Veteran D Spencer Abraham figures Dane Fox and Jimmy McDowell are locks for two of the Erie Otters’ three overager spots for the 2013-14 OHL season. The departure of D Jack Kuzmyk, who recently informed club officials he has chosen to enroll in school instead of trying to play his final season in major juniors, leaves as Abraham as the only other OA on the current roster.
Yet Abraham doesn’t think he’s a sure thing right now. “I’m going to have to earn my spot,” he said. OAs need to be among the best players on the team. So where doe Abraham feel he fits in?
“I can be a depth guy,” he said, who can serve as a mentor to younger Ds like returnees Justin Felker and Darren Raddysh, soon-to-be signed 2013 second-round pick Jesse Saban and highly-touted 2012 pick Travis Dermott.
“They’re young guys coming into the league,” said Abraham, who heads into his fourth year in the OHL. “It’s a tough league. I can show them the way they need to work and the way they need to act.”
* Taking the next step: Defense prospect Patrick Murphy needed to get thinner, faster and stronger to have a chance to play for the Otters next season. He’s spending the offseason doing just that.
A more streamlined version of the Otters’ fifth-round pick in the 2011 OHL Priority Selection looked impressive during the club’s rookie development camp this weekend at Mercyhurst Ice Center.
“I wasn’t fast enough and too soft in the corners. That’s where I needed to step up to stick around,” said Murphy, who spent brief stints with the club the past two seasons.
* Hitting his mark: First-round pick Dylan Strome tossed a strike Friday night at Jerry Uht Park, when he threw the ceremonial first pitch before the Erie SeaWolves game. Strome wishes he was more accurate with his shots in Saturday’s scrimmages at MIC. He scored in the first scrimmage featuring mainly players with 1996 and 1997 birth years.
Yet he was stopped on a few quality chances in the second scrimmage.
Yet on the plus side, he quickly learned how much of a jump he will face from minor midgets to the OHL. Besides being a faster game, he said, “you’ve got to brace yourself for every hit.”
* A weekend off: C Connor McDavid enjoyed a leisurely weekend at MIC. He didn’t skate because he’s only a week removed from winning a gold medal at the IIHF U18 World Championship in Sochi, Russia. Besides, he’s still savoring the memorable experience, and not because he led all players in the tournament with eight goals and 14 points.
He enjoyed playing some of the best players in the world in that age group. McDavid also appreciated what he saw on the ice at MIC this weekend.
“It looks good out there,” he said. “I’m looking forward to training camp.”
* Getting offensive: C Kyle Pettit developed into a reliable defensive forward for the Otters last season as a 16-year-old rookie. Yet he focused on his offensive game this offseason. He has worked strictly on offense four days a week.
“It’s nice to get an offensive approach to my game,” he said.

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 hadn’t enjoyed a game like this for a long time.
“It feels good,” veteran winger J.P. Labardo said after a 7-1 win against Saginaw in front of 2,083 at Erie Insurance Arena Wednesday night. Since the rebuilding process began a season ago, the Otters (4-7-1-1) have found themselves on the wrong end of blowouts.
And for the most part, Erie has encountered tightly contested games this season. Yet after a slow opening few minutes against the Spirit (4-7-2-0), the Otters exploded offensively, especially on special teams, while clamping down on Saginaw’s dangerous offense.
The Otters scored three times apiece in the first and second periods, headlined by two power-play goals and a pair of short-handed scores, on the way to the franchise’s largest margin of victory since a 10-3 win in Kingston Feb. 13, 2011. The Otters also scored their most goals in a game since an 8-7 shootout loss to the Spirit March 2, 2012. They entered the game averaging 2.9 goals per game.
Luke Cairns led the way with a goal and two assists. Labardo scored twice while Connor Crisp (goal, assist), Jimmy McDowell (goal, assist) and Adam Pelech (two assists) had two points apiece. Meanwhile, Oscar Dansk stopped 34-of-35 shots, and was headed to his first OHL shutout until Jimmy Lodge’s power-play goal with 1 minute, 32 seconds left in the game.

