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)

Greg McKegg (Contributed/Toronto Maple Leafs)

Erie Otters forward Greg McKegg and former teammates Justin Hodgman and Michael Liambas are among 63 players heading to the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ training camp, which begins Friday in Toronto. McKegg and Liambas concluded play in the Maple Leafs Rookie Tournament on Tuesday with a 2-1 win against the Ottawa Senators at John Labatt Centre in London, Ontario.

Otters forward Shawn Szydlowski played for the Senators. But he didn’t receive an invitation to the NHL club’s main camp, which includes former Otters defenseman Chris Campoli.

At the NHL Prospects Tournament at Center Ice Arena in Traverse City, Mich., Otters forward Andrew Yogan scored a goal in the New York Rangers‘ 7-2 win against the Dallas Stars in the fifth-place game on Wednesday. The Rangers haven’t announced their roster for training camp.

Former Otters winger Luke Gazdic played for the Stars. Now he heads to Stars’ main camp this weekend in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

Former Otters goaltender Jaroslav Janus stopped 3o-of-34 shots in a 4-3 double-overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in the third-place game. Defenseman David Shields played for the St. Louis Blues. But he won’t join former Otters Brad Boyes and Carlo Colaiacovo at main camp.

In other NHL camp news, defenseman Tyler Hostetter will attend the Philadelphia Flyers‘ main camp, which begins Friday at The Virtua Center Flyers Skate Zone in Vo0rhees, N.J. Hostetter signed an entry-level contract with the Flyers last September.

- Victor Fernandes

The Erie Otters have announced that former forward Zack Torquato has signed to professional contract with the American Hockey League’s Rockford (Ill.) IceHogs.

Torquato finished his Otters’ career with 269 points, which is second in team history. A captain for two seasons, Torquato set career highs in 2009-10 with 31 goals, 62 assists and 93 points. The assists were the most by a player in Otters’ single season. After the conclusion of the Otters’ season, he suited up in two games for the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads.

The native of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario previously played 12 games in the AHL with the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Griffins, and was originally a selection by the Detroit Red Wings in the sixth round of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

The IceHogs are the AHL affiliate of the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks. Their ECHL affiliate is the Toledo Walleye. Torquato is the second Otter alumnus in as many years to sign with Rockford, with forward Justin Hodgman being the other.

- From Erie Otters news release

Former Erie Otters forwards Justin Hodgman and Sean O’Connor captured the IHL’s Turner Cup championship with the Fort Wayne Komets on Saturday. The Komets have won three straight titles. Hodgman has been a part of all three. Read more by clicking the link.