Sting club that allowed 10 goals apiece in losses to Sault Ste. Marie and Niagara earlier in the weekend.

The Otters (36-26-1-1), who have won four straight, capitalized from the start with four first-period goals.

Shawn Szydlowski out-battled three defenders to grab a loose puck and then fire a shot past goaltender Troy Passingham for the game’s opening goal at the 3:45 mark. Forty-nine seconds later, Mike Cazzola turned rookie defenseman Adam Pelech’s pinpoint stretch pass into a breakaway goal for a 2-0 lead.

Then with 3:27 left in the period, Greg McKegg scored his 45^th goal of the season on assists from Andrew Yogan and Anthony Luciani to extend the Otters’ lead to 3-0.

Yogan recorded his first point in his sixth game since returning from shoulder surgery. It was his first point since March 3, 2010, the night he suffered a season-ending broken foot blocking a shot. Cazzola’s second goal of the night and 18^th of the season capped the offensive onslaught with 21 seconds left.

Nick Latta’s goal 9:37 into the second period ended rookie goaltender Chris Festarini’s bid at his first OHL shutout. But Brett Thompson responded with his 42^nd goal of the season 37 seconds later.

McKegg followed with a power-play goal less than 2 minutes later – his second of the game and 46^th of the season for a 6-1 lead. He passed Brad Boyes (45 in 2000-01) and Geoff Platt (45 in 2004-05) for third on the franchise’s single-season goals list and tied Michael Blunden (46 in 2005-06) for second. McKegg needs seven goals in the final four regular-season games to tie Cory Pecker’s record of 53 set in 2001-02.

Sarnia’s Kale Kerbashian scored his 33^rd goal of the season 4:33 into the third. But Cazzola completed his hat trick and rookie Connor Crisp followed with a goal to cap an eight-goal night for the Otters. Along with Cazzola’s hat trick, McKegg led the Otters with four points (two goals, two assists) and Szydlowski had goal and two assists. Derek Holden, Luciani and Pelech had two assists apiece. Festarini finished with 29 saves. The Sting (22-34-4-2) have lost five straight.

The Otters are 10 games above .500 for the first time since the end of the 2001-02 season. They also kept pace in the battle for the Western Conference’s fourth seed and home-ice advantage in the first round.

The Otters are sixth (74 points) with four games left – two points behind fourth-place Windsor (75 points following a 4-3 shootout win against Guelph and one behind No. 5 Plymouth (75 entering tonight’s game at Sault Ste. Marie). Both teams have a game in hand on the Otters. London, who didn’t play Sunday, and Guelph are tied for seventh with 69 points. Each has a game in hand on the Otters.

- Victor Fernandes

SUMMARY

Otters 8, Sting 2

Sarnia  0  1  1  —  2

Erie  4  2  2  —  8

1^st Period — 1. Erie, Shawn Szydlowski 38 (unassisted), 3:45. 2. Erie, Mike Cazzola 17 (Pelech), 4:34. 3. Erie, Greg McKegg 45 (Yogan, Luciani), 16:33. 4. Erie, Cazzola 18 (McKegg), 19:39. Penalties — Campagna (S) hooking, 5:50; Kerbashian (S) slashing, 9:09; Cook (E); Crisp (E) roughing, 20:00; Flemington (S) roughing, 20:00.

2^nd Period — 5. Sarnia, Nick Latta 9 (Kerbashian, Kuzmyk), 9:37. 6. Erie, Brett Thompson 42 (Holden, Luciani), 10:10. 7. Erie, McKegg 46 (Holden, Szydlowski), 11:24 (pp). Penalties — Kerbashian (S) slashing, 3:50; Flemington (S) roughing, 10:30.

3^rd Period — 8. Sarnia, Kale Kerbashian 33 (Kuzmyk), 4:33. 9. Erie, Cazzola 19 (McKegg, Szydlowski), 10:40. 10. Erie, Connor Crisp 4 (Appio, Pelech), 11:53. Penalties — Zupancic (S) tripping, 8:37; Crisp (E) interference, 12:48.

Shots on goal — Sarnia, 11-12-8—31; Erie, 17-12-8—37.