- Victor Fernandes

The Erie Otters rallied from a goal down twice against the Windsor Spitfires Saturday night.
But the Otters didn’t have one more rally in them in the third period, as they lost 3-2 in front of 2,652 fans at Erie Insurance Arena.
Connor McDavid and Jimmy McDowell scored for the Otters (3-7-1-1), while Connor Brown had two assists. Kerby Rychel scored twice for the Spitfires (6-4-0-3), including the winning goal on the power play with 6 minutes, 57 seconds left in the second period.
Windsor scored twice on five power-play chances on the way to outshooting the Otters 39-19. They also neutralized Erie’s top line of McDavid, Brown and J.P. Labardo in the final two periods behind the line of Brady Vail, Ben Johnson and Derek Schoenmakers.
However, defense was optional in the first period, as these teams traded four goals in rapid-fire fashion during a 10-minute stretch.
Schoenmakers scored on the power play off assists from Nick Ebert and Vail at the 6:02 mark to hand the Spitfires the early lead. The Otters responded on the power play three minutes later, as McDowell scored his first goal of the season on assists from Adam Pelech and Brown. Windsor regained the lead at 2-1 on Rychel’s first of two goals – his seventh and eighth of the season – with 8:57 left in the period. Then McDavid tied the score at 2 – and tied Brown for the team lead in goals with six – at the 15:54 mark. McDavid has points in 10 straight games and 10-of-11 overall. He leads all OHL rookies with 14 pointrs in 12 games.
Defenses clamped down in the second period. Windsor held the Otters to four shots on goal in the period and 10 through the first 40 minutes. Meanwhile, the Otters’ penalty kill stymied the Spitfires during a four-minute power play early in the middle period.
But the Spitfires snapped the 2-2 tie on Rychel’s second goal with 7:57 left in the period, once again with assists from former Otters winger Chris Marchese and 2012 first-round pick Josh Ho-Sang. Windsor held the Otters at bay the rest of the way, although Erie had several quality chances in the third period and pressured the Spitfires in the game’s waning moments. Jaroslav Pavelka stopped 17-of-19 shots for the Spitfires. Devin Williams made 36 saves in a losing effort for the Otters.

- Victor Fernandes

The Erie Otters cut 5 more players from training camp today, leaving the roster at 28 heading into tonight’s preseason opener against Niagara at Morgan Firestone Arena in Ancaster, Ontario.
The latest cuts included 2011 draft picks Sean Darroch and Justin Maiolino, who had brief stints with the Otters last season, and free agents Aidan Muir, Sebastian Stangherlin and Lucas Venuto.
Here’s a list of the remaining players in camp:

Veterans: RW Nick Betz, RW Connor Brown, G Keinan Brown, C Luke Cairns, LW Anthony Cortellessa, C Connor Crisp, D Troy Donnay, C Mitch Eisenberg, C Jake Evans, C Dane Fox (injured), D Nathan Glass, LW Stephen Harper, D Liam Maaskant, LW Mac McDonnell, D Jimmy McDowell, RW Johnny McGuire, RW Sondre Olden (expected to join the team Monday), D Adam Pelech, G Devin Williams, D/LW Travis Wood

Prospects: G Oscar Dansk (signed), D Justin Felker (agreed to terms), RW Hayden Hodgson (agreed to terms), C Blake Jones, D Artem Kuleshov (unsigned, expected to join the team Monday), C Connor McDavid (signed), D Patrick Murphy (signed), C Kyle Pettit (signed)

CAMP ROSTER
(subject to change)
Goaltenders (5)
Oscar Dansk – 2012 CHL Import Draft (1st round), 2012 NHL Entry Draft (Columbus, 2nd round)
Daniel DeKoning – 2012 OHL Priority Selection
Jake Ireland – 2012 OHL Priority Selection
Nate Miller – 2011 OHL Priority Selection (9th round; Millcreek Township native)
Devin Williams – Veteran

Left defense (9)
Kyle Allan – 2011 OHL Priority Selection (15th round)
Greg Allen – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (6th round)
Travis Dermott – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (9th round)
Justin Felker – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (2nd round)
Kris Grant – Veteran
Artem Kuleshov – 2012 CHL Import Draft (2nd round)
Adam Pelech – Veteran
Sebastian Stangherlin – Free-agent invite
Travis Wood – Veteran

