NEW YORK (Feb. 3, 2012) – New Jersey Devils forward Patrik Elias has been fined $2,500, the maximum allowed under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for boarding Montreal Canadiens forward Mike Blunden in NHL Game No. 755 in New Jersey on Thursday, Feb. 2, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.

The incident occurred at 18:54 of the first period. A minor penalty for boarding was assessed on the play.

The fine money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

Check out the hit by clicking this link.

- From NHL release

What: Plymouth Whalers (35-23-1-4) at Erie Otters (36-26-1-1)

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 (46 goals, 41 assists, 87 points), C Brett Thompson (42-36-78), C Phil Varone (30-45-75), RW Shawn Szydlowski (38-35-73), RW Anthony Luciani (28-44-72)

Plymouth – C Robbie Czarnik (33-44-77), RW Stefan Noesen (32-42-74), LW Tyler Brown (25-32-57), RW James Livingston (21-28-49), RW Garrett Meurs (10-28-38)

Fast facts

Erie – G Ramis Sadikov, who hasn’t played since injuring his leg Feb. 19 against Guelph, is expected to play tonight. He still ranks second in the OHL with 32 wins, 56 games and 3,050 minutes played. … The Otters won four of six starts, including the last four, with rookie Chris Festarini in net. … The sixth-place Otters (74 points), which have clinched a playoff spot, remain in contention for the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference and home-ice advantage in the first round with four games left. They are four points behind fourth-place Windsor (78) and one behind the fifth-place Whalers (75). Plymouth has a game in hand on both teams. The Otters have a five-point cushion on London and Guelph, who are tied for seventh with 69 points. Both teams have a game in hand on the Otters. … The Otters need to win all four games to become the third team in franchise history to reach 40 wins. The Otters won 45 games in 2000-01 and 41 in 2001-02. … The 21 home wins are tied for third overall with two games left, one behind the 2009-10 club (34). The 2000-01 club set the mark with 26 wins. … McKegg’s 46 goals are tied with Michael Blunden (46 in 2005-06) for second on the franchise’s single-season list. Record-holder Cory Pecker (53 in 2001-02) is the only player to reach 50. … McKegg has goals in six straight games and points in 11 straight games (eight goals, 21 points) – both career highs. … The Otters need 11 goals in the last four games to equal the franchise mark of 271 set in 1998-99. … They are fourth in the league with 260 goals scored and rank among the top five on the power play (21.9 percent) and penalty kill (83.0). … The Otters have 11 hat tricks, two shy of the franchise record of 13 set in 1998-99.

Plymouth – The Whalers had only 15 skaters in Sunday’s 4-1 loss at Sault Ste. Marie because of players out with injuries, suspensions and personal reasons, according to the team’s website. The list included Ds Curtis Crombeen (injured), Austin Levi (suspension) and Beau Schmitz (suspension) and C Mitchell Heard (suspension). Schmitz and Heard will complete two-game suspensions tonight. Crombeen has been out for the past three weeks. … The Whalers hold a 2-1 lead entering the final game of the four-game season series, with each team winning at home. … The Whalers are eighth in goals against (201) and ninth in goals scored (236). … G Scott Wedgewood has played in 51 games this season, tied for third most in the league. … Czarnik ranks among the league’s top 20 in scoring. He has shattered his totals (17 goals, 49 points) from his rookie season last year.

Up next: vs. Kitchener (Saturday, 7 p.m.), at Sarnia (Thursday, 7 p.m.)

– Victor Fernandes

The Erie Otters had no trouble with Sarnia’s struggling defense on Sunday.

The Otters scored eight times in an 8-2 win, played in front of 4,651 at Tullio Arena, against a Sting club that allowed 10 goals apiece in losses to Sault Ste. Marie and Niagara earlier in the weekend.

The Otters (36-26-1-1), who have won four straight, capitalized from the start with four first-period goals.

Shawn Szydlowski out-battled three defenders to grab a loose puck and then fire a shot past goaltender Troy Passingham for the game’s opening goal at the 3:45 mark. Forty-nine seconds later, Mike Cazzola turned rookie defenseman Adam Pelech’s pinpoint stretch pass into a breakaway goal for a 2-0 lead.

Then with 3:27 left in the period, Greg McKegg scored his 45^th goal of the season on assists from Andrew Yogan and Anthony Luciani to extend the Otters’ lead to 3-0.

Yogan recorded his first point in his sixth game since returning from shoulder surgery. It was his first point since March 3, 2010, the night he suffered a season-ending broken foot blocking a shot. Cazzola’s second goal of the night and 18^th of the season capped the offensive onslaught with 21 seconds left.

Nick Latta’s goal 9:37 into the second period ended rookie goaltender Chris Festarini’s bid at his first OHL shutout. But Brett Thompson responded with his 42^nd goal of the season 37 seconds later.

McKegg followed with a power-play goal less than 2 minutes later – his second of the game and 46^th of the season for a 6-1 lead. He passed Brad Boyes (45 in 2000-01) and Geoff Platt (45 in 2004-05) for third on the franchise’s single-season goals list and tied Michael Blunden (46 in 2005-06) for second. McKegg needs seven goals in the final four regular-season games to tie Cory Pecker’s record of 53 set in 2001-02.

Sarnia’s Kale Kerbashian scored his 33^rd goal of the season 4:33 into the third. But Cazzola completed his hat trick and rookie Connor Crisp followed with a goal to cap an eight-goal night for the Otters. Along with Cazzola’s hat trick, McKegg led the Otters with four points (two goals, two assists) and Szydlowski had goal and two assists. Derek Holden, Luciani and Pelech had two assists apiece. Festarini finished with 29 saves. The Sting (22-34-4-2) have lost five straight.

