The Erie Otters were a shot off the post away from tying a decade-old franchise record.

The Otters scored 12 goals – the second-highest total in their 15-year history – in a 12-3 win against Barrie in front of 2,905 at Tullio Arena Friday night.

Shawn Szydlowski nearly scored No. 13 in the game’s final seconds, which would have tied the mark set in a 13-4 win against Windsor on March 5, 1998. But the shot glanced off the post.

Fifteen different Otters recorded points in the win, which snapped a two-game losing streak.

Anthony Luciani (two goals, assist), Mike Cazzola (goal, two assists), Szydlowski (goal, two assists) and Phil Varone (goal, two assists) led the Otters (21-20-1-1) with three points. Greg McKegg reached the 30-goal mark with two scores before taking the third period off to rest some nagging bumps and bruises. Brett Thompson, Brett Cook and Matthew Paton had a goal and assist apiece. Luke Cairns had two assists.

The Otters wasted no time in building a commanding 4-0 lead. They recorded the game’s first two shots on goal. McKegg and Luciani scored on both of them less than 3 minutes apart. McKegg opened the scoring 1:53 into the opening period. Luciani scored on the power play at the 4:09 mark.

McKegg also scored on the power play with two minutes left in the period. In between, rookie Johnny McGuire, who was recalled Thursday, scored his first OHL goal in his second career game. Rookie Mark Gazdic, who moved to wing from forward for the game, had an assist for his career point. The Otters scored all four goals on nine shots.

The onslaught continued in the second period, as the Otters scored six goals on 15 shots

Szydlowski, Macaulay McDonnell and Varone scored 2:19 apart early in the period. John Chartrand replaced rookie Josh Malecki in goal for the Colts following McDonnell’s goal.

Later in the period, Matthew Paton’s goal began a stretch of three straight goals in 4½ minutes. Thompson, acquired from Sault Ste. Marie on Monday, capped the surge with his first goal as an Otter. The Otters scored those 10 goals on 20 shots. They finished with 12 goals on 33 shots. Mackenzie Braid had two points for the Colts (8-29-2-2).

* News and notes: The Otters tied a franchise mark for the largest margin of victory, which was set in the 1998 win against Windsor and tied in a 10-1 win at Toronto St. Michael’s on Jan. 10, 1999. … Veteran defenseman David Shields also sat out the third to rest. … Cook set a new single-season career high with six goals. … Former Otter Jordan Coccimiglio, who was claimed off waivers by the Colts a week ago, was the second-line center. He also played on the power play and penalty kill.

- Victor Fernandes

SUMMARY

Otters 12, Colts 3

Barrie  0  0  3  —  3

Erie  4  6  2  —  12

1^st Period — 1. Erie, Greg McKegg 29 (Cazzola), 1:53. 2. Erie, Anthony Luciani 14 (Shields, Cairns), 4:09 (pp). 3. Erie, Johnny McGuire 1 (Gazdic), 16:21. 4. Erie, McKegg 30 (Varone, Holden), 18:00 (pp). Penalties — Ashman (B) interference, 2:28; Shields (E) hooking, 12:14; Locke (B) interference, 12:40; Malecki (B) tripping (served by Scheifele), 16:54.

2^nd Period — 5. Erie, Shawn Szydlowski 21 (Varone, Grant), 5:21. 6. Macaulay McDonnell 6 (Cairns, Paton), 6:19. 7. Erie, Phil Varone 17 (Szydlowski), 7:40 (sh). 8. Erie, Matthew Paton 6 (Grant), 12:08. 9. Erie, Brett Cook 6 (Luciani, Szydlowski), 15:56 (pp). 10. Erie, Brett Thompson 26 (Holden, Cazzola), 16:40. Penalties — Holden (E) tripping, :10; Shields (E) slashing, 6:56; Barrie, too many men (served by Pearson), 9:08; McGuire (E) 5-min. fighting, 11:46; Lepkowski (B) 5-min. fighting, 11:46; Mort (B) holding, 14:37; Mort (B) slashing, 16:59.