Goaltenders — Sarnia, Troy Passingham 16-14-2-2 (37 shots, 29 saves); Erie, Chris Festarini 4-8-0-0 (31 shots, 29 saves).

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

Referees — Joe Celestin, Chris Carnegie. Linesmen — Fraser McIntyre, Jesse Wilmot.

Attendance — 4,651.

Three stars

* Mike Cazzola, Otters (3 goals) ** Greg McKegg, Otters (2 goals, 2 assists) *** Brett Cook, Otters (solid defense)

What: Sarnia Sting (22-33-4-2) at Erie Otters (35-26-1-1)

When: Sunday, 4:30 p.m.

Where: Tullio Arena

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

Players to watch

Erie – C Greg McKegg (44 goals, 39 assists, 83 points), C Brett Thompson (41-36-77), C Phil Varone (30-45-75), RW Anthony Luciani (28-42-70), RW Shawn Szydlowski (37-33-70)

Sarnia – RW Nail Yakupov (45-45-90), LW Kale Kerbashian (32-49-81), C Alex Galchenyuk (25-43-69), LW Tyler Peters (18-35-53), D Joe Rogalski (6-23-29)

Fast facts

Erie – The Otters have won three straight with rookie G Chris Festarini in net. But G Ramis Sadikov, who has missed the past two weeks with a leg injury, hasn’t been ruled out for today’s game. … Sadikov earned OHL top goaltender honors for February despite missing the last week and a half of the month with the injury. … The Otters, which have clinched a playoff spot, are sixth in the Western Conference with 72 points – three points out of fourth place (which would secure home-ice advantage in the first round) with five games left. Fourth-place Plymouth (75), No. 5 Windsor (74) and No. 8 Guelph (68) have a game in hand. The Otters and No. 7 London (69) have played the same number of games. … The Otters are third on the franchise’s single-season wins list. The Otters won 45 games in 2000-01 and 41 in 2001-02. … The 20 home wins are tied for fourth overall with three games left. … McKegg’s 44 goals rank fifth in franchise history. Brad Boyes (45 in 2000-01), Geoff Platt (45 in 2004-05) and Michael Blunden (46 in 2005-06) are next on the list. Cory Pecker holds the record (53 in 2001-02). … McKegg has goals in five straight games and points in 10 consecutive games (six goals, 17 points). … Luciani had four-game goal and six-game point streaks snapped in Friday’s win at Guelph. … The Otters and Sting have split the first two meetings in the four-game season series, with each team winning on the road. They meet in Sarnia March 17. … The Otters need 19 goals in the last six games to equal the franchise mark of 271 set in 1998-99. … They are tied for ninth in the league with 212 goals against.

Sarnia – The Sting were eliminated from playoff contention with a 10-4 home loss to Sault Ste. Marie on Friday. … The Sting have lost four straight and seven of 11 games. … They are 7-19-3-0 on the road, the second-fewest win total in the league. … They have allowed 291 goals, the second most in the league, including 10 goals apiece the past two games. …Yakupov leads all rookies in goals and points. He also is third overall in goals and tied for fourth in points. … He has broken current Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos’ club record for goals. … Galchenyuk, the No. 1 pick in the 2010 OHL Priority Selection, is tied for second among rookies in scoring.

Up next: vs. Plymouth (Friday, 7 p.m.), vs. Kitchener (Saturday, 7 p.m.)

– Victor Fernandes

What: Erie Otters (34-26-1-1) at Guelph Storm (31-25-4-1)

When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Sleeman Centre – Guelph, Ontario

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

Players to watch

Erie – C Greg McKegg (42 goals, 38 assists, 80 points), C Brett Thompson (41-36-77), C Phil Varone (30-45-75), RW Anthony Luciani (28-42-70), RW Shawn Szydlowski (36-32-68)

Guelph – RW Taylor Beck (39-49-88), C Michael Latta (31-51-82), C Peter Holland (34-46-80), LW Daniel Erlich (18-38-56), LW Tyler Carroll (21-10-31)

