Erie Otters winger Stephen Harper stands eighth among OHL skaters on NHL Central Scouting’s preliminary rankings for next summer’s NHL Entry Draft, which was released Tuesday. Ottawa center Sean Monahan tops the list, followed by Sault Ste. Marie defenseman Darnell Nurse, Windsor winger Kerby Rychel and London’s frontlin duo of Max Domi and Bo Horvat. Mississauga’s Spencer Martin headlines the list of the OHL’s top goaltenders, followed by Peterborough’s Michael Guigovaz and Barrie’s Alex Fotinos.

Upcoming schedule
Today - vs. Owen Sound, 7 p.m. at Erie Insurance Arena
Saturday - vs. Owen Sound, 7 p.m. at Erie Insurance Arena
Sunday - at Mississauga, 2 p.m.
On the air: WFNN-AM/1330, www.ottershockey.com (live stream)
What to expect: The Otters (4-8-1-2) complete a six-game home stand after losing three of the first four games (1-2-0-1). … They are tied with Ottawa (4-8-0-2) and Peterborough (4-7-2-1) for the fewest wins in the OHL. … The Otters are fourth in the league on the power play (25.8 percent), but they have slipped to 11th on the penalty kill (77.9 percent). … RW Nick Betz (appendicitis – out at least six to eight weeks) joined C Dane Fox (broken left foot) on the injured list last week. … Fox should have the cast removed from his foot next week before undergoing two to three weeks of physical therapy. GM Sherry Bassin said he hopes Fox can make his season debut later this month. … D Adam Pelech (bruised left ankle) returned to the ice Tuesday. … C Connor McDavid leads all OHL rookies with 18 points and is tied for the lead with seven goals. He has points in 14 straight games and in 14 of the first 15 games of his OHL career. … The Attack (10-2-0-2) have the league’s best winning percentage (.786) and goal differential (50 goals scored, 32 goals against). … They are second in scoring defense. … C Cameron Brace is tied for second in the league with 12 goals …. Brace and C Daniel Catenacci join McDavid among the top 20 scorers with 18 points apiece. … G Jordan Binnington leads the league with a 1.96 goals-againsty average and a. .940 save percentage. He’s also tied for second with nine wins.

- Victor Fernandes

The Erie Otters rallied from two goals down on home ice for the second straight weekend. Yet they experienced the same result.
Dylan Smoskowitz scored his second goal of the night with 2 minutes, 20 seconds left in the game, as Mississauga handed the Otters a 4-3 loss in front of 2,483 at Erie Insurance Arena. Erie (2-5-1-1) lost for the third consecutive time despite erasing a 3-1 deficit.
Veteran defenseman Troy Donnay and Adam Pelech scored their first goals of the season four minutes apart midway through the third period to complete the comeback. Pelech collided with Steelheads goaltender Tyson Teichmann, a former Erie Otter, on the play. That sent Teichmann off the ice with an apparent leg injury. No. 1 Connor McDavid assisted on Pelech’s tying goal with 9:45 left to extend his point streak to eight games. But Smoskowitz followed with the game winner for the Steelheads (5-3-0-1).
Spencer Martin stopped all three shots he faced in relief of Teichmann to earn the victory. Otters goaltender Oscar Dansk took the loss after allowing four goals on 38 shots. Mississauga outshot the Otters 39-27. Yet Erie opened the scoring on Connor Crisp‘s third goal of the season 7:42 into the opening period. But the Steelheads tied the score on Josh Burnside‘s goal with 30 seconds left in the period.
Then Mississauga built a 3-1 lead in the second, as Smoskowitz scored the tiebreaker at the 7:47 mark and Spenser Cobbold followed with his first goal of the season less than six minutes later. The Otters overcame that deficit, much like they did in a 4-3 shootout loss to London at home last Saturday night. But just like in that game, the Otters couldn’t turn the comeback into a victory.
Crisp added an assist to his goal. Luke Cairns also had an assist for the Otters. Burnside and Cobbold had a goal and assist apiece for the Steelheads, while Riley Brace had two assists. The Otters return to action Thursday with a 7:05 p.m. game in Windsor.