3^rd Period — 11. Barrie, Tanner Pearson 9 (Devlin, Braid), 4:50 (pp). 12. Erie, Mike Cazzola 11 (Thompson), 8:51 (sh). 13. Erie, Luciani 15 (unassisted), 12:29. 14. Barrie, Mackenzie Braid 5 (Beyers), 13:59. 15. Barrie, Colin Behenna 22 (Bennett), 16:11. Penalties — Crisp (E) delay of game, 3:23; Pelech (E) tripping, 7:08.

Shots on goal — Barrie, 9-8-9—26; Erie, 10-15-8—33.

Goaltenders — Barrie, Josh Malecki 0-1-0-0 (12 shots, 6 saves), John Chartrand (21 shots, 15 saves); Erie, Ramis Sadikov 21-14-1-1 (26 shots, 23 saves).

Power plays — Barrie (1-5), Erie (3-6).

Referees — Darren Price, Joe Celestin. Linesmen — Chris Thornton, Mike Harrington.

Attendance — 2,905.

Three stars

* Mike Cazzola, Otters (goal, 2 assists) ** Matthew Paton, Otters (goal, assist) *** Kris Grant, Otters (2 assists)

What: Barrie Colts (8-28-2-2) at Erie Otters (20-20-1-1)

When: Friday, 7 p.m.

Where: Tullio Arena

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

Players to watch

Erie – C Greg McKegg (28 goals, 30 assists, 58 points), C Brett Thompson (25-21-46, 9 power-play goals), RW Shawn Szydlowski (20-17-37), RW Anthony Luciani (13-22-35), G Ramis Sadikov (20-14-1-1 record, 2.96 goals-against average, .910 save percentage, 2 shutouts)

Barrie – C Colin Behenna (21-34-55), C Mark Scheifele (10-35-45), RW Steven Beyers (9-29-38), C Eric Locke (19-14-33), C Jordan Coccimiglio (4-3-7)

Fast facts

Erie – Thompson, acquired from Sault Ste. Marie on Monday, makes his home debut tonight. He had no points and two penalty minutes in his first game as an Otter – a 3-0 loss at Niagara Thursday. … The Otters have lost two straight and six of their last 11 games. … The Otters lost both meetings with the Colts last season. … Sadikov’s franchise-record, 31-game streak of consecutive starts ended Thursday. … LW Brett Appio (bereavement leave) missed Thursday’s game, according to the team. … Rookie LW Chris Marchese (undisclosed injury) remains out of the lineup. … McKegg and Varone had four-game point streaks snapped against the IceDogs.

Barrie – Coccimiglio faces his former team a week after being claimed off waivers by the Colts. He had no points and a minus-2 rating in his Colts’ debut – an 8-2 home loss to Oshawa last Saturday … The Colts have the OHL’s worst record a season after winning the Eastern Conference championship and reaching the league finals. … They have posted half their wins in the past 10 games (4-5-0-1). … Scheifele, who stands third among rookies in scoring, is ranked 21^st among North American skaters on NHL Central Scouting’s 2011 draft list. He will play in the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in Toronto on Wednesday. … G John Chartrand (9-7-1-0, 4.38, .874) is 19^th among North American goaltenders on the NHL list. … Behenna ranks 11^th overall in scoring. … The Colts traded high-scoring C Taylor Carnevale and veteran Ds Dalton Prout and Stephen Gaskin last weekend.

Up next: vs. London (Saturday, 7 p.m.), vs. Mississauga St. Michael’s (Thursday, 7 p.m.)

– Victor Fernandes

KITCHENER, Ontario – Phil Varone has enjoyed facing the Kitchener Rangers this season.

He had a goal and two assists in the Erie Otters’ 4-2 win in front of 6,446 at Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Friday night. He has six goals and eight points in three games against his former team.

The Otters (20-18-1-1) won all three meetings, including the last two in Kitchener. The Otters had lost the previous 11 meetings overall with the Rangers (23-10-3-1) and were winless in 16 straight on the road.

The Otters, which also have a three-game winning streak overall, are two games above the  .500 mark for the first time this season. Varone helped seal Erie’s latest win by assisting on Greg McKegg’s empty-net goal with 10 seconds left. Varone also opened the scoring for the Otters.