Fast facts

Erie – Rookie G Chris Festarini is expected to start tonight. He earned his first two OHL wins by stopping 50-of-52 shots in his last two starts against Kitchener and Niagara (1.00 goals-against average, .961 save percentage). G Ramis Sadikov (leg) hasn’t been ruled out of Sunday’s game against Sarnia at Tullio Arena. … The Otters, which clinched a playoff spot with a 4-1 home win against Niagara on Wednesday, continue their pursuit of a top-four spot in the Western Conference, which would secure home-ice advantage in the first round. They are sixth, four points behind fourth-place Windsor. Seven points separate the Spitfires from No. 8 Storm. … The Otters can complete a regular-season sweep of the Storm for the first time in franchise history. Erie won the first five meetings. … The Otters are tied with the 2008-09 club for the third-most, single-season wins in franchise history. The Otters won 45 games in 2000-01 and 41 in 2001-02. … The 20 home wins are tied for fourth overall with four games left. … McKegg’s 42 goals rank among the top five in franchise history. Brad Boyes (45 in 2000-01) and Geoff Platt (45 in 2004-05) are next on the list. … McKegg has goals in four straight games and points in nine consecutive games (four goals, 14 points). … Luciani has goals in four straight games and points in six straight games (five goals, 10 points). He has set a new career single-season high. … Varone has the first 30-goal season of his five-year OHL career. He has points in 22 of his last 24 games (16 goals, 46 points). … The Otters need 24 goals in the last seven games to equal the franchise mark of 271 set in 1998-99. …

Guelph – The Storm can clinch a playoff spot with a win tonight. … They stand eighth in the West, four points behind the Otters and eight points out of fourth. … Beck, Latta and Holland rank among the league’s top 15 scorers. They have scored a combined 102 goals – nearly half of the team’s 220 goals. … RW Richard Panik (26-29-55) has missed the past three weeks reportedly with a knee injury. … The Storm are 19-8-3-0 at home compared to 11-17-1-1 on the road.

Up next: vs. Sarnia (Sunday, 4:30 p.m.), vs. Plymouth (March 11, 7 p.m.)

– Victor Fernandes

The Ontario Hockey League announced Monday that for the second time this season Erie Otters center Greg McKegg is the OHL Player of the Week.
McKegg is the first Otter since Brad Boyes (who was honored four times in the 2001-02 season) to be awarded Player of the Week twice in the same season.

The Otters captain had perhaps the best week of his OHL career, which started with a career night on Thanksgiving against the Belleville Bulls. McKegg potted home the goal that sent 4,618 stuffed animals onto the ice at Tullio Arena and added three more to cap off a 6-0 victory. The four goals tied for the most in Otters history, and it was the first time an Otter scored four in a game since Geoff Platt in 2004.

McKegg then aided the Otters’ strong start Saturday night as he collected two of the three goals in the first 5:23 of the contest against the Kitchener Rangers. McKegg would add an assist as the Otters defeated their Midwest Division rival, 7-3, which snapped the Rangers’ 10-game unbeaten streak.

The St. Thomas, Ontario native then finished off the weekend with a pair of assists against the Guelph Storm Sunday afternoon, including the setup on the overtime game-winner by David Shields with 3.5 seconds to go in overtime, as the Otters extended their season-high win streak to four in the 5-4 decision.

McKegg is one of seven players in the OHL to hit the 40-point plateau and one of five to reach 20 goals this season.

- From Erie Otters news release

The Ontario Hockey League announced Monday that for the second time this season Erie Otters center Greg McKegg is the OHL Player of the Week.
AMcKegg is the first Otter since Brad Boyes (who was honored four times in the 2001-02 season) to be awarded Player of the Week twice in the same season.

The Otters captain had perhaps the best week of his OHL career, which started with a career night on Thanksgiving against the Belleville Bulls. McKegg potted home the goal that sent 4,618 stuffed animals onto the ice at Tullio Arena and added three more to cap off a 6-0 victory. The four goals tied for the most in Otters history, and it was the first time an Otter scored four in a game since Geoff Platt in 2004.

McKegg then aided the Otters’ strong start Saturday night as he collected two of the three goals in the first 5:23 of the contest against the Kitchener Rangers. McKegg would add an assist as the Otters defeated their Midwest Division rival, 7-3, which snapped the Rangers’ 10-game unbeaten streak.