Right defense (10)
Troy Donnay – Veteran
Nathan Glass – Veteran
Nathan Kohler – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (14th round)
Liam Maaskant – Veteran
Jimmy McDowell – Veteran
Patrick Murphy – 2011 OHL Priority Selection (5th round; played 9 games with Erie in 2011-12)
Darren Raddysh – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (5th round)
Riley Robertson – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (3rd round)
Troy Saunders – 2011 OHL Priority Selection (12th round)
Francesco Tolfa – Free-agent invite

Centers (9)
Luke Cairns – Veteran
Jake Evans – Veteran
Blake Jones – 2011 OHL Priority Selection (14th round)
Justin Maiolino – 2011 OHL Priority Selection (13th round; played 2 games with Erie in 2011-12)
Connor McDavid – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (No. 1 overall)
Mac McDonnell – Veteran
Aidan Muir – Free-agent invite
Kyle Petit – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (2nd round)
Bryan Sienerth – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (13th round; Millcreek Township native)

Left wing (10)
Anthony Cortellessa – Veteran
Connor Crisp – Veteran
Jordan Dunin – 2011 OHL Priority Selection (7th round)
Mitch Eisenberg – Veteran
Nathan Feric – Free-agent invite
Dane Fox – Veteran (fractured foot; not expected to participate in camp)
Stephen Harper – Veteran
Quentin Maksimovich – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (11th round)
Lucas Venuto – Free-agent invite
Kurt Wolff – Free-agent invite

Right wing (7)
Nick Betz – Veteran
Connor Brown – Veteran, 2012 NHL Entry Draft (Toronto, 6th round)
Sean Darroch – 2011 OHL Priority Selection (8th round; played 7 games with Erie in 2011-12)
Hayden Hodgson – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (3rd round)
Thomas Lattavo – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (6th round)
Johnny McGuire – Veteran
Sondre Olden – Veteran

The Erie Otters’ goaltending troubles continued Wednesday night.

Plymouth scored 10 goals on 39 shots against 2009 draft pick Adam Wood, who was recalled from the Clarington Eagles’ Junior C club Wednesday, in the Whalers’ 10-6 win at Tullio Arena.

The Otters (10-47-3-3) entered the game off a 13-4 loss at Niagara Sunday, which saw forward Connor Crisp allow 13 goals on 45 shots as the emergency goaltender in place of injured Ramis Sadikov.

That prompted the Otters to bring in Wood and J.P. Cesario, who was an emergency loan from Owen Sound. The West Division-leading Whalers (44-17-2-1) capitalized on Erie’s struggles in net.

Mitchell Heard and Austin Levi led the way with two goals and an assist apiece. Tom Wilson, Stefan Noesen and Garrett Meurs had a goal and assist apiece for the Whalers.

Stephen Harper had his first OHL hat trick for the Otters. Sondre Olden had a goal and two assists while Luke Cairns had a goal and assist. Erie began the night with an injured list that included goaltenders Sadikov and Devin Williams, defensemen Jimmy McDowell and Nathan Glass and forward Nick Betz. Crisp, who made his season debut Sunday against Niagara as the emergency goaltender, also was scratched.

They also were short two skaters. Then rookie defenseman Travis Wood was injured in the first period on a high hit from from the Whalers’ Wilson. Wood was taken off the ice wearing a neck brace and on a stretcher and was taken a local hospital. No official word from the Otters after the game on Wood’s condition.

Yet the Otters built a 3-1 lead less than eight minutes into the game.

Cairns opening the scoring 4:27 into the game on assists from Dane Fox and Adam Pelech. Plymouth tied the score on Heard’s goal 46 seconds later. But Kris Grant scored at the 6:47 mark, followed by Harper’s goal 1:01 later to hand the Otters a two-goal lead.

Yet Heard’s second goal of the period, scored with 53 seconds left in the first, sparked a barrage of six consecutive goals that propelled the Whalers to a 7-3 lead. Plymouth scored the final five goals of that decisive stretch in the opening 10:25 of the second period. Cody Payne ended the second with Plymouth’s second short-handed goal for an 8-4. He scored 1:28 after Harper scored during a 5-on-3 opportunity.