Varone scored his 15^th goal of the season to tie the score at 1 with 4:32 left in the first period. Shawn Szydlowski’s 20^th goal of the season snapped the tie 2:21 into the second. Varone then assisted David Broll’s goal less than three minutes later. Kitchener’s Cody Sol sliced the lead to 3-2 at the 7:58 mark of the third. But the Otters held off the Rangers until McKegg’s goal sealed the Midwest Division victory.

Szydlowski added an assist to his goal, while Anthony Luciani had two assists. Ramis Sadikov made 34 saves to earn his 20^th win of the season. Jason Akeson and Matthew Tipoff had two assists apiece for the Rangers. Brandon Maxwell, a former Otters prospect, had 32 saves for the Rangers. In other Otters’ news, the club announced that Barrie claimed forward Jordan Coccimiglio off waivers.

- Victor Fernandes

SUMMARY

Otters 4, Rangers 2

Erie  1  2  1  —  4

Kitchener  1  0  1  —  2

1^st Period — 1. Kitchener, Michael Catenacci 9 (Akeson, Tipoff), 8:50 (pp). 2. Erie, Phil Varone 15 (Luciani, Holden), 15:28. Penalties — Broll (E) 5-min. fighting, 3:39; Randell (K) 5-min. fighting, 3:39; Cook (E) holding, 6:55; Varone (E) holding, 18:45.

2^nd Period — 3. Erie, Shawn Szydlowski 20 (Cazzola), 2:21. 4. Erie, David Broll 8 (Varone, Luciani), 4:57. Penalties — Doornbosch (K) checking to the head, 10:43.

3^rd Period — 5. Kitchener, Cody Sol 3 (Tipoff, Akeson), 7:58. 6. Erie, Greg McKegg 28 (Varone, Szydlowski), 19:50 (en). Penalties — Cook (E) roughing, 5:20; Appio (E) 5-min. fighting, 8:05; Ming (K) 5-min. fighting, 8:05; Sol (K) checking to the head, 11:13; Szydlowski (E) holding, 11:57; McEneny (K) high sticking, 18:14.

Shots on goal — Erie, 10-14-13—37; Kitchener, 15-10-11—36.

Goaltenders — Erie, Ramis Sadikov 20-14-1-1 (36 shots, 34 saves); Kitchener, Brandon Maxwell 16-7-3-0 (36 shots, 32 saves).

Power plays — Erie (0-4), Kitchener (1-3).

Referees — Matt Parlette, Ben Wilson. Linesmen — Matthew Traub, Garrett Rank.

Attendance — 6,446.

Three stars

* Phil Varone, Otters (goal, 2 assists) ** Ben Thomson, Rangers (0 points) *** Ramis Sadikov, Otters (34 saves)

Injury plagued or not, the Erie Otters are scoring goals.

Behind Phil Varone’s hat trick and Greg McKegg’s two goals, the Otters set a season high in goals in a 7-3 win against Kitchener in front of 3,731 at Tullio Arena on Saturday night.

Erie’s offensive onslaught – the most goals scored in a game since the 2009-10 season finale (8 against London), occurred two nights after scoring six goals in a shutout win against Belleville.

Kitchener entered the game with nine wins in the past 10 games. But the surging Otters (12-14-1-0) jumped on the Rangers, as they built a 3-0 lead in the opening 5½ minutes of the opening period on their way to snapping a 10-game losing streak against their Midwest Division rival. The Otters also have their first three-game winning streak since February.

“That was the best game we’ve played,” said Varone, a former Ranger.

Varone scored on assists from Bret Cook and David Broll at the 2:03 to open the scoring. Then McKegg continued his offensive assault with the first of his two straight goals. He fired a rebound of David Shields’ shot past goaltender Brandon Maxwell, a former Otters’ draft pick, for a 2-0 lead.

Fifty-seven seconds later, McKegg scored again – his sixth goal in the past two games – on assists from Shields and Derek Holden for a 3-0 advantage. Ryan Murphy, the league’s highest-scoring defenseman, slipped a shot through goaltender Ramis Sadikov’s pads to move the Rangers within 3-1 with 2:28 left.

