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

Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League today announced that goaltender Andrew D’Agostini of the Peterborough Petes is the 2011-12 recipient of the Dan Snyder Memorial Trophy presented to the OHL’s Humanitarian of the Year.

D’Agostini, a 19-year-old from Scarborough, ON, earns the award for his efforts in support of Cystic Fibrosis Canada shown large in part through his support and friendship of six-year-old Anthony Romanelli who was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis three years ago. D’Agostini is the fifth member of the Petes to receive this award and the second straight following Jack Walchessen who was last year’s recipient.

“I would like to thank the Peterborough Petes and the OHL for this great honour,” said D’Agostini. “Peterborough has always made me feel welcome and I have enjoyed every minute giving back to them. The real heroes are people like Anthony and his family who understand how precious every day is.”

D’Agostini first reached out to Cystic Fibrosis Canada after hearing the affects of the disease when the local chapter spoke to the Petes’ organization on December 17 prior to club’s fundraising efforts and team skate in support of the foundation. D’Agostini took it upon himself to meet the presenter, Tracy Romanelli, and her son Anthony, and expressed his interest in helping to raise money for the cause. The meeting turned into an ongoing and impactful friendship where D’Agostini has maintained constant communication with Anthony and his family providing gracious comfort and support. D’Agostini is now the spokesman for the Cystic Fibrosis Great Strides Walk which takes place on May 27, 2012, and captains the team “Shutout for Anthony” which has already raised over $5,000.

“Seeing the boys together is just amazing,” said Tracy Romanelli. “Andrew had said to me in that first meeting that he was going to help make a difference in Anthony’s life. I realize it is not easy for a young man to get involved with a sick child but Andrew has given Anthony the dream of becoming a goalie and the hope that one day he may not have to deal with Cystic Fibrosis.”

In addition to his work for Cystic Fibrosis, D’Agostini has contributed over 250 hours in the past three seasons to various causes such as the Petes’ “Partners in Education Program”, while spending time in the pediatric ward of the Peterborough Regional Health Centre, playing floor hockey with a local group of Special Olympians, and visiting a young Petes’ fan after returning home from an extended stay in the hospital as a result of a car accident leaving a Petes’ game earlier in the season. On the ice, D’Agostini played in 38 games between the pipes posting a record of 17-15-1-1 with one shutout, a goals-against-average of 3.90 and save percentage of .890. He was last year’s recipient of the Ivan Tennant Memorial Award presented to the league’s top High School Student Athlete of the Year.

“The Peterborough Petes are very proud of Andrew and the announcement of him being named the recipient of the Dan Snyder Memorial Award as OHL Humanitarian of the Year,” said Petes’ Assistant General Manager Aaron Garfat. “This is an award that the Petes take great pride in nominating a player for. Andrew’s involvement in the community goes above and beyond and is a true reflection of his character. He is a great role model for the youth of our community both on and off the ice.”

Each year the OHL awards a player that has demonstrated outstanding qualities as a positive role model in the community with the Dan Snyder Memorial Trophy. The Ontario Hockey League Board of Governors announced in 2004 that the OHL Humanitarian of the Year award would be renamed in recognition of the former Owen Sound Platers captain, who was twice named his team’s Humanitarian of the Year in recognition of his tremendous efforts in supporting community activities.

In addition to D’Agostini and Walchessen, other Petes to win the award include Brent Tully (1994), Mike Martone (1997), and Jeff MacDougald who was the first player to receive the award in recognition of Snyder in the 2004-05 season. This is the third time where a team has had back-to-back recipients following Chris Terry and Ryan Hayes of the Plymouth Whalers in 2009 and 2010, while David Silverstone and Michael Mole earned the award as members of the Belleville Bulls in 2002 and 2003 respectively.

