OTTAWA, Ontario – The Erie Otters have endured a nightmarish trip through the East Division.

The Otters have dropped the first two games of a three-game weekend series following a 6-1 loss to Ottawa in front 6,731 fans at Ottawa Civic Centre Sunday afternoon.

Coupled with a 9-3 loss in Kingston Friday night, the Otters (8-42-3-2) have been outscored 15-4 during this trip.

Ottawa (35-15-5-1), which moved within one point of first-place Niagara in the Eastern Conference, took control of the game with three goals in a span of 5 minutes, 2 seconds midway through the first period.

Nicholas Foglia and Cody Ceci sparked the 67’s offense, which ranks second in the OHL with 231 goals. Then with 7:50 left in the period, Shane Prince capped the decisive surge with his 36^th goal of the season with an assist from former Otters center Mike Cazzola.

Jake Evans scored the Otters’ lone goal – and his third goal in the past two games – 10:21 into the second period. But Dalton Smith’s goal with 57 seconds left in the period regained Ottawa’s three-goal lead at 4-1. Tyler Toffoli (league-leading 44^th goal of the season) and Ryan Van Stralen capped the 67’s win with third-period goals. Then Michael Nishi capped a 36-save performance.

Nishi outdueled rookie goaltender Devin Williams, who stopped 41-of-47 shots in his first start since setting a franchise record with 61 saves in a 2-1 win against Niagara last Wednesday. The Otters failed on all nine power plays against the 67’s despite having forward Dane Fox and defenseman Adam Pelech back in the lineup. They missed Friday’s game with the flu.

The Otters complete their road trip today at 2 p.m. in Belleville.

SUMMARY

67’s 6, Otters 1

Erie  0  1  0  —  1

Ottawa  3  1  2  —  6

1^st Period — 1. Ottawa, Nicholas Foglia 7 (Zanetti), 7:08. 2. Ottawa, Cody Ceci 13 (Giftopoulos, Monahan), 11:40. 3. Ottawa, Shane Prince 36 (Toffoli, Cazzola), 12:10. Penalties — Cajkovsky (O) high sticking, 8:25; McGuire (E) 5-min. fighting, 12:25; Cajkovsky (O) 5-min. fighting, 12:25; Cajkovsky (O) 10-min. misconduct, 12:25; Monahan (O) tripping, 16:45.

2^nd Period — 4. Erie, Jake Evans 7 (Pelech), 10:21. 5. Ottawa, Dalton Smith 15 (unassisted), 19:03. Penalties — Zanetti (O) hooking, 1:12; Pelech (E) holding, 7:49.

3^rd Period — 6. Ottawa, Tyler Toffoli 44 (Cajkovsky), 2:15 (sh). 7. Ottawa, Ryan Van Stralen 6 (Giftopoulos, Cajkovsky), 14:34. Penalties — Zanetti (O) hooking, 1:59; Cazzola (E) holding, 8:29; Callaghan (O) hooking, 11:28; Foglia (O) slashing, 17:35.

Shots on goal — Erie, 11-14-12—37; Ottawa, 15-12-20—47.

Goaltenders — Erie, Devin Williams 2-3-0-1 (47 shots, 41 saves); Ottawa, Michael Nishi 10-5-1-0 (37 shots, 36 saves).

Power plays — Erie (0-9), Ottawa (0-1).

Referees — Tom Sweeney, David Gauthier. Linesmen — Scott Wilson, Eric Dagenais.

Attendance — 6,731.

Three stars

* Michael Nishi, 67’s (36 saves) ** Remy Giftopoulos, 67’s (2 assists) *** Cody Ceci, 67’s (goal)

Erie Otters (8-41-3-2) at Ottawa 67’s (34-15-5-1)

When: Sunday, 2 p.m.

Where: Ottawa Civic Centre – Ottawa, Ontario

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

Up next: at Belleville (Monday, 2 p.m.), vs. Sault Ste. Marie (Friday, 7 p.m.)

