The Erie Otters made a valiant comeback attempt against Guelph Sunday afternoon.

But the Storm held on for a critical 6-4 win against the Otters in front of 2,864 fans at Tullio Arena.

Guelph (28-31-2-4) moved two points ahead of Sault Ste. Marie in the race for the Western Conference’s final spot in the OHL playoffs. Both teams have three regular-season games left. The Storm also are one point behind seventh-place Windsor, which also has three games left.

Meanwhile, the Otters (10-49-3-3) moved one regulation loss closer to equaling the 2006-07 club’s franchise record of 50. The 2011-12 club already owns the mark for most overall losses in a season (55), which surpassed the 53 defeats in 2006-07. The 2011-12 club already is assured of setting the mark for fewest losses in a season. The Otters are five wins behind the 2006-07 team with three games left.

The Storm grabbed a 2-0 lead late in the first period, as Brock McGinn scored the first of his two power-play goals with 4 minutes, 36 seconds left. Hunter Garlent followed with a goal 2:04 later.

Guelph’s lead reached 3-0 on McGinn’s goal 9:49 into the second period. But the Otters began to mount their comeback with rookie Mitchell Eisenberg’s third career OHL goal 47 seconds later. The Storm regained a three-goal lead at 4-1 on Jason Dickinson’s goal with 40 seconds left in the period.

But the Otters capitalized on Storm winger Scott Kosmachuk’s four-minute penalty for high sticking early in the third. Dane Fox and Anthony Cortellessa scored with the man advantage 1:09 apart to move the Otters within 4-3 at the 5:11 mark of the period.

Kosmachuk answered with his 29^th goal of the season, which handed the Storm a 5-3 lead, only to have Otters rookie Jake Evans score with 3:08 left. Evans’ goal pulled the Otters within 5-4. But Zack Mitchell scored into empty net with 37 seconds left – his 34^th goal of the season – to seal the Storm’s win.

McGinn (two goals) and Garlent (goal, assist) paced the Storm, while Garret Sparks made 31 saves.

Adam Pelech had two assists for the Otters, which had only 15 skaters – three below the league’s maximum – for the second straight game. J.P Cesario, who joined the team last week on emergency loan from Owen Sound, stopped 25-of-30 shots in his Otters’ debut.

SUMMARY

Storm 6, Otters 4

Erie  0  1  3  —  4

Guelph  2  2  2  —  6

1^st Period — 1. Guelph, Brock McGinn 11 (Kosmachuk, Finn), 15:24 (pp). 2. Guelph, Hunter Garlent 14 (Pereira), 17:28. Penalties — McCarthy (E) interference, :20; Kosmachuk (G) tripping, :35; Harper (E) hooking, 3:04; Kosmachuk (G) interference, 4:56; Pelech (E) tripping, 14:53.

2^nd Period — 3. Guelph, McGinn 12 (Kosmachuk, Finn), 10:11 (pp). 4. Erie, Mitchell Eisenberg 3 (McCarthy), 10:58. 5. Guelph, Jason Dickinson 12 (Gaskin), 19:20. Penalties — Donnay (E) interference, 1:23; Pereira (G) holding, 6:02; Evans (E) slashing, 8:49; Maaskant (E) roughing, 18:49; McNaughton (G) roughing, 18:49.

3^rd Period — 6. Erie, Dane Fox 22 (Pelech, Cairns), 4:02 (pp). 7. Erie, Anthony Cortellessa 7 (Pelech, Brown), 5:11 (pp). 8. Guelph, Scott Kosmachuk 29 (Garlent), 15:20. 9. Erie, Jake Evans 11 (unassisted), 16:52. 10. Guelph, Zack Mitchell 34 (unassisted), 19:23 (en). Penalties — Menard (G) tripping, :19; McCarthy (E) instigator, :19; McCarthy (E) 5-min. fighting, :19; Pedan (G) 5-min. fighting, :19; McCarthy (E) 10-min. misconduct, :19; Kosmachuk (G) 4-min. high sticking, 3:12; Harper (E) roughing, 4:57; Finn (G) roughing, 4:57.

Shots on goal — Guelph, 11-13-7—31; Erie, 9-10-16—35.

Goaltenders — Guelph, Garret Sparks 25-25-1-3 (35 shots, 31 saves); Erie, J.P. Cesario 0-1-0-0 (30 shots, 25 saves).

Power plays — Guelph (2-5), Erie (2-5).

Referees — David Gauthier, Steve Picco. Linesmen — Rick Janco, Mike Harrington.

Attendance — 2,864.

