ANCASTER, Ontario – The Erie Otters have depth on defense for the 2012-13 OHL season.
But veteran Kris Grant won’t be a part of that unit.
Grant, 19, who spent the past two seasons with the team, has requested a trade to a team closer to home in the Kingston, Ontario, area. So club officials told Grant to stay away from training camp to avoid being a distraction.
Sherry Bassin, managing partner and general manager, wasn’t surprised by Grant’s decision. “Last year, I was worried that he wasn’t committed to play,” Bassin said.
* An emergency plan: Bassin acquired goaltender Keinan Brown, 19, from Peterborough for a 10th-round draft pick Tuesday. Brown, who joins the team at camp Wednesday, appeared in two games in an emergency role late last season after Ramis Sadikov and Devin Williams suffered concussions.
Brown had an 0-2-0-0 record, 5.01 goals-against average and .873 save percentage with the Otters. Now Brown headlines Bassin’s emergency plan if Oscar Dansk or Williams are injured during the season.
* McCarthy released: The club waived Tyler McCarthy, and then released the overager after he cleared waivers. Bassin was unsure what McCarthy’s plans are for the coming season.
* On their way: Dansk, the third overall pick in the CHL Import Draft who agreed to terms with the Otters Monday, is scheduled to arrive in Toronto shortly after midnight Friday morning, and then join the team at camp later that day.
Meanwhile, second-year winger Sondre Olden and CHL second-round pick Artem Kuleshov are expected to join the team Monday in Erie.
Olden is training with his native Norway’s senior men’s team, which Bassin said gives him a better chance of possibly earning a spot with the national team.
Kuleshov remains unsigned, but “I don’t foresee that being an issue,” said Dave Brown, assistant manager of hockey operations. The transfer paperwork for the Russian-born defenseman is done, Brown said, but club officials still have immigration documents to complete.

- Victor Fernandes

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 went down Friday night. But they didn’t go down without a fight.

Stephen Harper’s goal with 44.6 seconds left in regulation capped Erie’s furious comeback from a three-goal deficit against Saginaw. But Carlos Amestoy scored the lone shootout goal, and goaltender Clint Windsor stopped Luke Cairns on the final attempt, in Erie’s 8-7 loss in front of 2,314 at Tullio Arena.

The teams exchanged a pair of goals apiece in six the opening minutes. Saginaw’s Michael Fine scored at the 1:23 mark, followed by Otters rookie Jake Evans’ goal 3:30 later. Brandon Saad’s first of two short-handed goals snapped the 1-1 tie at the 6:02 mark. Then Connor Brown scored on the power play 19 seconds later to tie the score at 2.

Saginaw built a 5-2 lead early in the second on a goal from Amestoy and two from Eric Locke. Cairns moved the Otters within 5-3 at the 4:19 mark, only to have Saad’s second short-handed goal regain the Spirit’s three-goal lead at 6-3 6:49 into the period. Then the teams exchanged goals – Brown’s second power-play goal and Josh Shalla’s 35^th goal of the season – to send the Otters into the third trailing 7-4.

Ramis Sadikov returned to the ice for the third to replace rookie backup Devin Williams, who was injured late in the second. Williams allowed three goals on 17 shots in 26 minutes. Then the Otters’ comeback began with 8:50 left on Kris Grant’s second goal of the season and third in 101 career OHL games.

Dane Fox (goal, two assists) had a goal waved off a short time later, but his power-play goal with 5:04 left sliced the Spirit’s lead to 7-6.

Then with Sadikov on the bench for an extra attacker in the final minute, Harper’s goal off a deflection in front of Windsor completed the Otters’ three-goal comeback. But Fox, Sondre Olden and Cairns failed to score in the shootout.

Shalla and Fine led the Spirit (28-26-1-7) with a goal and two assists apiece.

- Victor Fernandes

SUMMARY

Spirit 8, Otters 7 (SO)

Saginaw  4  3  0  0  1  —  8

Erie  2  2  3  0  0  —  7

1^st Period — 1. Saginaw, Michael Fine 20 (Shalla, Young), 1:23. 2. Erie, Jake Evans 8 (Olden, Harper), 4:53. 3. Saginaw, Brandon Saad 27 (unassisted), 6:02 (sh). 4. Erie, Connor Brown 22 (unassisted), 6:21 (pp). 5. Saginaw, Carlos Amestoy 6 (Shalla, Fine), 11:58. 6. Saginaw, Eric Locke 16 (Trafford), 14:04. Penalties — Saad (S) tripping, 5:14.

