Trent Fox has played hockey with his older brother, Dane, countless times in his life. But those times were in their driveway back home in Thamesville, Ontario. This weekend is different. This time, they’re both members of the Erie Otters organization.
“It’s exciting,” said Trent Fox, 16, the club’s fifth-round pick in the 2013 OHL Priority Selection who had 15 goals and 28 points in 27 minor midget games with London Knights Gold this season. “It will be a dream come true (if he earns a roster spot with the Otters. “I just have to do the hard work and do the little things to make it. That’s what I’ll do.”
Dane Fox, 19, who enters his overage season with the Otters, has served as his younger brother’s mentor heading into his first experience at the OHL level. “He’s been asking questions. I’ve just been calming him down and telling him what to expect and what to do and what not to do. He’s listening and asking questions. So I know that he’s ready to come out here and play.
Trent Fox didn’t last long in his first on-ice practice Friday during rookie development camp at Mercyhurst Ice Center. He left the ice early because of an ongoing battle with strep throat.
* News and notes: First-round pick Dylan Strome has officially signed with the Otters. … Strome will wear No. 19 as a rookie next season. Defenseman Artem Kuleshov wore that number as a rookie this season. But he isn’t expected to rejoin the club next season. Goaltender Oscar Dansk occupies one of two spots designated for European-born players. The Otters also hold the No. 5 overall pick in the CHL Import Draft this summer. … Defenseman Justin Felker was cleared to resume skating last week after being off the ice for four months because of a compression fracture in his neck that was originally feared to be career-threatening. … Center Jake Evans (knee) should be cleared to skate in the next two weeks.

- Victor Fernandes

The Erie Otters will hold a “Welcome to Erie” reception for 2013 1st-round pick Dylan Strome Thursday night at Erie Insurance Arena. Sherry Bassin, managing partner and general manager, said he has agreed to terms with Strome and 2nd-round pick Jesse Saban. Bassin said Strome should sign in time for this weekend’s rookie development camp at Mercyhurst Ice Center.
Yet Strome won’t be the only guests of honor. Apparently, new members of Kris Knoblauch‘s coaching staff will be introduced at the gathering. No word yet on who they are …
In other news, Bassin continues to rave about D Travis Dermott, a 9th-round pick in 2012, who was the the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s rookie of the year with Newmarket.
Meanwhile, veteran forwards Jake Evans (knee) and Connor Crisp (muscle pull in side) are close to 100 percent healthy, while Joel Wigle continues to recover from sore shoulders that bothered him late in the season.
Defense prospect Riley Robertson (3rd round in 2012) will attend the camp but won’t skate because he’s recovering from a shoulder injury that nagged him all season.
“He’s pretty well 100 percent healthy,” Bassin said of Robertson. “We’re just being cautious. This isn’t a time to get somebody reinjured.”

- Victor Fernandes

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

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 rookie winger Hayden Hodgson has been suspended for 10 games – the final seven games of this season and the first three games of the 2013-14 season – for his five-minute interference penalty and game misconduct Sunday against Kingston at Erie Insurance Arena.
OHL vice president Ted Baker said Hodgson delivered a hit to an unsuspecting, vulnerable player that caused a “significant injury.”
Meanwhile, Otters center Jake Evans will serve a two-game suspension this weekend for instigating the second fight in the same stoppage of play in Sunday’s game. He fought defenseman Dylan DiPerna, who wasn’t suspended. Baker said DiPerna shouldn’t have received a game misconduct because Evans instigated the fight. Kingston defenseman Ryan Hutchinson was issued a two-game suspension for a game misconduct stemming from his actions following a fight with Evans in the same game. Hutchinson kicked an Otters helmet across the ice and threw a chair in the runway while heading to the Frontenacs dressing room.
The Otters already have two other players, defenseman Adam Pelech and forward Dane Fox, serving league-imposed suspensions.
Pelech, who has been suspended twice this season, will serve the final two games of a five-game ban this weekend. He was given a major cross-checking penalty and game misconduct Feb. 18 against London. Fox completes a two-game suspension by missing Friday’s home game against Plymouth. He was given a game misconduct for instigating a fight in the last five minutes of a Feb. 22 game against Sarnia.