The Otters are 10 games above .500 for the first time since the end of the 2001-02 season. They also kept pace in the battle for the Western Conference’s fourth seed and home-ice advantage in the first round.

The Otters are sixth (74 points) with four games left – two points behind fourth-place Windsor (75 points following a 4-3 shootout win against Guelph and one behind No. 5 Plymouth (75 entering tonight’s game at Sault Ste. Marie). Both teams have a game in hand on the Otters. London, who didn’t play Sunday, and Guelph are tied for seventh with 69 points. Each has a game in hand on the Otters.

- Victor Fernandes

SUMMARY

Otters 8, Sting 2

Sarnia  0  1  1  —  2

Erie  4  2  2  —  8

1^st Period — 1. Erie, Shawn Szydlowski 38 (unassisted), 3:45. 2. Erie, Mike Cazzola 17 (Pelech), 4:34. 3. Erie, Greg McKegg 45 (Yogan, Luciani), 16:33. 4. Erie, Cazzola 18 (McKegg), 19:39. Penalties — Campagna (S) hooking, 5:50; Kerbashian (S) slashing, 9:09; Cook (E); Crisp (E) roughing, 20:00; Flemington (S) roughing, 20:00.

2^nd Period — 5. Sarnia, Nick Latta 9 (Kerbashian, Kuzmyk), 9:37. 6. Erie, Brett Thompson 42 (Holden, Luciani), 10:10. 7. Erie, McKegg 46 (Holden, Szydlowski), 11:24 (pp). Penalties — Kerbashian (S) slashing, 3:50; Flemington (S) roughing, 10:30.

3^rd Period — 8. Sarnia, Kale Kerbashian 33 (Kuzmyk), 4:33. 9. Erie, Cazzola 19 (McKegg, Szydlowski), 10:40. 10. Erie, Connor Crisp 4 (Appio, Pelech), 11:53. Penalties — Zupancic (S) tripping, 8:37; Crisp (E) interference, 12:48.

Shots on goal — Sarnia, 11-12-8—31; Erie, 17-12-8—37.

Goaltenders — Sarnia, Troy Passingham 16-14-2-2 (37 shots, 29 saves); Erie, Chris Festarini 4-8-0-0 (31 shots, 29 saves).

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

Referees — Joe Celestin, Chris Carnegie. Linesmen — Fraser McIntyre, Jesse Wilmot.

Attendance — 4,651.

Three stars

* Mike Cazzola, Otters (3 goals) ** Greg McKegg, Otters (2 goals, 2 assists) *** Brett Cook, Otters (solid defense)

What: Sarnia Sting (22-33-4-2) at Erie Otters (35-26-1-1)

When: Sunday, 4:30 p.m.

Where: Tullio Arena

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

Players to watch

Erie – C Greg McKegg (44 goals, 39 assists, 83 points), C Brett Thompson (41-36-77), C Phil Varone (30-45-75), RW Anthony Luciani (28-42-70), RW Shawn Szydlowski (37-33-70)

Sarnia – RW Nail Yakupov (45-45-90), LW Kale Kerbashian (32-49-81), C Alex Galchenyuk (25-43-69), LW Tyler Peters (18-35-53), D Joe Rogalski (6-23-29)

Fast facts

Erie – The Otters have won three straight with rookie G Chris Festarini in net. But G Ramis Sadikov, who has missed the past two weeks with a leg injury, hasn’t been ruled out for today’s game. … Sadikov earned OHL top goaltender honors for February despite missing the last week and a half of the month with the injury. … The Otters, which have clinched a playoff spot, are sixth in the Western Conference with 72 points – three points out of fourth place (which would secure home-ice advantage in the first round) with five games left. Fourth-place Plymouth (75), No. 5 Windsor (74) and No. 8 Guelph (68) have a game in hand. The Otters and No. 7 London (69) have played the same number of games. … The Otters are third on the franchise’s single-season wins list. The Otters won 45 games in 2000-01 and 41 in 2001-02. … The 20 home wins are tied for fourth overall with three games left. … McKegg’s 44 goals rank fifth in franchise history. Brad Boyes (45 in 2000-01), Geoff Platt (45 in 2004-05) and Michael Blunden (46 in 2005-06) are next on the list. Cory Pecker holds the record (53 in 2001-02). … McKegg has goals in five straight games and points in 10 consecutive games (six goals, 17 points). … Luciani had four-game goal and six-game point streaks snapped in Friday’s win at Guelph. … The Otters and Sting have split the first two meetings in the four-game season series, with each team winning on the road. They meet in Sarnia March 17. … The Otters need 19 goals in the last six games to equal the franchise mark of 271 set in 1998-99. … They are tied for ninth in the league with 212 goals against.

Sarnia – The Sting were eliminated from playoff contention with a 10-4 home loss to Sault Ste. Marie on Friday. … The Sting have lost four straight and seven of 11 games. … They are 7-19-3-0 on the road, the second-fewest win total in the league. … They have allowed 291 goals, the second most in the league, including 10 goals apiece the past two games. …Yakupov leads all rookies in goals and points. He also is third overall in goals and tied for fourth in points. … He has broken current Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos’ club record for goals. … Galchenyuk, the No. 1 pick in the 2010 OHL Priority Selection, is tied for second among rookies in scoring.

Up next: vs. Plymouth (Friday, 7 p.m.), vs. Kitchener (Saturday, 7 p.m.)

– Victor Fernandes