Fast facts: The Otters continue an always difficult three-game East Division road trip against the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 team. They squandered an early 2-0 lead in a 9-3 loss at Kingston Friday. … They were officially eliminated from playoff contention with the loss to the Frontenacs. … Erie’s magic number to clinch the No. 1 pick in the OHL Priority Selection stands at eight. Any combination of Otters losses and Kingston wins totaling eight points would secure the pick. … The Otters face former teammate Mike Cazzola for the first time since the overage center was traded to Ottawa last month. He has six goals and 23 points in 15 games with the 67’s. … The Otters played Friday without F Dane Fox (20 goals, 24 assists, 44 points) and D Adam Pelech (2-10-12), who were battling the flu. … The Otters lost to Ottawa 4-1 at Tullio Arena Oct. 22. … The Otters need to win eight of their final 14 games to avoid equaling or breaking their single-season record for fewest wins (15 in 2006-07). The 2006-07 team also holds the mark for most losses in regulation (50). … The OHL’s worst offense (126 goals) needs to score 55 goals (3.9 per game) to avoid breaking the franchise’s record low of 181 set in the 2002-03 season. … The 67’s remained a point behind Niagara in the battle for the conference’s regular-season championship following a 4-3 loss to Peterborough Saturday. The IceDogs faced Sault Ste. Marie Saturday night… The game against Peterborough had been moved from Friday because of a leaky roof at Ottawa Civic Centre. But today’s game will be played as scheduled. … RW Tyler Toffoli (43-42-85) leads the league in goals and points and ranks sixth in assists. … The 67’s are third in the league with 225 goals scored.

– Victor Fernandes

Otters receive:

5^th-round pick (2013 OHL Priority Selection)

2^nd-round pick (2014)

7^th-round pick (2015)

67’s receive:

C Mike Cazzola (68 goals, 189 points in 191 games)

12^th-round pick (2012 OHL Priority Selection)

The deals needed to be done.

GM Sherry Bassin needed to trade Greg McKegg, Brett Cook and Derek Holden in order t officially begin rebuilding the Erie Otters. None will be in the OHL next season.

It’s too early to know if third-year forward Dane Fox and second-year defenseman Troy Donnay will develop into the players that will help turn the Otters into contenders in the next couple of seasons. But the first step is done.

Fox is a proven young player who has averaged nearly a point per game in London (13 goals, 32 points in 34 games) this season. He arrives in Erie as the team’s leading scorer. Now he has to evolve into a frontline scorer on a team that will rely heavily on youth (Stephen Harper, Connor Brown, etc.) to produce offensively.

At 6 feet 7 inches and 183 pounds, Donnay should grow into an imposing presence with what should be decidedly greater ice time with the Otters. He has only 48 games of OHL experience to date.

But here’s the problem I have with the two deals the Otters made Thursday – Tyson Teichmann. What happens in goal?

Bassin traded 18-year-old defenseman Brady Austin to Belleville in August to acquire Teichmann. He was supposed to be in the future in net along with fellow 18-year-old Chris Festarini. They were entrenched enough to make overage goaltender Ramis Sadikov expendable – the same Sadikov who last season set a franchise record with 36 wins and nearly led the Otters past Windsor in the first round of the playoffs despite having a torn groin.

Festarini was traded to Niagara in October. Now Teichmann is in London. So barring an unforeseen deal, Sadikov is the team’s No. 1 goaltender for the rest of the season. Interest in Sadikov from other teams has waned. “We spent the better part of a month talking to some teams about Ramis,” said Dave Brown, Otters assistant manager of hockey operations.

But teams aren’t interested in a goaltender that fills precious OA and Import spots on a roster. Besides, 16-year-old backup Devin Williams has 18 minutes of OHL experience. That makes me think Bassin will dangle players like forwards Mike Cazzola and Sondre Olden in front of fellow GMs in hopes of landing a young goaltender to back up Sadikov this season and lead the way in net next season.

Either that, or Bassin heads a familiar route – the CHL Import Draft – for another Sadikov or Jaroslav Janus. Either way, the Otters need a proven goaltender next season to make this rebuild work. As Bassin always says, goaltending is 75 percent of the game. Unless you don’t have one, then it’s 100 percent. And right now, the Otters don’t have one.

- Victor Fernandes

BARRIE, Ontario – The Erie Otters will begin 2012 with a three-game losing streak.

Barrie scored twice in the third period to snap a tie and hand the Otters a 5-3 loss in front of a New Year’s Eve crowd of 4,276 at Barrie Molson Centre.

Colin Behenna’s goal 9 minutes, 11 seconds into the third handed the Colts (21-13-2-1) a 4-3 lead. Eric Locke’s goal with 7:45 left extended the lead to 5-3.

Barrie then stymied the Otters (5-30-1-1) on two late power plays to seal Erie’s fate. The teams traded goals in the first period, with Barrie’s Dylan Smoskowitz and Erie’s Greg McKegg scoring in the first five minutes. The Colts took a 2-1 on Alex Lepkowski’s goal 1:37 into the second period.