2^nd Period — 7. Saginaw, Locke 17 (Trafford, Strong), 2:09. 8 Erie, Luke Cairns 11 (Brown, McDowell), 4:13. 9. Saginaw, Saad 28 (Fine), 6:49 (sh). 10. Erie, Brown 23 (Fox, Evans), 17:50 (pp). 11. Saginaw, Josh Shalla 35 (Lopez, Ross), 18:33. Penalties — Archibald (S) slashing, 5:15; Saginaw, too many men (served by Perklin), 16:05.

3^rd Period — 12. Erie, Kris Grant 2 (Olden), 11:10. 13. Erie, Dane Fox 22 (Pelech, 14:56 (pp). 14. Erie, Stephen Harper 20 (McDowell, Fox), 19:15. Penalties — Trocheck (S) kneeing, 5:24; Saad (S) interference, 11:26; Saad (S) unsportsmanlike conduct, 11:26; Evans (E) 5-min. fighting, 18:14; Webermin (S) 5-min. fighting, 18:14.

Overtime — None. Penalties — Archibald (S) closing hand on puck, 4:21.

Shootout — Fox (E) no goal, Amestoy (S) goal, Olden (E) no goal, Trocheck (S) no goal, Cairns (E) no goal.

Shots on goal — Saginaw, 13-15-7-4-1—40; Erie, 9-16-14-2-0—41.

Goaltenders — Saginaw, Clint Windsor 14-7-2-3 (41 shots, 34 saves); Erie, Ramis Sadikov 6-22-3-2 (22 shots, 18 saves), Devin Williams (17 shots 14 saves).

Power plays — Saginaw (0-0), Erie (3-7).

Referees — Joel Washkurak, Korey Bannerman. Linesmen — Ray King, Adam Harris.

Attendance — 2,314.

Three stars

* Connor Brown, Otters (2 goals, assist) ** Dane Fox, Otters (goal, 2 assists) *** Brandon Saad, Spirit (2 SH goals)

BELLEVILLE, Ontario – The OHL’s lowest-scoring offense took control from the outset Monday. Then the league’s worst defense, led by overage goaltender Ramis Sadikov, took over from there.

The Erie Otters produced a rare all-around effort against Belleville. That allowed the Otters to salvage the final game of a three-game East Division trip with a 4-1 win in front of 3,276 fans at Yardmen Arena.

The Otters (9-42-3-2) received goals from Sondre Olden, Connor Brown and Kris Grant in a 1-minute, 16-second stretch early in the first period to take a 3-0 lead against Malcolm Subban, the top-rated North American goaltender on NHL Central Scouting’s midseason ranking for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

Olden scored again with 3:24 left in the second to take a 4-0 lead. Along the way, a defense that has allowed 264 goals held the Bulls off the scoreboard until Jake Worrad’s goal with 3:17 left in the game.

Sadikov sparked the defense with 41 saves. Brown led the Otters with his 20^th goal of the season and an assist. Grant scored his first goal since Dec. 10, 2010 – a span of 66 games. Erie, which snapped a two-game losing streak with their third straight win in Belleville, returns to action at Tullio Arena Friday at 7 p.m. against Sault Ste. Marie and Saturday against Kingston. The Bulls fell to 27-28-1-0.

SUMMARY

Otters 4, Bulls 1

Erie  3  1  0  —  4

Belleville  0  0  1  —  1

1^st Period — 1. Erie, Sondre Olden 8 (Glass, Betz), 8:09. 2. Erie, Connor Brown 20 (Fox, McDowell), 8:55. 3. Erie, Kris Grant 1 (Brown), 9:25. Penalties — Simmonds (B) tripping, 1:42.

2^nd Period — 4. Erie, Olden 9 (Eisenberg), 16:36. Penalties — Cortellessa (E) hooking, 1:11; Hooey (B) tripping, 13:39; McDowell (E) roughing, 19:03; Judson (B) roughing, 19:03.