At the 5:03 mark of the third, Harper scored his 24^th goal of the season to complete his first career hat trick and move the Otters within 8-5. But Levi and J.T. Miller scored 1:08 apart to build a 10-5 Whalers’ lead. Olden’s goal capped the high-scoring game.

- Victor Fernandes

SUMMARY

Whalers 10, Otters 6

Plymouth  2  6  2  —  10

Erie  3  1  2  —  6

1^st Period — 1. Erie, Luke Cairns 14 (Fox, Pelech), 4:27. 2. Plymouth, Mitchell Heard 27 (Meurs, Jones), 5:13. 3. Erie, Kris Grant 3 (Brown, Cairns), 6:47. 4. Erie, Stephen Harper 22 (Olden), 7:48. 5. Plymouth, Heard 28 (unassisted), 19:07. Penalties — Payne (P) interference, 10:37; McGuire (E) instigator, 12:59; McGuire (E) 5-min. fighting, 12:59; Wilson (P) 5-min. fighting, 12:59; McGuire (E) 10-min. misconduct, 12:59; McGuire (E) game misconduct, 12:59; Fox (E) 5-min. fighting, 16:53; Miller (P) 5-min. fighting, 16:53.

2^nd Period — 6. Plymouth, Stefan Noesen 34 (Rakell, Wilson), :20. 7. Plymouth, Austin Levi 4 (Noesen, Rakell), 3:35. 8. Plymouth, Alex Aleardi 33 (unassisted), 5:27 (sh). 9. Plymouth, Garrett Meurs 20 (Heard), 6:59. 10. Plymouth, Tom Wilson 8 (unassisted), 10:25. 11. Erie, Harper 23 (Pelech, McCarthy), 17:28 (pp). 12. Plymouth, Cody Payne 5 (Devane), 18:56 (sh). Penalties — Fox (E) 10-min. misconduct, 3:35; Devane (P) high sticking, 4:30; Meurs (P) high sticking, 10:39; Whaley (P) holding, 16:26; Trutmann (P) tripping, 17:20.

3^rd Period — 13. Erie, Harper 24 (Olden), 5:03. 14. Plymouth, Levi 5 (Whaley), 10:51. 15. Plymouth, J.T. Miller 24 (Whaley, Levi), 11:59. 16. Erie, Sondre Olden 11 (Evans, Harper), 16:40. Penalties — Jones (P) interference, 2:51; Fox (E) 5-min. fighting, 6:50; Jones (P) 5-min. fighting, 6:50; Malysa (P) slashing, 13:27.

Shots on goal — Plymouth, 10-15-14—39; Erie, 10-6-11—27.

Goaltenders — Plymouth, Matt Mahalak (7 shots, 4 saves), Scott Wedgewood 25-9-2-1 (21 shots, 18 saves); Erie, Adam Wood 0-1-0-0 (39 shots, 29 saves).

Power plays — Plymouth (0-1), Erie (1-7).

Referees — Joe Park, Pat Myers. Linesmen — Ryan Holmstead, Ray King.

Attendance — 2,256.

Three stars

* Austin Levi, Whalers (2 goals, assist) ** Stephen Harper, Otters (3 goals, assist) *** Mitchell Heard, Whalers (2 goals, assist)

The Erie Otters hung tough with Sault Ste. Marie for the opening 20 minutes Friday night.

But the Greyhounds exploded for three straight goals in a span of 3 minutes, 6 seconds early in the second period on their way to a 6-3 win against the Otters in front of 2,869 at Tullio Arena.

Nick Cousins, Mark Petaccio and Ryan Sproul scored in that decisive span, which gave the Greyhounds a 3-0 lead. The Otters responded on rookie Stephen Harper’s first of two goals 6:14 into the second.

Sault Ste. Marie finished the period with David Quesnele’s goal at the 18:13 mark to regain a three-goal advantage at 4-1, only to have the Otters slice that lead to 4-3 with less than six minutes left in the game.

Jimmy McDowell scored his first goal as an Otter – and only the eighth in 161 career OHL games – 2:18 into the third period to move the Otters within 4-2. Then Harper scored his second goal – and 19^th of the season – on the power play with 5:44 remaining to slice the Greyhounds’ lead to one goal.