Three stars

* Brock McGinn, Storm (2 goals) ** Scott Kosmachuk, Storm (goal, 2 assists) *** Anthony Cortellessa, Otters (goal)

Rookie goaltender Devin Williams deserved a better outcome Wednesday night.

He stopped 33-of-34 shots in the opening 65 minutes and four more in a six-round shootout in his third career OHL start. Yet the Erie Otters still lost to Owen Sound 2-1 in front of 2,135 at Tullio Arena.

Daniel Catenacci, who scored the Attack’s lone goal in the second period, slipped a wrist shot past Williams on the game’s final attempt to hand the Otters (7-38-3-2) their second straight defeat.

“He’s got a great temperament,” Otters coach Robbie Ftorek said of Williams. “He just goes about his business. The guys play hard in front of him. Too bad we couldn’t get that (win) for him.”

Stephen Harper erased the Attack’s early 1-0 lead in the shootout with a goal in the second round. The rookie winger’s tying goal 3 minutes, 27 seconds into the third period forced overtime and the shootout.

Williams and Attack veteran Jordan Binnington traded saves in the next three rounds. Then Binnington began the final round by stopping rookie Travis Wood. Catenacci followed with the decisive goal.

Ftorek also called upon Dane Fox, Luke Cairns and rookies Connor Brown and Mitchell Eisenberg. Sondre Olden, one of the team’s best offensive performers, surprisingly wasn’t involved in the shootout. When asked about that, Ftorek said he believed the players he used “were going to score for us.”

* News and notes: Anthony Cortellessa (sore back muscle) rejoined the Otters’ lineup after missing both games last weekend. … Liam Maaskant was a healthy scratch while fellow Wood stepped in on defense.

- Victor Fernandes

SUMMARY

Attack 2, Otters 1

Owen Sound  0  1  0  0  1  —  2

Erie  0  0  1  0  0  —  1

1^st Period — None. Penalties — McGuire (E) 5-min. fighting, :07; Zweep (O) 5-min. fighting, :07; McGuire (E) game misconduct, :07; Zweep (O) game misconduct, :07; Eisenberg (E) tripping, 2:40; Harper (E) tripping, 17:36; Bigras (O) hooking, 18:42.

2^nd Period — 1. Owen Sound, Daniel Catenacci 26 (Gavrus, Halmo), 17:14 (pp). Penalties — Hope (O) delay of game, 2:56; Williams (E) delay of game (served by Betz), 4:15; Cutting (O) cross checking, 9:58; Donnay (E) 5-min. fighting, 12:59; Gabriel (O) 5-min. fighting, 12:59; Fox (E) instigating, 16:53; Fox (E) 5-min. fighting, 16:53; Dotchin (O) 5-min. fighting, 16:53; Fox (E) 10-min. misconduct, 16:53; Rose (O) tripping, 18:36.

3^rd Period — 2. Erie, Stephen Harper 17 (Betz, Evans), 3:27. Penalties — Cortellessa (E) 5-min. fighting, 7:37; Blandisi (O) 5-min. fighting, 7:37.

Overtime — None. Penalties — None.

Shootout — Fox (E) no goal; Gavrus (O) goal; Harper (E) goal; Blandisi (O) no goal; Eisenberg (E) no goal; Bigras (O) no goal; Cairns (E) no goal; Brace (O) no goal; Brown (E) no goal; Rose (O) no goal; Wood (E) no goal; Catenacci (O) goal.

Shots on goal — Owen Sound, 9-8-14-3-1—35; Erie, 8-8-11-3-0—30.

Goaltenders — Owen Sound, Jordan Binnington 15-13-0-1 (30 shots, 29 saves); Erie, Devin Williams 1-1-0-1 (34 shots, 33 saves).

Power plays — Owen Sound (1-4), Erie (0-4).

Referees — Mike Cairns, Chris Carnegie. Linesmen — R.J. King, Daryl Wolfe.

Attendance — 2,135.

Three stars

* Jordan Binnington, Attack (29 saves, 5 SO saves) ** Devin Williams, Otters (33 saves, 4 SO saves) *** Stephen Harper, Otters (goal, SO goal)

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.