Toronto, ON – The Canadian Hockey League announced today that Anaheim Ducks prospect John Gibson of the Kitchener Rangers is the first Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week for the 2012-13 season after posting a 2-0-0-0 record with a shutout victory along with a 0.96 goals-against-average and .964 save percentage for the week ending September 23.

Gibson opened the 2012-13 campaign on Friday night recording the first shutout across the CHL this season making, the second of his career, with 25-saves as first star of the Rangers’ 3-0 win over the Mississauga Steelheads. He followed that performance with a 28-save effort on Sunday afternoon in a 3-2 shootout win over the Sarnia Sting.

Gibson, a 19-year-old from Pittsburgh, PA, is playing in his second OHL season with the Rangers following a 2011-12 season where he led the league with a .928 save percentage in 32 games. Gibson was selected in the second round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the Anaheim Ducks and was a member of last year’s U.S National Junior Team.

Also considered for the award this week was Luke Siemens of the Prince Albert Raiders who posted a 1-0-0-1 record for a 1.44 goals-against-average and a .957 save percentage. In the QMJHL, Carl Hozjan of the Rimouski Oceanic posted a 2-0-0-0 record with a goals-against-average of 0.61 and save percentage of .978.

- From CHL news release

Victor Fernandes unveils his predictions for the 2012-13 OHL season:

REGULAR SEASON

Eastern Conference
East Division
1. Belleville
2. Oshawa
3. Ottawa
4. Peterborough
5. Kingston

Central Division
1. Barrie
2. Niagara
3. Brampton
4. Mississauga
5. Sudbury

Western Conference
Midwest Division
1. Kitchener
2. Guelph
3. Owen Sound
4. London
5. Erie

West Division
1. Plymouth
2. Windsor
3. Sarnia
4. Saginaw
5. Sault Ste. Marie

PLAYOFFS

Eastern Conference
Quarterfinals
No. 1 Barrie def. No. 8 Peterborough, 4-0
No. 2 Belleville def. No. 7 Mississauga, 4-1
No. 3 Niagara def. No. 6 Ottawa, 4-1
No. 4 Oshawa def. No. 5 Brampton, 4-3
Semifinals
No. 1 Barrie def. No. 4 Oshawa, 4-2
No. 2 Belleville def. No. 3 Niagara, 4-2
Finals
No. 2 Belleville def. No. 1 Barrie, 4-3

Western Conference
Quarterfinals
No. 1 Kitchener def. No. 8 Erie, 4-1
No. 2 Plymouth def. No. 7 Sarnia, 4-1
No. 3 Guelph def. No. 6 Windsor, 4-2
No. 4 Owen Sound def. No. 5 London, 4-2
Semifinals
No. 1 Kitchener def. No. 4 Owen Sound, 4-1
No. 2 Plymouth def. No. 3 Guelph, 4-2
Finals
No. 1 Kitchener def. No. 2 Plymouth, 4-3

League finals
No. 1 Kitchener def. No. 2 Belleville, 4-2

- Victor Fernandes

This week, I’ll break down all 20 OHL clubs division by division and unveil my predictions for the 2012-13 season. Today, let’s look at the Eastern Conference’s Central Division (listed in alphabetical order):

Barrie Colts
Coach/GM: Dale Hawerchuk/Jason Ford
2011-12 finish: 40-23-3-2, 2nd division, 3rd conference
Playoff finish: Lost to Ottawa in conference semifinals
Key players: LW Tanner Pearson (37 goals, 54 assists, 91 points; signed with Los Angeles), C Mark Scheifele (23-40-63 in 47 games; signed with Winnipeg), G Mathias Niederberger (29-14-1-2 record, 2.68 goals-against average, .918 save percentage, 3 shutouts), C Zach Hall (19-40-59), D Ryan O’Connor (8-28-36)
Key losses: C Colin Behenna (26-48-74), C Ivan Telegin (35-29-64; signed with Winnipeg)
Outlook: The continued emergence of standouts like Pearson and Scheifele, and the play of Niederberger in his first season, sparked the Colts to a 25-game improvement in the win column. Now these Colts could be tough to contend with this year.