The Otters earned their third and final power-play chance of the night with one minute left. But Sproul scored short-handed into an empty net seven seconds later to seal the Greyhounds’ victory.

The Otters, which fell to 9-43-3-2 on the season, also received two assists from Luke Cairns. Ramis Sadikov stopped 30-of-35 shots in a losing effort. Matt Murray had 30 saves for the Greyhounds.

Cousins paced Sault Ste. Marie (24-29-2-4) with his team-leading 31^st goal of the season and two assists.

Ryan Sproul scored two goals while Brandon Alderson and Quesnele added a goal and assist apiece. David Broll had an assist against his former team. The Otters return to action today at 7 p.m. at home against Kingston.

SUMMARY

Greyhounds 6, Otters 3

Sault Ste. Marie  0  4  2  —  6

Erie  0  1  2  —  3

1^st Period — None. Penalties — None.

2^nd Period — 1. Sault Ste. Marie, Nick Cousins 31 (Broll, Alderson), 1:25. 2. Sault Ste. Marie, Mark Petaccio 5 (Staples), 3:44. 3. Sault Ste. Marie, Ryan Sproul 15 (Cousins), 4:31. 4. Erie, Stephen Harper 18 (Cairns, Brown), 6:14. 5. Sault Ste. Marie, David Quesnele 10 (Dubchak), 18:13. Penalties — Alderson (S) cross checking, 11:22; Pelech (E) hooking, 14:35; McDowell (E) interference, 16:23. Penalty shot — Cousins (S) no goal, 16:23.

3^rd Period — 6. Erie, Jimmy McDowell 2 (Cairns), 2:18. 7. Erie, Harper 19 (Pelech, Brown), 14:16 (pp). 8. Sault Ste. Marie, Brandon Alderson 15 (Cousins, Nurse), 15:57. 9. Sault Ste. Marie, Sproul 16 (Quesnele), 19:07 (sh-en). Penalties — McCarthy (E) slashing, 9:53; Fuller (S) hooking, 13:34; Durocher (S) delay of game, 19:00.

Shots on goal — Sault Ste. Marie, 14-10-12—36; Erie, 3-16-14—33.

Goaltenders — Sault Ste. Marie, Matt Murray 12-17-0-1 (33 shots, 30 saves); Erie, Ramis Sadikov 5-21-3-1 (35 shots, 30 saves).

Power plays — Sault Ste. Marie (0-2), Erie (1-3).

Referees — Pat Myers, Seth Ferguson. Linesmen — Ryan Holmstead, Darryl Wolfe.

Attendance — 2,869.

Three stars

* Stephen Harper, Otters (2 goals) ** Nick Cousins, Greyhounds (goal, 2 assists) *** Luke Cairns, Otters (2 assists)

Brampton Battalion (27-13-3-6) at Erie Otters (6-37-3-1)

When: Today, 7 p.m.

Where: Tullio Arena

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

Up next: vs. Saginaw (Saturday, 7 p.m.), vs. Owen Sound (Wednesday, 7 p.m.)

Fast facts: The Otters snapped a 12-game winless streak, the third longest in franchise history, in a 7-4 win at Sudbury last Saturday. They also snapped an 11-game winless skid on the road that night. … The Otters have lost four straight at home, but the last three were by two goals or fewer. They lost by a goal in their last two home games (3-2 vs. Niagara Jan. 20 and 2-1 in overtime to Peterborough Jan. 21). … The Otters, which have allowed an OHL-worst 228 goals, surrendered three goals or fewer in five of their last eight games. … The league’s worst offense (111 goals) tied a season high last Saturday with seven goals. The Otters also scored seven in a 7-5 home win against Owen Sound Oct. 7. … RW Johnny McGuire (hand) was held out of last weekend’s games despite making the trip, while D Jimmy McDowell (ill) missed the Sudbury game. Both are expected to play this weekend. … D/RW Tyler McCarthy (ill) returned to practice this week. He has missed the past six games. … The Battalion have used the league’s stingiest defense (125 goals against) to move within percentage points of first-place Niagara in the Central Division and within four points of Eastern Conference-leading Ottawa. … They have scored the fifth fewest goals in the league (147). … G Matej Machovsky ranks among the top five in goals-against average (2.21) and shutouts (5). He also ranks sixth in wins (18) and is tied for 12^th in save percentage (.910). … Rookie G Keegan Wilson has a 9-4-3-2 record, 2.56 GAA, .904 save percentage and one shutout. … The Battalion (6 shutouts) trail only Niagara (8) on the league’s list. … Jason Ward, the Battalion’s first-year assistant coach and a former NHL player, played for the Otters from 1996-98.