But the Otters turned that one-goal deficit into a 3-2 lead on Travis Wood’s goal at the 8:47 mark and Connor Brown’s team-leading 14^th goal of the season with 6:02 left in the period. Yet the Colts tied the score at 3 with the man advantage, as Reid McNeill scored with 3:38 left in the period. Barrie then took the control in the third on the strength of an 18-9 shot advantage. Barrie outshot the Otters 46-29.

Tyson Teichmann stopped 41-of-46 shots for the Otters. Brown finished with a goal and assist while Mike Cazzola had two assists. Daniel Erlich paced the Colts with four assists. The Otters return to action next weekend with games at Tullio Arena against Sarnia on Friday and Kitchener on Saturday.

SUMMARY

Colts 5, Otters 3

Erie  1  2  0  —  3

Barrie  1  2  2  —  5

1^st Period — 1. Barrie, Dylan Smoskowitz 3 (Erlich, Buonomo), 1:23. 2. Erie, Greg McKegg 12 (Cazzola, Brown), 4:24. Penalties — Cairns (E) holding, 9:53; Evans (E) hooking, 12:23; Bradford (B) hooking, 14:36.

2^nd Period — 3. Barrie, Alex Lepkowski 5 (Buonomo), 1:37. 4. Erie, Travis Wood 6 (Cook, Betz), 8:47. 5. Erie, Connor Brown 14 (Pelech, Cazzola), 13:58. 6. Barrie, Reid McNeill 2 (Erlich, Bradford), 16:22 (pp). Penalties — Bell (B) slashing, 1:50; Erie, too many men (served by McKegg), 16:07; Locke (B) interference, 17:43; Cook (E) hooking, 18:32.

3^rd Period — 7. Barrie, Colin Behenna 14 (Erlich, Hall), 9:11. 8. Barrie, Eric Locke 7 (Beyers, Erlich), 12:15. Penalties — Grant (E) cross checking, 4:10; Cook (E) roughing, 4:29; Locke (B) slashing, 15:44; Lepkowski (B) holding, 18:31; Cazzola (E) roughing, 20:00; Buonomo (B) roughing, 20:00.

Shots on goal — Erie, 5-15-9—29; Barrie, 8-20-18—46.

Goaltenders — Erie, Tyson Teichmann 1-15-0-0 (46 shots, 41 saves); Barrie, Mathias Niederberger 13-81-0 (29 shots, 27 saves).

Power plays — Erie (0-5), Barrie (1-6).

Referees — Korey Bannerman, Scott Oakman. Linesmen — Ryan Wilson, Mike Zujko.

Attendance — 4,276.

Three stars

* Daniel Erlich, Colts (4 assists) ** Reid McNeill, Colts (goal) *** Connor Brown, Otters (goal, assist)

OSHAWA, Ontario – The Erie Otters are nearly healthy for the first time this season.

Except for forwards Connor Crisp (shoulder) and Sondre Olden (reported minor injury), the Otters were at full strength for Wednesday night’s game against Oshawa at General Motors Centre.

But that didn’t keep the Otters from falling 4-1 to the Generals in Erie’s second-half opener. Special teams led to Erie’s downfall. The Otters (5-28-1-1) failed to score on six power-play chances while surrendering two power-play goals and a short-handed score.

The Otters squandered three power-play chances, including a pair of two-man advantages, in the opening four minutes of the game. However, the Generals (14-18-1-3) scored twice on a 5-on-3 late in the period.

Christian Thomas, a 54-goal scorer a season ago, scored his 14^th goal of the season with 2:13 left in the first to open the scoring. Then Scott Laughton scored 49 seconds later to hand the Generals a 2-0 lead.

Oshawa’s lead reached 3-0 on Jimmy McDowell’s first goal of the season – and seventh in 139 career games – with 1:01 left in the second period. The Otters finally snapped goaltender Daniel Altshuller’s bid for his first career shutout on Greg McKegg’s goal with 8:58 left in the game. Mike Cazzola and Adam Pelech assisted on the goal. Cazzola, who has endured two hand injuries, played in his first game in a month and eighth game this season. Brett Cook (knee) also played for the first time in a month.

But Laughton’s short-handed goal with 1:54 left stymied Erie’s comeback hopes. Tyson Teichmann stopped 36-of-40 shots in a losing effort for the Otters. Altshuller made 31 saves.

The Otters head to Peterborough today for a 7:05 p.m. game. They will face former teammate Andrew Yogan for the first time since he was traded in August. He has 15 goals and 31 points in 32 games.