The St. Thomas, Ontario native then finished off the weekend with a pair of assists against the Guelph Storm Sunday afternoon, including the setup on the overtime game-winner by David Shields with 3.5 seconds to go in overtime, as the Otters extended their season-high win streak to four in the 5-4 decision.

McKegg is one of seven players in the OHL to hit the 40-point plateau and one of five to reach 20 goals this season.

- From Erie Otters news release

No hat was tossed onto the ice to honor Greg McKegg’s first hat trick and four-goal game.

Instead, a stuffed animal floated down from the crowd in the third period of the Erie Otters‘ 6-0 Thanksgiving Night win against Belleville in front of 3,910 at Tullio Arena. McKegg’s offensive explosion led the Otters (11-14-1-0) to their second straight win victory and seventh win in the past 10 games.

McKegg’s backhand goal during an Otters’ power play 4 minutes into the first period sparked a barrage of stuffed animals onto the ice as part of the club’s third annual Teddy Bear Toss. After the bears were collected and play resumed, the Otters fired a barrage of shots at Bulls goaltender Tyson Teichmann – 17 in all during the opening 20 minutes. If not for Teichmann’s solid play and several missed scoring opportunities, the Otters could have built a larger lead in the period.

The Otters doubled their lead with another power-play goal, as Anthony Luciani capitalized on David Broll’s pinpoint cross-ice pass into his eighth goal of the season 1:42 into the second period.

Then McKegg capitalized on a Bulls’ turnover at center ice to score his second goal of the night and team-leading 16^th of the season for a 3-0 Otters’ lead with 3:06 left in the period.

The Otters scored twice on seven shots in the second. Meanwhile, goaltender Ramis Sadikov stopped all 10 shots he faced in the period to keep his second career OHL shutout intact. Then Jordan Coccimiglio’s centering pass from behind the Bulls’ net turned into a 4-0 lead 3:16 into the third. His pass bounced off a defender in front of the net and slid through Teichmann’s legs.

McKegg completed his hat trick less than three minutes later to move into a tie for fourth in the league.

Then with 5:25 left, McKegg became the sixth player in franchise history to score four goals in a game and the first in six years (Geoff Platt against Toronto St. Michael’s on Oct. 17, 2004). Luciani added a goal and two assists for the Otters. Phil Varone and Derek Holden had two assists apiece.

- Victor Fernandes

SUMMARY

Otters 6, Bulls 0

Belleville  0  0  0  —  0

Erie  1  2  3  —  6

1^st Period — 1. Erie, Greg McKegg 15 (Luciani, Holden), 4:00 (pp). Penalties — Strong (B) high sticking, 1:44; Payerl (B) checking from behind, 3:16; Strong (B) hooking, 6:35; Paton (E) kneeing, 11:48; Morris (B) roughing, 11:48.

2^nd Period — 2. Erie, Anthony Luciani 8 (Broll, Varone), 1:42 (pp). 3. Erie, McKegg 16 (unassisted), 16:54. Penalties — Basso (B) slashing, :56; Cook (E) interference, 3:21; Luciani (E) high sticking, 8:31; Silas (B) hooking, 10:11; Crisp (E) 5-min. fighting, 15:37; Payerl (B) 5-min. fighting, 15:37; Erie, too many men (served by Broll), 19:57.

3^rd Period — 4. Erie, Jordan Coccimiglio 4 (unassisted), 3:16. 5. Erie, McKegg 17 (Luciani, Grant), 6:06. 6. Erie, McKegg 18 (Varone, Holden), 14:35 (pp). Penalties — McDonnell (E) tripping, 10:05; Panik (B) checking to the head, 13:14.

Shots on goal — Belleville, 6-10-6—22; Erie, 17-7-12—36.

Goaltenders — Belleville, Tyson Teichmann 4-12-0-1 (36 shots, 30 saves); Erie, Ramis Sadikov 11-10-1-0 (22 shots, 22 saves).

Power plays — Belleville (0-4), Erie (3-6).

Referees — Ben Wilson, Dave Lewis. Linesmen — Darryl Wolfe, Fraser McIntire.

Attendance — 3,910.

Three stars

* Greg McKegg, Otters (4 goals) ** Anthony Luciani, Otters (goal, 2 assists) *** Ramis Sadikov, Otters (2^nd shutout)