What: Erie Otters (3-4-1-0) at Windsor Spitfires (4-4-0-1)

When: Thursday, 7:05 p.m.

Where: WFCU Centre – Windsor, Ontario

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

Players to watch

Erie – C Greg McKegg (7 goals, 9 assists, 16 points), C Mike Cazzola (4-8-12), RW Shawn Szydlowski (3-6-9), LW David Broll (2-4-6), D Tyler Hostetter (2-4-6)

Windsor – D Ryan Ellis (3-3-6), RW Zack Kassian (3-8-11), C Alexander Khokhlachev (6-5-11), C Zack MacQueen (4-7-11), D Michael MacIntyre (4-4-8)

Fast facts

Erie – The Otters play four of the next five games on the road. They are 2-3-0-0 away from Tullio Arena. … McKegg has points in seven straight games (seven goals, nine points). He is tied with Kitchener D Ryan Murphy for the OHL’s scoring lead. McKegg also is third in goals, tied for second in assists and leads with three short-handed goals. … Five of eight games have been decided by one goal (1-3-1-0). … RW Anthony Luciani (undisclosed injury) began skating with the team on Tuesday. He hopes to play this weekend. … D Brett Cook (undisclosed injury) and rookie C Connor Crisp (concussion) still haven’t returned to practice. … The Otters

Zack MacQueen (Contributed/Windsor Spitfires)

have allowed power-play goals in seven of eight games this season. … They rank in the league’s bottom five on the power play and penalty kill. … The Otters have lost eight straight trips to Windsor since a 3-2 shootout win on Feb. 1, 2007. That streak includes two defeats in an opening-round playoff sweep by the Spitfires last season.

Windsor – The Spitfires are rebuilding after losing several members of the two-time defending league and Memorial Cup champions to the pros, headlined by LW Taylor Hall (Edmonton Oilers), D Cam Fowler (Anaheim Ducks) and coach Bob Boughner (Columbus Blue Jackets assistant coach). … Ellis and Kassian, who recorded his 11 points in the past four games, anchor a young team. Both were recently assigned to the Spitfires by the Buffalo Sabres and Nashville Predators, respectively. … MacQueen, who was traded to the Spitfires by his father – former Otters coach and current Sarnia coach/general manager Dave MacQueen – is tied for the team lead in scoring. … G Jack Campbell, who led the United States to a gold medal in the IIHF World Junior Championship last winter, has struggled in his first OHL season (2-4-0-0, 4.99 goals-against average, .855 save percentage). … Khokhlachev, the 23^rd pick in the 2010 CHL Import Draft, is tied for fourth in goals.

Up next: at London (Friday, 7:30 p.m.), vs. Ottawa (Saturday, 7 p.m.)

What: Erie Otters (0-0-0-0) at Brampton Battalion (0-0-0-0)

When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Powerade Centre – Brampton, Ontario

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

Mike Cazzola (Contributed/Erie Otters)

Players to watch

Erie – C Mike Cazzola (36 goals, 50 assists, 86 points in 2009-10), RW Anthony Luciani (38-30-68), RW Shawn Szydlowski (21-27-48), G Ramis Sadikov (9-10-1-2 record, 4.02 goals-against average, .890 save percentage, D Mitch Gaulton (5-26-31)

Brampton – LW Sean Jones (32-17-49), C Sam Carrick (21-21-42), RW Scott Tanski (15-19-34), RW Philip Lane (18-14-32), D Cameron Wind (3-8-11, +7)

Fast facts

Erie – The Otters have a 9-4-1 all-time record in season openers. They began last season with a 4-3 win in Sudbury, which snapped a two-game, season-opening skid. … They have played every season opener in franchise history on the road. … The Otters begin the regular season without F Greg McKegg (37-48-85) and David Shields (7-12-19, plus-10 rating), who remain at NHL training camps with the Toronto Maple Leafs and St. Louis Blues, respectively. McKegg survived the Maple Leafs’ first round of cuts. … D Tyler Hostetter (2-24-26) returned from Philadelphia Flyers camp on Wednesday. … Sadikov is expected to start tonight in net. … Rookie C Connor Crisp won’t play this weekend because of an undisclosed injury. … Rookie C/LW Chris Marchese makes his OHL debut in front of 80-90 family members and friends, who are traveling from his hometown in nearby Woodbridge, Ontario. He will play center on a line with Szydlowski and LW David Broll (9-9-18). … The Otters and Battalion meet in a

Sean Jones (Contributed/Brampton Battalion)

season opener for the first time. … Coach Robbie Ftorek planned to announce his captains today.

Brampton – Jones, a former Otter, enters his overage season after being one of the OHL’s top goal scorers in 2009-10, his first season in Brampton. … The Battalion scored a league-low 167 goals last season. But the club’s 181 goals against ranked second to Mississauga St. Michael’s (175). … The Battalion reached the second round of the 2009-10 Eastern Conference playoffs despite finishing the regular season with a losing record (25-29-7-7). … Tanski and LW Stephon Thorne (Columbus Blue Jackets), Lane (Phoenix Coyotes), LW Alex O’Neil (New York Islanders) and C Jonathan Johansson (Atlanta Thrashers) returned from NHL camps late last week.