3^rd Period — 5. Belleville, Jake Worrad 4 (Carnevale, Silas), 16:43. Penalties — Fox (E) cross checking, 4:21; Erie, too many men (served by Olden), 5:31; Corson (B) tripping, 12:19.

Shots on goal — Erie, 20-9-4—33; Belleville, 13-12-17—42.

Goaltenders — Erie, Ramis Sadikov 5-20-3-1 (42 shots, 41 saves); Belleville, Malcolm Subban 17-10-0-0 (33 shots, 29 saves).

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

Referees — Dave Koziel, Garrett Rank. Linesmen — Chad Drown, Mike Hamilton.

Attendance — 3,276.

Three stars

* Ramis Sadikov, Otters (41 saves) ** Sondre Olden, Otters (2 goals) *** Connor Brown, Otters (goal, assist)

The Erie Otters have a rare winning streak.

The Otters captured their second straight win with a 7-4 come-from-behind victory against Brampton in front of 2,565 at Tullio Arena Friday night. The Otters (7-37-3-1) rallied from a 3-0 second-period deficit.

Erie was propelled by rookie Connor Brown’s first OHL hat trick and the power play’s four goals on five chances. Luke Cairns added three assists, as 12 different Otters contributed points.

The Battalion (27-14-3-6), which entered the game near the bottom of the OHL with 147 goals scored, took control with two goals in the opening 7 minutes, 20 seconds.

Matt MacLeod scored off a scramble in front 1:57 into the game. Jamie Lewis and Jordan Auld assisted on the goal. Then Brandon Robinson scored off assists from Brett Mackie and Patrik Machac 7:20 into the opening period for a 2-0 lead.

Brampton extended its lead to 3-0 on Robinson’s second goal of the night 7:04 into the second period.

But Brown’s tip-in on the power play 8:48 into the second ignited the Otters’ three-goal comeback. Fellow rookie Stephen Harper poked a rebound of Kris Grant’s shot past Battalion goaltender Keegan Wilson 1:20 later to pull the Otters within 3-2. Then Adam Pelech’s blast from the point, which briefly lifted the net off its moorings, tied the score at 3 with 1:59 left in the period.

Meanwhile, Otters goaltender Ramis Sadikov overcame his struggles earlier in the game to stop 20-of-21 shots in the middle period. The Otters entered the third tied despite being outshot 36-17. Sadikov finished with 47 saves to offset Brampton’s 51-30 shot advantage.

Both teams took a conservative approach through the opening half of the third. But the Otters capitalized on the power play for the second time, this time from an unexpected source – Mac McDonnell.

He scored his first goal since Dec. 10 and fifth of the season on an assist from Troy Donnay to snap the 3-3 tie with 9:26 left. The Battalion tied the score at 4 with 6:13 left on Sam Carrick’s 26^th goal of the season.

But the Battalion’s second penalty for delay of the game – and the fourth such penalty overall – led to Brown’s tiebreaking power-play goal with 3:13 left. McDonnell’s second goal iced the victory.

- Victor Fernandes

SUMMARY

Otters 7, Battalion 4

Brampton  2  1  1  —  4

Erie  0  3  4  —  7

1^st Period — 1. Brampton, Matt MacLeod 7 (Lewis, Auld), 1:57. 2. Brampton, Brandon Robinson 11 (Mackie, Machac), 7:20. Penalties — Maaskant (E) delay of game, 13:56; Pelech (E) delay of game, 3:48.

2^nd Period — 3. Brampton, Robinson 12 (Machac), 7:04. 4. Erie, Connor Brown 16 (Grant, Cairns), 8:48 (pp). 5. Erie, Stephen Harper 16 (Grant, Olden), 10:08. 6. Erie, Adam Pelech 2 (Fox, McDowell), 18:01. Penalties — Mackie (B) interference, 7:40; Pelech (E) tripping, 14:29.

3^rd Period — 7. Erie, Mac McDonnell 5 (Donnay), 10:34 (pp). 8. Brampton, Sam Carrick 26 (Goodrow, Miller), 13:47. 9. Erie, Brown 17 (Wood, Cairns), 16:37 (pp). 10. Erie, McDonnell 6 (McCarthy), 17:13. 11. Erie, Brown 18 (Cairns), 19:42 (pp-en). Penalties — Wind (B) tripping, 1:04; Carrick (B) delay of game, 8:41; Watters (B) delay of game, 14:55; Carrick (B) cross checking, 18:25; Donnay (E) roughing, 18:25; Miller (B) roughing, 18:25; Carrick (B) 10-min. misconduct, 18:25.