- Victor Fernandes

Niagara IceDogs (25-25-2-2) at Erie Otters (16-30-3-5)
When: Today, 7 p.m.
Where: Erie Insurance Arena
On the air: WFNN-AM/1330, www.ottershockey.com (live stream)
Upcoming schedule: Friday vs. London, 7 p.m.; Saturday vs. Kitchener, 7 p.m.
What to expect: The Otters snapped a season-high, seven-game losing streak with a 7-4 win Friday at Oshawa. … They lost 4-1 to Belleville Saturday night to fall 18 points behind eighth-place Saginaw in the chase for the final playoff spot in the OHL’s Western Conference with 14 games left in the regular season. … Any combination of Otters losses and Spirit wins totaling 11 points officially will eliminate the Otters from playoff contention. … The Otters have the league’s second-worst record. Ottawa, which has the league’s worst mark (15-35-0-4), has the inside track to the No. 1 pick in the OHL Priority Selection. Peterborough (18-29-3-4) ranks third on the list. … The Otters scored a season-high seven goals in the win at Oshawa. In contrast, they scored 13 goals in their seven-game skid, and rank 15th in the league with 166 goals scored. … The Otters have lost four straight at home by a combined 20-7 score to fall to 9-11-1-5 overall. … F Connor Crisp serves the fourth game of a five-game suspension for a game misconduct incurred Feb. 2 against Sudbury. He was ejected for being the aggressor in a fight with D Charlie Dodero, who was unwilling to trade punches. Crisp is eligible to play Saturday against Kitchener. … G Oscar Dansk (concussion) said he hopes to play tonight. … C Jake Evans (arm) rejoined the lineup last weekend. … C Connor McDavid (22 goals, 30 assists, 52 points) has seen his lead in the league’s rookie scoring race shrink to two points over Sarnia RW Nikolay Goldobin (24-26-50). Brampton LW Blake Clarke (18-25-43) trails McDavid by nine points. … McDavid leads all rookies with 30 assists and trails Goldobin by two goals. … The Otters have lost four of five meetings in the six-game season series with the IceDogs. … Niagara snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 5-1 win in Erie Feb. 1. … The IceDogs have lost 10-of-15 games since losing frontline D Dougie Hamilton, who played for Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championship during Christmas break and now plays for the NHL’s Boston Bruins. … C Ryan Strome (29-44-73) ranks seventh in the league’s scoring race (67 points) despite playing in only 43 of the IceDogs’ first 54 games. He also played at World Juniors before attending New York Islanders training camp. … Former Otters G Chris Festarini has a 20-18-2-2 record, 3.09 goals-against average, .903 save percentage and four shutouts in 44 games with the IceDogs. … RW Brett Ritchie is tied for eighth overall with 31 goals. … F Steven Shipley joins Strome and Ritchie on a top line that has totaled 85 goals and 184 points this season.

- Victor Fernandes

Erie Otters winger Nick Betz had a 103-degree temperature Wednesday night. So club officials initially thought he had the flu.
However, his condition was much worse. Betz underwent emergency surgery Friday night for a ruptured appendix, Sherry Bassin, Otters managing partner and general manager, confirmed before Saturday night’s game against the Sarnia Sting at Erie Insurance Arena. Betz will miss a minimum of six to eight weeks, Bassin said, because the surgeons “had to cut him open.”
The absence of Betz leaves a sizeable hole in the Otters’ lineup. Betz, a 6-foot 5-inch, 210-pounder from Clinton Township, Mich., had been playing alongside Jake Evans and Stephen Harper on the No. 2 line this season. Second-year winger Travis Wood, a converted defenseman, has moved up on the second line after starting the season on the fourth line. The Otters already are without frontline center Dane Fox, who hasn’t played in a game this season because he’s recovering from surgery on a broken bone in his left foot.
“It seems to be that time of year,” said Bassin, referring to his club’s rash of serious injuries to key players the past few years. “We should be expecting it. It seems to happen so often.” Betz, who joins Harper and Fox on NHL Central Scouting’s watch list of prospects for the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, has two goals, five points and nine penalty minutes in 11 games after totaling five goals, 14 points and 45 penalty minutes in 61 games as a rookie a season ago.