WINDSOR, Ontario – Chris Marchese and rookie Mitchell Eisenberg had a goal and assist apiece in Friday night’s matchup against Windsor.
But it wasn’t enough for the Erie Otters to post their first win of the preseason, as the Spitfires earned a 4-2 win at WFCU Centre in these rivals’ first meeting since Windsor ended the Otters’ season with a Game 7 win in the 2010-11 OHL playoffs. Tyson Teichmann took the loss for the Otters after allowing three goals on 19 shots. Chris Festarini, who replaced him midway through the second period, stopped 11-of-12 shots. Michael Clarke scored twice for the Spitfires, which built a 4-0 lead through two periods.
Eisenberg scored the Otters’ first goal of the preseason 7 minutes into the final period. Marchese scored with 1:19 left for the Otters, which lost 2-0 to Niagara at Tullio Arena last weekend. Erie heads to Woodstock, Ontario, on Saturday for a 6 p.m. game against defending OHL champion Owen Sound.

What: Erie Otters (24-21-1-1) at London Knights (25-17-2-1)

When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.

Where: John Labatt Centre – London, Ontario

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

Players to watch

Erie – C Greg McKegg (31-30-61), C Brett Thompson (27 goals, 23 assists, 50 points), RW Shawn Szydlowski (25-23-48), C Phil Varone (20-23-43), RW Anthony Luciani (17-25-42)

London – RW Jared Knight (21-30-51), RW Vladislav Namestnikov (21-25-46), RW Seth Griffith (17-27-44), RW Stephen Sanza (16-13-29), D Scott Harrington (5-14-19)

Fast facts

Erie – The Otters continue a season-long, five-game road trip with a three Midwest Division games after splitting two games in Sarnia and Plymouth last weekend. … The Otters (50 points) are seventh in the Western Conference, three points behind fifth-place London and Plymouth, five behind No. 4 Windsor and eight behind No. 3 Kitchener. … McKegg, who leads the team in goals (31), assists (30), points (61) and power-play goals (10) and is tied for the lead with three short-handed goals, rejoins the lineup after missing both games last weekend with a lower-body strain. … The Otters have won four of five meetings with London heading into the final game of the six-game season series. … They snapped a 24-game winless streak dating back to the 2002-03 season in London with a 9-4 win Dec. 10. … Szydlowski, who has a five-game point streak (five goals, 11 points) needs one point to set a new single-season career high. He already has a career best in goals. … Varone, who has the first 20-goal season of his career, has points in five straight games and in seven of eight this month (six goals, 14 points). … G Ramis Sadikov (24-14-1-1 record, 2.93 goals-against average, .909 save percentage, 2 shutouts) has won his last seven decisions. … Rookie LW Mitchell Eisenberg was reassigned to the Wheatfield (N.Y.) Jr. Blades on Thursday after totaling no points and a plus-1 rating in two games. Rookie RW Johnny McGuire (1-0-1, 21 penalty minutes in 6 games) remains with the club.

London – The Knights have won four straight and six of seven games since trading veterans Michael D’Orazio, Chris DeSousa and Daniel Erlich at the Jan. 10 trade deadline. The only loss was Jan. 15 in Erie (5-2). … Griffith earned OHL player of the week honors after totaling two goals and eight points in three games last weekend, including a goal and four assists Sunday in Oshawa. … The Knights rank near the bottom in goals scored (161), although they scored six on Niagara’s top-ranked defense Thursday. … They rank near the bottom on the power play (16.7 percent) and penalty kill (77.4). … The Knights rank among the top 10 in goals against (165).

Up next: at Owen Sound (Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m.)

– Victor Fernandes

What: Erie Otters (24-20-1-1) at Plymouth Whalers (24-18-1-2)

When: Saturday, 7:05 p.m.

Where: Compuware Arena – Plymouth, Mich.

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

Players to watch

Erie – C Brett Thompson (27 goals, 23 assists, 50 points), RW Shawn Szydlowski (25-22-47), RW Anthony Luciani (17-25-42), C Phil Varone (19-23-42), C Mike Cazzola (12-24-36)

Plymouth – RW Stefan Noesen (21-30-51), C Robbie Czarnik (24-26-50), LW Tyler Brown (17-19-36), G Scott Wedgewood (22-13-0-1 record, 2.72 goals-against average, .913 save percentage, 2 shutouts), C Alex Aleardi (16-16-32)