Shots on goal — Brampton, 15-21-15—51; Erie, 9-8-13—30.

Goaltenders — Brampton, Keegan Wilson 9-5-3-2 (29 shots, 23 saves); Erie, Ramis Sadikov 4-18-3-1 (51 shots, 47 saves).

Power plays — Brampton (0-3), Erie (4-5).

Referees — Keith Kaval, Joe Celestin. Linesmen — Ryan Holmstead, Jesse Wilmot.

Attendance — 2,565.

Three stars

* Connor Brown, Otters (3 goals) ** Mac McDonnell, Otters (2 goals) *** Ramis Sadikov, Otters (47 saves)

The attitude seemed different around Tullio Arena on Tuesday.

The Erie Otters were ready for their first practice after the OHL’s trade deadline. They were ready to get to work after Sherry Bassin, managing partner and general manager, and his staff did much work to finish overhauling the team with the CHL’s worst record.

And for the first time in months, I believed it.

The Otters needed an infusion of new blood. More importantly, they needed to trade veterans that seemed ready for a new OHL home weeks ago.

“Obviously they didn’t want to be here,” defenseman Kris Grant said. “Since that’s over now, we can just focus on what we’ve got to do on the ice. We know no one else is going to go. We kind of think this is our team for the next couple of years.”

Are the Otters suddenly going to win regularly? Probably not. But having a team filled with players interested in making this team better will provide more opportunities to win games. Saturday’s 6-4 loss to Kitchener was a prime example of the team’s improved effort level.

“I think the room is a bit looser now that everything is certain and we know the team we’ve got,” rookie winger Stephen Harper said. “I think you’re going to see a better result in the second half of the year. It’s going to be good in the long run for us.”

Will Bassin’s moves before the deadline turn this team into a contender in the future? It’s too early to say. But they were moves that needed to be made. Continuity will build on the ice as this young players continue to play together. Camaraderie will grow as these players form a bond. The breath of fresh air around Tullio is a great start to making that happen.

“We have a lot of good young players, a lot of draft picks,” defenseman Adam Pelech said. “We have a ton of opportunities to be good soon.”

- Victor Fernandes

From Erie Otters’ news release: The Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League have announced that they have recalled defenseman Patrick Murphy and right wing Justin Maiolino from their respective teams.

Murphy, a fifth round pick of the Otters in the 2011 OHL Priority Selection, is currently playing for the Port Colborne Pirates, where he has six points in 20 games. He played with the Hill Academy last season, tallying 30 points in 37 games.

Maiolino, , the Otters’ 13th round pick in 2011, is with the York-Simcoe Express. Last season with the Express, Maiolino collected 26 goals and 50 assists in 73 games. Both are expected to dress in tonight’s game against the Owen Sound Attack at 7 p.m.

In other news, the Otters announced on Twitter D Kris Grant and LW Sondre Olden will miss tonight’s game because of undisclosed injuries. Both are day-to-day.

The Erie Otters couldn’t snap their long losing streak, even with Brad Boyes in attendance.

The Niagara IceDogs erased a two-goal deficit with a four-goal barrage in the second period to hand the Otters their seventh straight loss, 6-4, in front of 3,076 at Tullio Arena on Wednesday night.

Andrew Agozzino, Joel Wigle, Freddie Hamilton and Ryan Strome scored in the decisive period for the IceDogs (6-6-0-1), which turned a 3-1 deficit into a 5-3 lead.

Dougie Hamilton led the IceDogs with a goal and two assists. Agozzino had two goals while Freddie Hamilton and Strome had two points apiece.

A surprise visit from Boyes, the Buffalo Sabres forward and most revered player in Otters’ franchise history, seemed to inspire the home team. The Otters overcame Agozzino’s goal 1:15 into the game by scoring three straight goals, starting with Brett Cook’s tying goal at the 4:04 mark of the period.