- Victor Fernandes

The Erie Otters had a chance to beat the short-handed Niagara IceDogs on Friday night.

But the Otters mustered only 21 shots on goal in a 3-2 loss in front of 2,469 at Tullio Arena, which extended their second-longest losing streak of the season to nine straight games.

Even without several key veterans, including NHL first-round picks Ryan Strome (facial fractures) and Dougie Hamilton (10-game suspension), Niagara dominated the Otters from the outset.

The IceDogs built a 20-7 advantage in shots in the opening period. They also built a 2-0 lead through 20 minutes on goals from Alex Friesen and David Pacan 40 seconds apart midway through the period.

Friesen turned Andrew Agozzino’s centering pass into his 16^th goal of the season at the 9:13 mark. Then Pacan redirected Myles Doan’s cross-ice pass past Otters goaltender Ramis Sadikov, who had 43 saves.

The IceDogs controlled the play to start the second period as well. But a fortunate bounce allowed the Otters to slice Niagara’s lead in half at 2-1. Goaltender Mark Visentin stopped Dane Fox’s shot, but the rebound caromed to Connor Brown. The rookie winger scored into an empty net 6:45 into the period.

Jimmy McDowell also earned an assist on the goal for his first point as an Otter. Niagara regained a two-goal lead at 3-1 on Agozzino’s rebound – his 24^th goal of the season – with 10:53 left in the period. But Fox scored on the power play on an assist from McDowell to pull the Otters within 3-2 just 3 minutes later. The Otters were within a goal despite being outshot 36-17 through two periods.

Yet the Otters couldn’t find their offense in the third. They recorded one shot on goal in the opening 10 minutes of the third. They finished with four shots on goal in the period. Their best chance to tie the game – Anthony Cortellessa’s shot from the right wing – caromed off the post behind Visentin.

Agozzino had a goal and assist for the IceDogs (27-13-0-3), which has won six straight and 10 of their past 11 games. Fox (goal, assist) and McDowell (two assists) paced the Otters (5-36-1-1).

- Victor Fernandes

SUMMARY

IceDogs 3, Otters 2

Niagara  2  1  0  —  3

Erie  0  2  0  —  2

1^st Period — 1. Niagara, Alex Friesen 16 (Agozzino), 9:13. 2. Niagara, David Pacan 20 (Doan, Verhaeghe), 9:53. Penalties — Fox (E) hooking, 2:51; Agozzino (N) goaltender interference, 12:00.

2^nd Period — 3. Erie, Connor Brown 15 (Fox, McDowell), 6:45. 4. Niagara, Andrew Agozzino 24 (Ritchie, Doudera), 10:53. 5. Erie, Dane Fox 16 (McDowell), 13:46 (pp). Penalties — Graham (N) interference, 12:48.

3^rd Period — None. Penalties — Kuhnhackl (N) high sticking, 3:11; McDowell (E) interference, 10:14.

Shots on goal — Niagara, 20-16-10—46; Erie, 7-10-4—21.

Goaltenders — Niagara, Mark Visentin 15-7-0-2 (21 shots, 19 saves); Erie, Ramis Sadikov 3-17-1-1 (46 shots, 43 saves).

Power plays — Niagara (0-2), Erie (1-3).

Referees — Joe Celestin, Garrett Rank. Linesmen — Adam Harris, Mike Harrington.

Attendance — 2,469.

Three stars

* Andrew Agozzino, IceDogs (goal, assist) ** Dane Fox, Otters (goal, assist) *** Ramis Sadikov, Otters (43 saves)