The Otters’ lead shrunk to 3-2 just 17 seconds into the second, as Gabriel Landeskog deflected Jonathan Jasper’s shot past Sadikov for Landeskog’s team-leading 20^th goal of the season.

But the Otters responded 1:02 later, as Varone scored his second goal of the game and seventh in 14 games as an Otter, for a 4-2 lead. Then Jeremy Gottzmann scored at the 2:44 mark of the period to regain the Otters’ three-goal lead – his first goal since Feb. 13, a span of 46 games.

Kitchener (17-6-0-1) sliced that lead to 5-3 at the 7:14 mark on Cody Sol’s first goal of the season. Landeskog and Jason Akeson assisted on the goal, with Akeson recording his Ontario Hockey League-leading 36^th assist and 48^th point of the season. But the Otters continued attacking the Rangers’ net.

The Otters finished the second with 25 shots on goal, which tied for the season high (Oct. 22 against Sault Ste. Marie). The teams combined for 39 shots on goal in the middle period. The Otters finished with a season-high 51 shots.

Early in the third, Matthew Paton, who assisted on Gottzmann’s goal, snapped a 16-game goal drought to hand the Otters a 6-3 lead. Jordan Coccimiglio earned his second assist of the game on the play.

Then Varone completed the first three-goal outing in his five-year OHL career – and the team’s second in two games (McKegg) with a power-play goal on assists from McKegg and Luciani 7:43 into the period. Varone and McKegg were the first Otters’ teammates with hat tricks in consecutive games since Justin Hodgman (Dec. 20 vs. Sudbury) and Andrew Yogan (Dec. 28 at Brampton).

Varone and McKegg, who also had an assist, led the Otters’ offense. Shields, Luciani and Coccimiglio had two assists apiece. Paton (goal, assist) also had two points.

“When (role players) chip in,” McKegg said, “you know you’re going to have a good night.”

- Victor Fernandes

SUMMARY

Otters 7, Rangers 3

Kitchener  1  2  0  —  3

Erie  3  2  2  —  7

1^st Period — 1. Erie, Phil Varone 6 (Cook, Broll), 2:03. 2. Erie, Greg McKegg 19 (Shields, Szydlowski), 4:26. 3. Erie, McKegg 20 (Shields, Holden), 5:23. 4. Kitchener, Ryan Murphy 13 (Maxwell), 17:32. Penalties — Lowry (K) interference, 15:13.

2^nd Period — 5. Kitchener, Gabriel Landeskog 20 (Jasper, Catenacci), :17. 6. Erie, Varone 7 (Luciani), 1:19. 7. Erie, Jeremy Gottzmann 1 (Paton, Coccimiglio), 2:44. 8. Kitchener, Cody Sol 1 (Landeskog, Akeson), 7:14. Penalties — Broll (E) 5-min. fighting, 2:47; Randell (K) 5-min. fighting, 2:47; Gazdic (E) 5-min. fighting, 6:00; Thomson (K) 5-min. fighting, 6:00; Szydlowski (E) elbowing, 13:39; Randell (K) interference, 15:10.

3^rd Period — 9. Erie, Matthew Paton 4 (Coccimiglio, Grant), 4:47. 10. Erie, Varone 8 (McKegg, Luciani), 7:43 (pp). Penalties — Crescenzi (K) checking to the head, 6:26; Austin (E) tripping, 10:39.

Shots on goal — Kitchener, 11-14-15—40; Erie, 12-25-15—51.

Goaltenders — Kitchener, Brandon Maxwell 12-5-0-0 (51 shots, 44 saves); Erie, Ramis Sadikov 12-10-1-0 (40 shots, 37 saves).

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

Referees — Darcy Burchell, Dave Gauthier. Linesmen — Daryl Wolfe, Mike Harrington.

Attendance — 3,731.

Three stars

* Phil Varone, Otters (hat trick) ** Greg McKegg, Otters (2 goals, assist) *** David Shields, Otters (2 assists)

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)

The Erie Otters found a new heartbreaking way to lose Friday night.