Cook turned assists from Greg McKegg and Brett Thompson into his second goal of the season. Then the Otters scored twice in less than three minutes late in the period to take a 3-1 lead into the intermission.

Rookie winger Sondre Olden scored his team-leading fifth goal of the season, this one on the power play, on assists from Connor Brown and Kris Grant to snap the 1-1 tie with 5:31 left in the first. Then first-round pick Stephen Harper scored his second goal on an assist from Brown with 2:14 left in the period.

But things fell apart for the Otters in the second, as the IceDogs scored four goals to take a 5-3 lead.

Agozzino scored his second goal of the night, this time with the man advantage, at the 6:42 mark. Then the IceDogs capitalized on sloppy play from the Otters’ power play to take a two-goal lead.

Freddie Hamilton scored short-handed on an assist from David Pacan with 6:33 left in the period. Then a mix-up in front of Otters goaltender Tyson Teichmann led to Strome’s short-handed goal 10 seconds later. Erie rebounded early in the third with a short-handed goal, as Thompson and McKegg teamed to pull the Otters within 5-4 at the 2:45 mark while the IceDogs were on a 5-minute power play. But the IceDogs responded on the same power play, with Dougie Hamilton scoring 57 seconds later.

- Victor Fernandes

The Erie Otters dropped their preseason opener 2-0 to Niagara at Tullio Arena on Saturday night.

But Otters coach Robbie Ftorek said he was “pleased with what they did on the ice.”

The Otters featured a lineup filled with young players, nine of which made their OHL debut. They faced a veteran-laden IceDogs club that included NHL first-round picks Dougie Hamilton, Ryan Strome and Mark Visentin.

But the Otters battled the IceDogs from start to finish.

Chris Festarini and Tyson Teichmann, who are vying for the No. 1 goaltending job, allowed a goal apiece while splitting time in net. Festarini stopped 17-of-18 shots while Teichmann had seven saves.

Mitch Bennett snapped the scoreless tie 7 minutes, 35 seconds into the second period on the IceDogs’ first power-play chance of the game. The IceDogs finished 1-for-2 compared to the Otters’ 0-for-5. David Pacan capped the scoring with 4:32 left in the game.

The Otters scratched several veterans from the lineup – goaltender Ramis Sadikov, defensemen Brett Cook, Derek Holden and Kris Grant and forwards Mike Cazzola, Greg McKegg and Brett Thompson.

Left wing Sondre Olden, the club’s highly regarded top pick in the CHL Import Draft, also was scratched because the International Ice Hockey Federation hasn’t officially approved his paperwork. Sherry Bassin, Otters managing partner and general manager, expects that to happen Tuesday or Wednesday. Bassin also announced the signings of several prospects – 2011 draft picks Nick Betz, Patrick Murphy and Travis Wood, 2010 pick Connor Brown and 2009 pick Johnny McGuire.

SUMMARY

IceDogs 2, Otters 0

Niagara  0  1  1  —  2

Erie  0  0  0  —  0

1^st Period — 1. None. Penalties — Niagara, too many men (served by Desautels), 5:17; Shipley (N) hooking, 15:28.

2^nd Period — Niagara, Mitch Bennett (Strome, F. Hamilton), 7:35 (pp). Penalties — D. Hamilton (N) elbowing, :50; McCarthy (E) roughing, 6:51; Cairns (E) hooking, 9:33; Verhaeghe (N) hooking, 9:40; Beukeboom (N) slashing, 17:53.

3^rd Period — 2. Niagara, David Pacan (F. Hamilton), 15:28. Penalties — McGuire (E) 5-min. fighting, 2:57; Desautels (N) 5-min. fighting, 2:57; McGuire (E) game misconduct, 2:57; Desautels (N) game misconduct, 2:57; Cairns (E) delay of game, 6:25; Windsor (N) delay of game, 6:25; D. Hamilton (N) cross checking, 6:54.

Shots on goal — Niagara, 10-11-5—26; Erie, 11-6-9—26.

Goaltenders — Niagara, Mark Visentin (13 shots, 13 saves), Mike Gallardi (13 shots, 13 saves); Erie, Chris Festarini (18 shots, 17 saves), Tyson Teichmann (8 shots, 7 saves).

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

Referees — Craig Spada, Keith Kaval. Linesmen — Ray King, Mike Harrington.