Up next: vs. Saginaw (Saturday, 7 p.m.), at Niagara (Thursday, 7 p.m.)

What: Erie Otters (32-27-5-2) at Guelph Storm (33-29-3-1)

When: Today, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Sleeman Centre – Guelph, Ontario

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

Players to watch

Erie – C Zack Torquato (30 goals, 60 assists, 90 points), C Greg McKegg (36-46-82, 16 power-play goals), C Mike Cazzola (36-46-82), RW Anthony Luciani (35-29-64), G Adam Courchaine (11-7-0-0 record, 2.89 goals-against average, .917 save percentage, 2 shutouts in 19 games with Otters)

Guelph – RW Taylor Beck (39-52-91, 16 PPG), C Peter Holland (28-48-76), C Michael Latta (33-39-72), C Mathew Sisca (35-30-65), D Adam Comrie (13-25-38)

Fast facts

Erie – The Otters (71 points) are tied for sixth with Saginaw in the Western Conference, one point ahead of eighth-place Guelph. The Otters can finish as high as sixth or as low as eighth. … They are guaranteed a first-round playoff series against one of the top three seeds – Windsor, London or Kitchener. … Torquato is the fifth player in the franchise’s 14-year history to record 90 points in a season – Cory Pecker (99 in 2001-02), Rob Hisey (96 in 2003-04), Colin Pepperall (91 in 1997-98) and Brad Boyes (90 in 2000-01). … McKegg and Cazzola have moved into the top 10 on the single-season points list. … Both also are tied for eighth on the franchise’s single-season goals list. … Torquato (tied for fourth), McKegg (tied for 10^th) and Cazzola (tied for 10^th) rank among the OHL’s top 12 in scoring. … McKegg, Cazzola and Luciani are among the top 20 in goals. … Torquato needs one goal to set a new single-season career high. … Luciani has 11 goals in his last nine games. … RW Shawn Szydlowski (20-25-45) has one point in his last four games. He needs three goals and one point to match his single-season career highs in both categories. … Courchaine has followed an eight-game unbeaten streak with three straight losses (4.66 GAA, .865 save pct.). … The Otters have an 11-17-3-2 record heading into their final regular-season road game.

Guelph – The Storm have secured their 18^th straight playoff berth. … They have a four-game winning streak and eight wins in 11 games. … Beck ranks fourth in scoring and tied for eighth in goals. … The Storm trail 3-2 in the six-game season series with the Otters. But Guelph won the last two meetings, most recently a 4-1 win Erie March 3. … The Storm have been outscored by 12 goals this season (253-241). … They rank in the league’s bottom half in goals against.

Up next: vs. London (Saturday, 7 p.m.)

- Victor Fernandes

What: Erie Otters (31-27-5-2) at Owen Sound Attack (27-31-4-3)

When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre – Owen Sound, Ontario

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

Players to watch

Erie – C Zack Torquato (29 goals, 59 assists, 88 points), C Greg McKegg (36-43-79, 16 power-play goals), C Mike Cazzola (35-44-79), RW Anthony Luciani (34-29-63), G Adam Courchaine (11-7-0-0 record, 2.89 goals-against average, .917 save percentage, 2 shutouts in 19 games with Otters)

Owen Sound – Bobby Mignardi (32-35-67), C Steven Shipley (22-40-62), LW Garrett Wilson (34-25-69, 11 PPG), C Joey Hishon (15-23-38 in 33 games), C Marcus Carroll (24-35-59)

Fast facts

Erie – The Otters (69 points) are seventh in the Western Conference, one point behind sixth-place Saginaw (70) and four behind No. 5 Sault Ste. Marie (71). The Spirit and Greyhounds have a game in hand on the Otters. … Courchaine, pictured at left, has followed an eight-game unbeaten streak with three straight losses (4.66 GAA, .865 save pct.). … Luciani’s four-game goal and point streak ended in Friday’s loss to Kitchener. … The No. 1 line of Torquato, McKegg and Cazzola has one point in the last two games. … Torquato is scoreless in consecutive games for the first time since December and second time since being united with McKegg and Cazzola on the top line. … McKegg is scoreless in consecutive games for the first time in six weeks. … The Otters rank among the OHL’s bottom five with 249 goals against. … The Otters face their second straight game with F Andrew Yogan (fractured left leg).

Owen Sound – The ninth-place Attack need a win to remain alive in the battle for the Western Conference’s final playoff spot. They trail Guelph, which doesn’t play tonight, by five points with three games left. The Storm have a game in hand. … They have won three of five games against the Otters this season. … One goal decided the first four meetings, with three needing overtime or shootout. But the Otters won 8-2 at home Feb. 24. … An injury-plagued Hishon, who began the season as a potential high-round pick in this summer’s NHL draft, has played only four games since the start of February. He missed two months in the first half with a broken foot. … The Attack rank 18^th overall with 263 goals against. … They have been outscored by 50 goals this season (263-213). … Wilson ranks among the league’s top 20 in goals. Wilson has shattered career highs he set last season (17 goals, 35 points).

Up next: at Guelph (Friday, 7:30 p.m.), vs. London (March 13, 7 p.m.)

- Victor Fernandes