One minute, Greg McKegg appeared to score the tying goal as time expired. The next minute, the video replay judge disallowed the goal, which sealed the Otters’ 4-3 loss to Saginaw at Tullio Arena.

Moments earlier, a second or two extra appeared to run off the clock after officials called a slashing penalty on Spirit defenseman Matt Ashman. The officials chose not to replace that time, leaving the Otters (7-13-1-0) with two seconds left on the clock.

McKegg scored off a rebound of Shawn Szydlowski’s shot as the green light, which signifies the end of the game, emerged. Seconds later, the green light was replaced by the red light, which signifies a goal.

After a review that lasted a few minutes, the crowd of 2,869 erupted into a chorus of

Sherry Bassin (Contributed/Erie Otters)

boos. Otters coach Robbie Ftorek argued vehemently with the officials for several minutes. Meanwhile, Sherry Bassin, Otters managing partner and general manager, voiced his displeasure long after the game ended. Then afterwards, Bassin and other club officials watched footage of the game’s final seconds. They determined the referees should have set the clock at 3.6 seconds, Bassin said.

According to Bassin, off-ice officials told Shawn Waskiewicz, Otters assistant general manager, that they didn’t hear the whistle over the crowd noise. At that point, Bassin said, the off-ice officials should have discussed the situation with the referees. “We got suckered in our own building for time,” Bassin said.

Video of the controversial goal was inconclusive, Bassin said.

Meanwhile, the Spirit (14-4-1-1) celebrated a win that snapped a two-game losing streak.

The teams battled to a scoreless tie for the first half of the opening period. Then Spirit center Michael Sgarbossa snuck a rebound past goaltender Ramis Sadikov for a 1-0 lead with 6:18 left in the period.

The Spirit extended the lead to 2-0 on a rebound, as Mathew Sisca fired a shot over a fallen Sadikov for Sisca’s sixth goal of the season. Meanwhile, the Otters squandered several scoring chances, headlined by Anthony Luciani’s wrist shot off the left post during a power play late in the period.

Yet the Otters capitalized on the power play 3:59 into the second, as defenseman Tyler Hostetter floated a shot from the point past Spirit goaltender Tadeas Galansky to slice Saginaw’s lead to 2-1.

That sparked a three-goal outburst that built a 3-2 lead heading to the third period. Rookie Macaulay McDonnell and Jordan Coccimiglio scored 1:47 apart late in the period. McDonnell poked a rebound through Galansky to tie the score at 2 with 6:11 left. Coccimiglio deflected defenseman Derek Holden’s shot from the blue line past Galansky to snap the tie with 4:36 remaining.

Sadikov stymied a Spirit attack that failed to score on all 18 shots on goal in the period. But the Spirit tied the score at 3 at the 7:16 mark of the third on Josh Shalla’s 14^th goal of the season. Kantor then turned Ivan Telegin’s pinpoint cross-crease pass into the eventual winning goal.

- Victor Fernandes

SUMMARY

Spirit 4, Otters 3

Saginaw  2  0  2  —  4

Erie  0  3  0  —  3

1^st Period — 1. Saginaw, Michael Sgarbossa 5 (Saad), 13:42. 2. Saginaw, Mathew Sisca 6 (Szwarz, Shalla), 19:26. Penalties — Crisp (E) 5-min. fighting, 10:59; Kea (E) 5-min. fighting, 10:59; Camara (S) interference, 15:15.

2^nd Period — 3. Erie, Tyler Hostetter 4 (Cairns, Marchese), 3:59 (pp). 4. Erie, Macaulay McDonnell 4 (Marchese, Hostetter), 13:49. 5. Erie, Jordan Coccimiglio 3 (Holden, Paton), 15:24. Penalties — Kantor (S) goaltender interference, :53; Kantor (S) interference, 3:38; Appio (E) 5-min. fighting, 11:43; Kantor (S) 5-min. fighting, 11:43.

3^rd Period — 6. Saginaw, Josh Shalla 14 (Szwarz, Sisca), 7:16. 7. Saginaw, Michael Kantor 7 (Telegin, Trocheck), 17:15. Penalties — Ashman (S) slashing, 19:58.

Shots on goal — Saginaw, 8-18-8—34; Erie, 12-13-10—35.