D’Agostini will be the OHL’s nominee for Humanitarian of the Year at the annual CHL Awards on May 26 and will be formally presented with the Dan Snyder Memorial Trophy at the OHL Awards Ceremony which takes place June 5 at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

- From OHL news release

2011-12 Dan Snyder Memorial Trophy Nominees
Barrie – Dylan Smoskowitz*
Belleville – Luke Judson
Brampton – Mitchell Porowski
Erie – Mac MacDonnell
Guelph – Kyle Pereira
Kingston – Cody Alcock
Kitchener – Ben Fanelli*
London – Scott Harrington
Mississauga – Brett Foy
Niagara – Mark Visentin
Oshawa – Kevin Bailie
Ottawa – Shane Prince
Owen Sound – Jay Gilbert
Peterborough – Andrew D’Agostini
Plymouth – Colin MacDonald
Saginaw – Eric Locke
Sarnia – Nathan Chiarlitti**
Sault Ste. Marie – Brandon Alderson
Sudbury – Nathan Pancel
Windsor – John Cullen

*repeat nominee
** three-time nominee

Erie Otters defenseman Adam Pelech headlined the winners as the sole owner of three awards at the team’s annual Awards Banquet held Sunday afternoon at the Bayfront Convention Center.

The second-year defenseman rebounded after an early-season injury and was a steady influence on the blue line, collecting 20 points in 44 games. Pelech took home Player of the Year and Defenseman of the Year honors, joining Chris
Campoli as the only defensemen to be named as Player of the Year.

Pelech also won the Sertz Family Scholastic Award as the team’s top student-athlete for the second straight season. Earlier in the week, Pelech became the first player in OHL history to win the Ivan Tennant Memorial Award and the Bobby Smith Trophy and he also was part of a Team Canada squad that captured the bronze medal at the IIHF World Under-18 Championships.

Pelech’s Toronto Marlboros teammate Connor Brown won a pair of trophies after an excellent first season in the OHL with 53 points, second best among league rookies. Brown won the Most Sportsmanlike Player award and shared Rookie of the Year honors with Stephen Harper, who led 1995-born players with 24 goals this season.

For the first time in team history, five players were joint-winners of the Most Valuable Player award. In addition to Pelech, Brown and Harper, forwards Dane Fox and Luke Cairns also shared the trophy.

Other award winners from the Otters 17th Annual Awards Banquet included Fox (Leading Scorer), Cairns (Most Improved Player), Ramis Sadikov (Locastro-Bonini Three Star Award), Connor Crisp (Bassin Award for Dedication), Travis Wood and Jake Evans (co-winners of the Vince Scott Award for Determination) and Mac McDonnell (Steve Nimigon Humanitarian Award).

- From Erie Otters news release

The Erie Otters had a new goaltender in for the second straight game.

Keinan Brown, on emergency loan from Peterborough, made 33 saves in his Otters’ debut Saturday night at Tullio Arena. But that wasn’t enough, as the Otters lost to Kitchener 6-4 in front of 3,245 fans.

The Otters (10-48-3-3) are assured of setting a new franchise record for fewest wins in a season. They trail the 2006-07 club (15 wins) by five wins with four games left in the season.

The Otters (10-48-3-3) actually built a 2-1 first-period lead on goals from goals from rookie Jake Evans and Mac McDonnell. Evans scored 1 minute, 3 seconds into the game on assists from Sondre Olden and Troy Donnay – 44 seconds after Radek Faksa, the Rangers’ high-scoring rookie, opened the scoring.

Then McDonnell snapped the 1-1 tie on McDonnell’s goal with 7:41 left in the period. Connor Crisp and Mitch Eisenberg assisted on the goal, with Crisp earning his first point of the season in his first game at forward. Crisp, who missed the first five months recovering from shoulder surgery, made his season debut last Sunday as an emergency goaltender in a 13-4 loss at Niagara.

But 1:02 later, Brent Pedersen’s goal tied the score at 2 and sparked the Rangers’ decisive four-goal outburst that built a 5-2 lead. Tobias Rieder scored 10 seconds into the second to give the Rangers (40-22-1-1) the lead for good at 3-2. He scored again, this time on the power play, at the 2:30 mark of the period.

Faksa capped the offensive surge followed with his second goal of the game 5:19 into the period.

Anthony Cortellessa scored twice, with 8:17 left in the second and again 7:37 into the third, to move the Otters within a goal 5-4. But goaltender John Gibson, who stopped Otters forward Luke Cairns on a penalty shot midway through the second, and the Rangers’ defense held off the Otters the rest of the way.