- Victor Fernandes

Erie Otters (5-27-1-1) at Oshawa Generals (13-18-1-3)

When: Today, 7:05 p.m.

Where: General Motors Centre – Oshawa, Ontario

On the air: WJET-AM/1400, www.ottershockey.com (live stream)

Up next: at Peterborough (Thursday, 7:05 p.m.), at Barrie (Saturday, 7:30 p.m.)

Fast facts: The Otters begin the second half with a three-game Eastern Conference road trip. They are 0-9 against the East, including home losses to Oshawa (7-4 on Oct. 1) and Barrie (4-3 in a shootout on Dec. 2). … The Otters ended the first half with a 5-3 home win against Sarnia on Dec. 17. … C Mike Cazzola (hand) and D Brett Cook (knee) are expected to play tonight. They have missed a combined 37 man games this season. Cazzola has played in only seven of 34 games while Cook sat out the past 10 games. … Their return leaves F Connor Crisp (shoulder) as the only player on the injured list. … Coach Robbie Ftorek needs to scratch Cazzola, Cook or D Derek Holden if G Ramis Sadikov starts. … LW Sondre Olden has rejoined the team after capturing a silver medal with his native Norway at the IIHF World Junior Championship’s Division I Group A tournament in Germany earlier this month. … LW Stephen Harper and Ontario began their pursuit of gold at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge on Thursday against Germany. The tournament runs until Jan. 4 in Windsor, Ontario. … The Otters rank fifth in the OHL on the power play (21 percent), but are last on the penalty kill (78 percent). … The Generals begin the second half with losses in four straight games and seven of their last 10. … They have slipped to ninth in the East, six points behind Sudbury, Mississauga St. Michael’s and Peterborough for one of the conference’s final playoff spots. … They have allowed 136 goals, the OHL’s third-worst total behind only Erie (176) and Saginaw (144). … The Generals rank seventh with 123 goals scored.

- Victor Fernandes

Overage center Mike Cazzola has worn a cast on his surgically repaired hand this weekend as a precaution, said Sherry Bassin, Erie Otters managing partner and general manager. Doctors were concerned about scar tissue in his hand, Bassin said.

Cazzola could return to the ice Tuesday.

Meanwhile, goaltender Tyson Teichmann didn’t dress Thursday in Niagara and Friday against Barrie because of a sprained ankle, Bassin said. He dressed as Ramis Sadikov’s backup on Saturday, but likely won’t be able to play if needed.

Overage defenseman Brett Cook has a bruised, not torn, medial collateral ligament in his knee. Second-year winger Connor Crisp (shoulder) is skating but won’t be cleared for contact until late January.

- Victor Fernandes

LONDON, Ontario – The Erie Otters had plenty of heart against London on Friday night.

The Otters simply didn’t have enough manpower in a 6-4 loss in front of 8,946 at John Labatt Centre. The Otters (1-7-0-0) dressed only 16 skaters, including nine rookies, because of injuries and illness.

Greg McKegg (minor concussion) was the latest veteran added to an injury list that includes Mike Cazzola (hand surgery), Connor Crisp (shoulder surgery) and Adam Pelech (wrist surgery). McKegg didn’t play Friday and also should miss Saturday’s 7 p.m. game against Windsor at Tullio Arena.

The Otters also faced the Western Conference-leading Knights (7-1-0-0) without veteran forward Brett Thompson (flu) and rookie forward Jake Evans (ill).

Johnny McGuire received a game misconduct late in the first period for removing Knights center Jarred Tinordi‘s helmet during a fight, leaving the Otters with 15 skaters for the rest of the game.

Yet the Otters rallied from an early 2-0 hole against the Knights to take a 3-2 second-period lead. Connor Brown scored late in the first, followed by fellow rookie Sondre Olden’s power-play score 2:45 into the second that tied the score. Chris Marchese’s power-play goal snapped the tie less than two minutes later.

London rallied with three straight goals, capped by rookie Bo Horvat’s score with 7:12 left in the second, to take a 5-3 lead into the third. Yet Marchese sliced London’s lead in half 9:08 into the third.

However, Vladislav Namestnikov scored into an empty net with 32 seconds left to seal the Otters’ fate.

Olden led the Otters with a goal and two assists, while Brett Cook and Travis Wood had two assists apiece. Rookie winger Mitchell Eisenberg had an assist for his first OHL point. Namestnikov paced the Knights with two goals and an assist. Michael Houser made 37 saves.