- Victor Fernandes

Erie Youth Hockey Association’s adult league holds its fifth annual “Pink at the Rink” fundraiser Sunday at Ice Center of Erie, 3515 McClelland Avenue. The event, which raises funds and awareness in the battle against breast cancer, features five games starting at 4:30. But first, the Erie Otters will take the ice – at least some of them will, anyway.
Rookie sensation Connor McDavid will join teammates Nick Betz, Jake Evans, Stephen Harper, Hayden Hodgson and Devin Williams in a special “Skate with the Otters” from 3:15-4:15 p.m. There’s also talk of an appearance from Ryan O’Reilly, a former Otters captain and current NHL player, although event organizers haven’t received confirmation on that yet.
Cost to skate is $5, but admission to the games are free. Representatives from Dove Chocolate Discoveries, Tastefully Simple, Scentsy and Crocheted Critters & More by Christina Burns will be in attendance. The event also will include a Chinese auction and merchandise for sale.
“Pink at the Rink” has raised more than $8,500 for the American Cancer Society in the past four years.

The shootout already had ventured into the ninth round. Yet Erie Otters goaltender Oscar Dansk wanted it to last longer.
After eight failed attempts, Dansk hoped to give his teammates another chance against London Saturday night at Erie Insurance Arena. But Knights rookie Kyle Platzer scored the only goal of the nine-round marathon to hand the Otters a 4-3 loss in front of 2,667 fans.
The Otters (2-3-1-1) settled for one point and three out of four during their two-game weekend homestand. Meanwhile, the Knights (4-2-0-0) earned their second straight win despite squandering a two-goal, second-period lead. Dansk finished with 19 saves on 22 shots in regulation and overtime before his stellar effort in the shootout. His counterpart, Kevin Bailie, had 26 saves on 29 shots through 65 minutes of action and several more quality saves in the shootout.
No. 1 pick Connor McDavid, Connor Brown and Stephen Harper scored for the Otters. Brown added an assist for a two-point outing.
Seth Griffith and Bo Horvat had a goal and assist apiece for the Knights, while Max Domi added a goal.
McDavid continued his impressive start to his rookie season by scoring 1 minute, 55 seconds into the opening period – his third goal in two nights and fourth goal in seven games. He slid past the Knights’ defense and slipped a shot past Bailie to hand the Otters a 1-0 lead. But that lead didn’t last long, as Domi tied the score at 1 at the 6:23 mark with his fourth goal of the season.
Domi escaped a crowd of defenders behind the Otters’ net and squeezed a shot between the right post and Dansk’s left pad. Then Griffith, who burned the Otters for three goals in an 8-2 Knights’ win in London Sept. 21, scored his seventh goal in six games to snap the 1-1 tie with 8:28 left in the period. Griffth tied Oshawa’s Boone Jenner for the OHL lead in goals.
The Otters dominated at the start of the second. They held the Knights without a shot on goal for nearly eight minutes. Meanwhile, the Otters’ offense generated several quality scoring opportunities. Yet while Bailie stymied the Otters, including key saves in close on Johnny McGuire and Luke Cairns, Bo Horvat scored on the Knights’ first shot of the period to build a 3-1 lead at the 7:56 mark.
But the Otters converted their first power play of the game, as Brown turned a fortunate bounce off a defender in front of the net into his fourth goal of the season. His rebound to Bailie’s left with 2:48 left in the period sent the Otters into the third trailing 3-2.
Then the Otters capitalized on their second power play of the game 9:27 into the third to complete the comeback. After Nick Betz stole the puck from a Knights defender, linemate Jake Evans found Harper in front for his fourth goal of the season.
Harper appeared to give the Otters a 4-3 lead on a power play late in regulation. But the officials whistled the play dead for offsides, a call Harper disagreed with but Otters coach Robbie Ftorek defended. Scott Harrington nearly sealed the Knights’ win in overtime, but his shot from the point glanced off the post and into the ground. Then the Otters killed off a power play in the final 1:32 of the extra period, sending the game into the shootout. But the Otters couldn’t beat Bailie, while Platzer slipped a shot through Dansk’s pads
* News and notes: Head coach Dan Bylsma and former forward Bill Guerin headlined a group of Pittsburgh Penguins officials at the game. Knights defensemen Harrington and Olli Maatta are Penguins prospects. … Scott Howson, the Columbus Blue Jackets’ executive vice president of hockey operations and general manager, attended both games this weekend to watch Dansk, the NHL club’s second-round draft pick this past June. … The Otters scratched Anthony Cortellessa (flu) and Dane Fox (broken foot). Liam Maaskant, Justin Felker and Mitch Eisenberg were healthy scratches. Maaskant and Eisenberg haven’t dressed for a game this season.

- Victor Fernandes