Fast facts

Erie – The Otters (50 points) are sixth in the Western Conference, one point behind fifth-place Plymouth, two behind No. 4 Windsor and six behind No. 3 Kitchener. … The Otters can move into a virtual tie for fourth – unofficially their highest standing this late in the season since the 20001-02 OHL championship season – with a win against the Whalers and a Windsor loss in Barrie. … With a win, the Otters could move five games above .500 for the first time this season. … Szydlowski set a single-season franchise record with his fourth hat trick of the season in Friday’s win at Sarnia. His five career hat tricks are tied for second on the all-time list, two behind Brad Boyes (1998-2002). … Szydlowski, who has a four-game point streak (five goals, 10 points) needs two points to surpass his career high of 48 set last season. … C Greg McKegg, who leads the team in goals (31), assists (30), points (61) and power-play goals (10) and is tied for the lead with three short-handed goals, missed his first game of the season on Friday because of undisclosed injuries. … The Otters split the first two meetings with the Whalers in the four-game season series – winning at home 4-1 Oct. 27 and losing in Plymouth 4-2 Dec. 28. … They have lost three straight in Plymouth. … Varone has points in four straight games and in six of seven this month (five goals, 13 points). … Rookie LW Mitchell Eisenberg, who was recalled Friday from the Wheatfield (N.Y.) Jr. Blades on Friday, had no points and a plus-1 rating in his OHL debut Friday.

Sarnia – The Whalers had a three-game winning streak snapped with a 3-2 shootout loss to Brampton Friday. … Aleardi has only one goal and five points in seven games since completing an eight-game suspension for violating the CHL’s anti-doping policy. … D Beau Schmitz (3-18-21, plus-7) hasn’t played since Jan. 2 in Sault Ste. Marie. … Noesen has shattered his rookie totals from last season (3-5-8 in 33 games). … Wedgewood ranks among the top five in wins, goals-against average, save percentage and shutouts. … The Whalers are 18^th on the power play (18 percent).

Up next: at London (Friday, 7:30 p.m.), at Owen Sound (Jan. 29, 7:30 p.m.; Jan. 30, 2 p.m.)

– Victor Fernandes

Brett Thompson (Contributed/Terry Wilson, OHL Images)

A decade after acquiring Cory Pecker from Sault Ste. Marie, Erie Otters GM Sherry Bassin has made his next huge splash with a former Greyhound.

It’s been a long wait – four losing seasons and seven-year playoff drought long. But it came at the perfect time – for their success on the ice and in the crowd.

With the addition of Brett Thompson, one of the OHL’s top goal scorers the past two seasons (67 goals in 117 games), the Otters are a legitimate contender in the wide-open Western Conference title chase – and even for the Memorial Cup.

With Mississauga St. Michael’s hosting the CHL’s 2011 championship tournament, the champion of the West earns an automatic berth if the Majors win the East.

The Otters have the right pieces in place to accomplish that.

These Otters can score goals as well as any team in the league. Opposing teams “have to pay attention to all three (top) lines,” Bassin said.

The Otters are solid defensively with a veteran group in front of Ramis Sadikov. “We’ve got a lot of guys up front now, and our defense has been strong all year,” captain Greg McKegg said. “We’ve got a really good lineup right now. Hopefully we can put it all together.”

Fans hope that happens, too. They have waited a long time for a championship-caliber team – since the 2001-02 team won the 15-year-old franchise’s only league title. Fans have suffered through the down years and rebuilding seasons.

“They’re not fair-weather fans. They’re always there for us,” McKegg said. “It’s nice to have them there.”

Yet they have grown tired of having to ‘Wait till next year.’

If Bassin hadn’t acquired Thompson – and in turn, confirmed the Otters are making a run at the championship  this season – perhaps the fan base would have begun to dwindle. Why support that never seems to be in position to win? But now, this team is in great shape, especially when forward Andrew Yogan (shoulder surgery) and defenseman Tyler Hostetter (broken hand) rejoin the lineup.

“To have the team we have right now is exciting for them and for us,” McKegg said. “It’s going to be a good second half. They’ve waited a few years for this.”

* News and notes: Six to eight clubs inquired about Bassin’s group of seven 2010 OHL draft picks that are currently playing in Tier II and Junior B. “I said they’re not going anywhere,” Bassin said of a group that includes forwards Drake Caggiula (third round) and Mitchell Eisenberg (ninth round) and defenseman Liam Maaskant (eighth round). “They’re just too good.”

- Victor Fernandes

Goaltending prospect Adam Wood, who won consecutive starts in an emergency role for the Erie Otters last season, headlined the list of 10 players cut from training camp following Friday’s workouts.
That leaves the club with 30 players entering Saturday’s 5 p.m. preseason opener against the Niagara IceDogs at Tullio Arena.
Six prospects from the 2010 OHL Priority Selection – defenseman Nathan Glass and forwards Connor Brown, Drake Caggiula, Mitchell Eisenberg and Brandon Johnston and Jesse Schwartz. The other cuts were forwards from the 2009 draft – Johnny McGuire, Mitchell McIntosh and Matthew Wildman.

- Victor Fernandes