Goaltenders — Saginaw, Tadeas Galansky 5-0-1-0 (35 shots, 32 saves); Erie, Ramis Sadikov 7-10-1-0 (34 shots, 30 saves).

Power plays — Saginaw (0-0), Erie (1-4).

Referees — Darren Price, Chris Carnegie. Linesmen — Fraser McIntire, Sean Pindar.

Attendance — 2,869.

Three stars

* Josh Shalla, Spirit (goal, assist) ** Jordan Coccimiglio, Otters (goal) *** Tyler Hostetter, Otters (goal, assist)

ERIE, Pa. – Ramis Sadikov enjoyed his latest victory celebration a bit more than the rest.

The Erie Otters’ second-year goaltender recorded his first Ontario Hockey League shutout in a 4-0 win against the Midwest Division-leading Owen Sound Attack at Tullio Arena Friday night.

He stopped 27 shots in leading the Otters (5-11-1-0) to their second win in the last 11 games. Then Sadikov capped his performance by sliding across the ice on his belly and making snow angels.

Meanwhile, the struggling Otters took control from the start, with role players supplying the offensive spark. Matthew Paton scored his third goal of the season, off assists from Jordan Coccimiglio and Brett Appio, 1:57 into the first period. Then with a revamped power play featuring rookie forward Luke Cairns on defense, fellow rookie Chris Marchese scored off assists from David Broll and Cairns for a 2-0 lead.

Meanwhile, the Otters’ defense began what was an inspiring effort against the OHL’s highest-scoring offense. The Otters stymied the Attack’s power play on a pair of brief 5-on-3 chances in the second period. That allowed the Otters to maintain a two-goal lead.

Then defenseman Brett Cook’s shot from the blue line sailed past goaltender Scott Stajcer and into the upper-left corner of the net for a 3-0 lead with 4:10 left in the period. In the third period, the power play took over again, as Phil Varone scored his first goal as an Otter on assists from Mike Cazzola and Greg McKegg for a 4-0 Otters’ lead at the 7:28 mark. Varone finished with a goal and assist.

Stajcer finished with 27 saves for the Attack (11-4-0-1) in only his second loss in 11 games.

- Victor Fernandes

The Erie Otters had a two-goal lead against Kitchener on Saturday night.

But as usual, it didn’t last long. The Rangers made sure of that.

The Rangers scored five unanswered goals in the second and third periods to erase that two-goal deficit and hand the Otters a 6-5 loss in front of 3,082 at Tullio Arena. The Rangers (5-1-0-0) have won 10 straight games against the Otters (3-4-0-0) dating back to the start of the 2009-10 OHL season. Yet the Otters enjoyed a strong start against their Midwest Division rival.

Rookie center Chris Marchese’s first career goal – a power-play score off assists from Tyler Hostetter and Macaulay McDonnell – snapped the scoreless tie 12:59 into the opening period.

Kitchener’s Matthew Tipoff’s tied the score 1:12 later on assists from Tobias Rieder and Ryan Murphy, who tallied his league-best 10^th assist and 14^th point of the season. But the Otters took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission after Mike Cazzola scored his fourth goal of the season with 23 seconds left in the period.

Greg McKegg’s rebound goal – his team-leading fifth of the season – handed the Otters a 3-1 lead 5 minutes into the second. Yet the Rangers overpowered the Otters for three goals in less than two minutes.

Kitchener scored every goal by outmuscling Erie defenders for rebounds in front of goaltender Ramis Sadikov. Rieder scored his fifth goal of the season at the 10:48 mark to slice the Otters’ lead to 3-2.

Then Julian Melchiori and Andrew Crescenzi followed with goals 22 seconds apart to turn that one-goal deficit into a 4-3 Rangers lead heading to the third. Kitchener scored all three goals on eight shots. The Rangers extended their goal-scoring streak to four 1:05 into the third, as Jason Akeson scored on assists from rookie Matia Marcantuoni and Gabriel Landeskog for a 5-3 Rangers lead.