Brampton Battalion
Coach/GM: Stan Butler
2011-12 finish: 36-22-3-7, 3rd division, 4th conference
Playoff finish: Lost to Niagara 4-0 in conference semifinals
Key players: RW Barclay Goodrow (26-26-52; Carolina prospect), G Matej Machovsky (24-13-0-4, 2.36, .902, 5 SO; Ottawa prospect), D Dylan Blujus (7-27-34), D Cameron Wind (2-19-21, +16), LW Brandon Robinson (15-9-24)
Key losses: C Sam Carrick (16-23-39; signed with Toronto), LW Ian Watters (16-14-30)
Outlook: Defense is the name of the game in Brampton, which has featured one of the league’s top defenses the past several seasons. Machovsky anchors this year’s unit, while a defense led by Blujus and Wind provide plenty of help.

Mississauga Steelheads
Coach/GM: James Boyd
2011-12 finish: 33-28-1-6, 5th division, 6th conference
Playoff finish: Lost to Barrie 4-2 in conference quarterfinals
Key players: LW Riley Brace (33-49-82), D Dylan DeMelo (7-40-47; signed with San Jose), C Kristoff Kontos (15-32-47), D Stuart Percy (4-30-34, plus-50; signed with Toronto), D Trevor Carrick (6-13-19)
Key losses: G Brandon Maxwell (33-22-1-3, 2.92, .913, 6 SO), LW Jamie Wise (31-17-48)
Outlook: This club has a new owner – Mississauga, Ontario, businessman Elliott Kerr, and nickname. But the Steelheads’ new goaltending tandem of Spencer Martin and former Otter Tyson Teichmann will have the biggest impact on this team’s success.

Niagara IceDogs
Coach/GM: Marty Williamson
2011-12 finish: 47-18-0-3, 1st division, 1st conference
Playoff finish: Lost to London 4-1 in league finals
Key players: C Ryan Strome (30-38-68 in 46 games; signed with N.Y. Islanders), D Dougie Hamilton (17-55-72, +37; signed with Boston), D Jesse Graham (4-37-41, +25; N.Y. Islanders prospect), RW Brett Ritchie (24-21-45; signed with Dallas), G Chris Festarini (16-10-0-0, 2.85, .904, 2 SO; former Otter)
Key losses: G Mark Visentin (30-9-0-2, 1.99, .926, 10 SO; signed with Phoenix), C Andrew Agozzino (40-48-88), LW Freddie Hamilton (35-51-86; signed with San Jose), C Alex Friesen (26-45-71; signed with Vancouver), RW David Pacan (29-35-64)
Outlook: Festarini faces serious pressure as Visentin’s replacement in net. But Festarini has plenty of experienced talent – led by Strome and Hamilton – in front of him that will help keep the puck out of the net as well as score a lot of goals.

Sudbury Wolves
Coach/GM: Trent Cull/Blaine Smith
2011-12 finish: 36-26-4-2, 4th division, 5th conference
Playoff finish: Lost to Brampton 4-0 in conference quarterfinals
Key players: LW Joshua Leivo (32-41-73), D Justin Sefton (3-16-19, 143 penalty minutes; San Jose prospect), LW Nathan Pancel (23-21-44), D Frank Corrado (3-23-26, +26), C Matthew Campagna (8-23-31 in 45 games)
Key losses: C Michael Sgarbossa (36-46-82; signed with San Jose), D Josh McFadden (19-53-72; signed with Florida), G Johan Mattsson (23-11-2-1, 3.16, .910), LW Andrey Kuchin (25-40-65), RW Derek Schoenmakers (26-24-50; traded to Windsor)
Outlook: The Wolves spent little time in the playoffs the past two seasons, as they were swept both times. But the departure of skilled leaders like Sgarbossa, McFadden, Mattsson and Kuchin might keep these Wolves out of the playoffs entirely.

- Victor Fernandes