Then Andrew Crescenzi scored into an empty net, his 24^th goal of the season, with 37 seconds to seal the Rangers’ victory. Rieder paced the Rangers with two goals and two assists. Ben Thomson had two assists while Gibson stopped 32-of-36 shots. Cortellessa (two goals), McDonnell (goal, assist) Donnay (two assists) and Eisenberg (two assists) led the Otters with two points apiece.

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)

GUELPH, Ontario – The offensive onslaught continued against the Erie Otters on Friday night.

Guelph handed the Otters a 10-2 loss in front of 2,806 at Sleeman Centre. Erie enters today’s 7 pm. home opener against Oshawa having been outscored 21-6 in a season-opening, three-game losing streak.

The Otters’ young defense, which features four rookies and has lost second-year player Adam Pelech to a wrist injury, has allowed 131 shots on goal in those three games.

On this night, Zack Mitchell led the Storm’s offense with three goals and an assist. Francis Menard had a goal and three assists.

Ryan Horvat (two goals, assist), Ben Harpur (goal, two assists), Cody McNaughton (goal, two assists) and Tanner Richard (goal, two assists) had three points apiece for the Storm (2-1-0-1). Chris Festarini allowed all 10 goals on 38 shots for the Otters (0-3-0-0).

The Otters erased nearly all of a 3-0 deficit with goals from Mike Cazzola and Mac McDonnell in the second period. Rookie winger Nick Betz assisted on McDonnell’s goal for his first career point.

But the Storm scored the game’s final seven goals. The start of the game was delayed by 20 minutes because a closure on the Queen Elizabeth Way in Ontario left the team bus stuck in traffic.

SUMMARY

Storm 10, Otters 2

Erie  0  2  0  —  2

Guelph  3  3  4  —  10

1^st Period — 1. Guelph, Ben Harpur 1 (Auger, Garlent), 1:15. 2. Guelph, Tanner Richard 1 (Horvat, Kosmachuk), 2:15. 3. Guelph, Zack Mitchell 1 (Menard, McNaughton), 18:40. Penalties — McKegg (E) checking from behind, 4:01; Foote (G) delay of game, 5:14; Cazzola (E) hooking, 7:42; McKegg (E) goaltender interference, 12:40; Leslie (G) slashing, 13:33.

2^nd Period — 4. Erie, Mike Cazzola 1 (unassisted), 1:22. 5. Erie, Mac McDonnell 1 (Betz), 13:25. 6. Guelph, Mitchell 2 (McNaughton), 16:33. 7. Guelph, Ryan Horvat 1 (Richard), 16:45. 8. Guelph, Horvat 2 (unassisted), 19:10 (sh). Penalties — Auger (G) hooking, 7:34; Wood (E) 5-min. fighting, 12:01; Bertuzzi (G) 5-min. fighting, 12:01; Leslie (G) slashing, 18:07.

3^rd Period — 9. Guelph, Cody McNaughton 4 (Kosmachuk, Richard), 1:10. 10. Guelph, Kyle Pereira 2 (Leslie, Menard), 2:57. 11. Guelph, Mitchell 3 (Menard, Harpur), 13:42. 12. Guelph, Francis Menard 3 (Mitchell, Harpur), 17:50. Penalties — Cazzola (E) slashing, 3:13; Pereira (G) cross checking, 3:13; McGuire (E) slashing, 10:41; McGuire (E) 5-min. fighting, 10:41; McNaughton (G) 5-min. fighting, 10:41; McGuire (E) game misconduct, 10:41.

Shots on goal — Erie, 15-8-7—33; Guelph, 15-6-17—38.

Goaltenders — Erie, Chris Festarini 0-2-0-0 (36 shots, 26 saves); Guelph, Brandon Foote (4 shots, 4 saves), Garret Sparks 1-1-0-1 (29 shots, 27 saves).

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

Referees — Matt Parlette, Ben Wilson. Linesmen — Tim Steen.

Attendance — 2,806.

Three stars

* Zack Mitchell, Storm (3 goals, assist) ** Ryan Horvat, Storm (2 goals, assist) *** Tanner Richard, Storm (goal, 2 assists)