The streak reached five goals with 7:44 left, as Rieder stole the puck from Hostetter at the Otters’ blue line and scored unassisted for a 6-3 lead. The Otters finally responded on Jordan Coccimiglio’s goal with 6:08 left in regulation. Rookie Luke Cairns assisted on the goal for his OHL point. Shawn Szydlowski scored with Sadikov on the bench for an extra attacker with 1:45 left to pull the Otters within 6-5 – one of their 16 shots in the period. The Otters outshot Kitchener 38-27.

But the Otters scored the equalizer a second or two after the final buzzer sounded. Rieder led the Rangers with two goals and an assist. Akeson and Tipoff had a goal and assist apiece for the Rangers. McKegg and Szydlowski had two points apiece for the Otters.

* News and notes: Otters winger Anthony Luciani remained out of the lineup with an undisclosed injury, as did defenseman Brett Cook (undisclosed injury) and rookie center Connor Crisp (concussion). … The Otters and Rangers meet again on Monday at 1 p.m. in Kitchener.

- Victor Fernandes

SUMMARY

Rangers 6, Otters 5

Kitchener  1  3  2  —  6

Erie  2  1  2  —  5

1^st Period — 1. Erie, Chris Marchese 1 (Hostetter, McDonnell), 12:59 (pp). 2. Kitchener, Matthew Tipoff 4 (Rieder, Murphy), 14:11. 3. Erie, Mike Cazzola 4 (Szydlowski, McKegg), 19:37. Penalties — Pelech (E) tripping, 3:18; Melchiori (K) delay of game, 11:47; Thomson (K) hooking, 14:34.

2^nd Period — 4. Erie, Greg McKegg 5 (Cazzola, Pelech), 5:00. 5. Kitchener, Tobias Rieder 5 (Doornbosch, Tipoff), 10:48. 6. Kitchener, Julian Melchiori 1 (Catenacci, Akeson), 11:47. 7. Kitchener, Andrew Crescenzi 3 (Randell, Thomson), 12:19. Penalties — Austin (E) slashing, 2:39; Grant (E) hooking, 10:09; Gaulton (E) tripping, 12:26; Doornbosch (K) interference, 14:19; Appio (E) checking from behind, 18:00; Cazzola (E) hooking, 19:53.

3^rd Period — 8. Kitchener, Jason Akeson 4 (Marcantuoni, Landeskog), 1:05 (pp). 9. Kitchener, Rieder 6 (unassisted), 12:16. 10. Erie, Jordan Coccimiglio 2 (Cairns), 13:52. 11. Erie, Shawn Szydlowski 3 (McKegg, Cazzola), 18:15. Penalties — Melchiori (K) holding, 7:08; Appio (E) interference, 14:05; Marcantuoni (K) high sticking, 16:13.

Shots on goal — Kitchener, 13-8-6—27; Erie, 10-12-16—38.

Goaltenders — Kitchener, Brandon Maxwell 4-1-0-0 (38 shots, 33 saves); Erie, Ramis Sadikov 3-3-0-0 (27 shots, 21 saves).

Power plays — Kitchener (1-7), Erie (1-5).

Referees — Ryan Carroll, Seth Ferguson. Linesmen — Mike Harrington, Sean Pindar.

Attendance — 3,082.

Three stars

* Jason Akeson, Rangers (goal, assist) ** Greg McKegg, Otters (2 assists) *** Chris Marchese, Otters (first OHL goal)

ST. CATHARINES, Ontario – The penalty kill killed the Erie Otters on Thursday night.

The Otters allowed four goals on eight chances in a 5-4 loss to Niagara in front of 2,982 at Gatorade Garden City Complex. The four straight goals against erased the Otters’ early 2-0 lead.

The Otters (1-2-0-0) built that lead on goals from Jordan Coccimiglio and Matthew Paton in the opening eight minutes of the first period. But the IceDogs (2-1-0-0) rallied to tie at 2 with power-play goals from Alex Friesen and Dougie Hamilton less than three

Greg McKegg (Contributed/Toronto Maple Leafs)

minutes apart late in the period.

After a scoreless second period, consecutive penalties to Otters forwards Chris Marchese and Shawn Szydlowski handed the IceDogs a 5-on-3 opportunity midway through the third. Niagara responded with power-play goals from Ryan Strome and newly acquired Jason Wilson to open a 4-2 lead.

The Otters have allowed six goals on 15 power-play chances in three games this season.

Greg McKegg’s first goal of the season, the Otters’ lone power-play goal of the game, sliced Niagara’s lead to 4-3 with 7:25 left. But Steven Shipley scored 56 seconds later to regain Niagara’s two-goal lead.

The Otters moved within 5-4 on Mike Cazzola’s goal with 4:31 left. But they were unable to score the equalizer and avoid a second straight loss. Niagara outshot the Otters 51-31. Ramis Sadikov made 46 saves in the losing effort. McKegg had a goal and assist. Friesen and Strome had a goal and two assists apiece for the IceDogs. Shipley and Hamilton each had a goal and assist.

The Otters return to action today in Kitchener with a 7:30 p.m. game.

- Victor Fernandes

SUMMARY

IceDogs 5, Otters 4

Erie  2  0  2  —  4

Niagara  2  0  3  —  5

1^st Period — 1. Erie, Jordan Coccimiglio 1 (Gottzmann, McDonnell), 2:29. 2. Erie, Matthew Paton 1 (Hostetter), 8:03. 3. Niagara, Alex Friesen 2 (F. Hamilton, Strome), 14:46 (pp). 4. Niagara, Dougie Hamilton 1 (Friesen, Strome), 17:10 (pp). Penalties — McKegg (E) holding, 13:35; Appio (E) roughing, 16:20; Hamilton (N) checking from behind, 19:39.

2^nd Period — None. Penalties — Strome (N) holding the stick, 2:31; Visentin (N) delay of game, 3:09; Gaulton (E) holding, 4:36; Agozzino (N) high sticking, 4:36; Austin (E) 4-min. checking from behind, 5:36; Doan (N) roughing, 5:36; Luciani (E) unsportsmanlike conduct, 15:42; Billingsley (N) cross checking, 15:42; McKegg (E) hooking, 17:41.

3^rd Period — 5. Niagara, Ryan Strome 3 (D. Hamilton, Friesen), 10:56 (pp). 6. Niagara, Jason Wilson 1 (Shipley, Pacan), 11:13 (pp). 7. Erie, Greg McKegg 1 (unassisted), 12:35. 8. Niagara, Steven Shipley 1 (F. Hamilton, Wilson), 13:29. 9. Erie, Mike Cazzola 2 (McKegg), 15:29. Penalties — Marchese (E) 4-min. high sticking, 9:02; Szydlowski (E) hooking, 10:03; Pacan (N) delay of game, 12:22.

Shots on goal — Erie, 12-10-9—31; Niagara, 15-13-23—51.

Goaltenders — Erie, Ramis Sadikov 1-2-0-0 (51 shots, 46 saves); Niagara, Mark Visentin 1-1-0-0 (31 shots, 27 saves).

Power plays — Erie (1-4), Niagara (4-8).

Referees — Mike Bolibruck, Matt Parlette. Linesmen — Jesse Wilmot, Darryl Wolfe.

Attendance — 2,982.

Three stars

* Steven Shipley, IceDogs (goal, assist) ** Ryan Strome, IceDogs (goal, 2 assists) *** Alex Friesen, IceDogs (goal, 2 assists)

The Erie Otters made two more cuts on Tuesday: forwards Erik Robichaud and Ralph Cuddemi. That leaves the club with 28 players on the roster.

FORWARDS (16)
Brett Appio
David Broll
Luke Cairns
Michael Cazzola
Jordan Coccimiglio
Connor Crisp
Jeremy Gottzmann
Anthony Luciani
Chris Marchese
Macaulay McDonnell
Greg McKegg
Scott Mitchell
Matthew Paton
Shawn Szydlowski
Timofey Tankeev
Andrew Yogan

DEFENSEMEN (10)
Evan Accettura
Brady Austin
Brett Cook
Mitch Gaulton
Kris Grant
Derek Holden
Adam Pelech
Mark Gazdic
Tyler Hostetter
David Shields

GOALTENDERS (2)
Chris Festarini
Ramis Sadikov