Toronto – The Ontario Hockey League today announced that Andrew Agozzino of the Niagara IceDogs is the 2011-12 recipient of the Mickey Renaud Captain’s Trophy.

A three-year captain with the IceDogs, Agozzino was chosen for the award by a media selection committee as the OHL team captain that best exemplifies leadership on and off the ice, with a passion and dedication to the game of hockey and his community that Mickey demonstrated.

Nomination forms were submitted by OHL general managers on behalf of their individual team captains. The selection committee consisted of a panel of four, representing media from each OHL division.

“It is a special honor to have been awarded of the Mickey Renaud Captain’s Trophy,” said Agozzino, who competed against Mickey as a rookie with the IceDogs in 2007. “Mickey was very well respected and a great captain and to receive this in his memory is something I’m very proud of.”

On the IceDogs nomination form, Agozzino is described as a passionate and determined individual who truly cares for his teammates, his opponents, and the game. He leads by example putting team goals, objectives, and the well-being of those around him before his own personal goals. Agozzino is also very active in the community playing a large role in appearances and team initiatives in each of his five seasons, while personally raising $2,480 for Movember this year. His fundraising efforts led all OHL players in the first year of this CHL-wide initiative in support of men’s health and prostate cancer awareness.

“For five years Andrew has been the heart and soul of the IceDogs, just as Mickey was the heart and soul of the Spitfires,” said IceDogs’ owner Bill Burke. “With Mickey’s mother Jane having been from Niagara Falls and his father Mark having played for the Thunder, there is obviously a connection between the Renaud’s and the Niagara Region, making the award even more special for our team.”

Agozzino is a 21-year-old native of Kleinburg, ON, who played all five of his OHL seasons with the IceDogs after being the franchise’s first ever draft pick selected 15th overall in the 2007 Priority Selection. This season he tied for fifth in league scoring with a career-high 88 points in 67 games scoring 40 goals and 48 assists leading the IceDogs to their first Central Division title and best overall record in team history with a record of 47-18-0-3 for 97 points.

Also named the Overage Player of the Year, he led the IceDogs in both goals and points for the third time in five years finishing his career with a franchise record 159 goals and 147 assists for 306 points in a franchise record 318 regular season games played.

Agozzino becomes the fourth recipient of the award following Ryan Ellis of the Windsor Spitfires, John Kurtz of the Sudbury Wolves, and Chris Terry of the Plymouth Whalers who won the inaugural award for the 2008-09 season.

The Mickey Renaud Captain’s Trophy will be formally presented to Agozzino in addition to the Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy at the OHL Awards Ceremony on Tuesday June 5 at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

- From OHL news release

London, ON – The Ontario Hockey League today announced that goaltender Michael Houser of the London Knights is the 2011-12 recipient of the Red Tilson Trophy awarded to the OHL’s Most Outstanding Player of the Year as voted by the writers and broadcasters that cover the league.

Houser played an incredible 62 games between the pipes for the first place Knights backstopping the club to their fifth Hamilton Spectator Trophy as the OHL’s top regular season team. Also named the OHL’s Goaltender of the Year, Houser posted a record of 46-15-0-1 tying the OHL single season record for most wins by a goaltender set by Andrew Engelage of the OHL Champion Windsor Spitfires in 2009.

“It’s a huge honour,” said Houser. “There are a lot of great players in the league, especially this year, and it is nice to be recognized. It’s an award that I couldn’t have won without the teammates in front of me. They play hard every night and they make my job a lot easier. A lot of thanks go out to them.”

Houser is just the fifth goaltender to receive the prestigious Red Tilson Trophy following Andrew Raycroft (Kingston 2000), Bill Harrington (Kitchener 1952), Glenn Hall (Windsor 1951), and Gil Mayer (Barrie 1949). He is also the fifth member of the Knights to win the award following Corey Perry in 2005, Jason Allison in 1994, Dave Simpson in 1982, and Dennis Maruk in 1975. The 19-year-old native of Wexford, PA, is also just the third American-born player to win the award following David Legwand (Plymouth 1998), and Pat Peake (Detroit 1993).

“We’re honoured to have had Michael on our team once again this season,” said Knights General Manager and Head Coach Mark Hunter. “He’s a leader both on and off the ice and is definitely one of our hardest workers setting an example for the rest of the team. Houser is one of the biggest reasons we finished first overall and have made it all the way to the Rogers OHL Championship Series and we’re pleased to see him receive the Red Tilson Trophy as the OHL’s Most Outstanding Player of the Year.”

Undrafted into the OHL, Houser joined the Knights prior to the 2009-10 season and has already played in 141 regular season contests. His 62 games played led all OHL goaltenders this season while his 1862 saves was also the league’s top mark. He finished second with six shutout victories while his goals-against-average of 2.47 was third-best in the league, and his save percentage of .925 ranked fourth overall.

In this year’s Western Conference Coaches Poll, he appeared in three categories and was considered the Best Shootout Goalie, the second Hardest Worker, and the third Best Puckhandling goalie. This season Houser stopped at least 30 shots in 36 different games including six games with 40 or more saves.

The Red Tilson Trophy is the most prestigious individual award presented by the Ontario Hockey League. Accredited media were asked to select their top three choices from the 20 nominees representing all 20 member clubs. Players received five points for a first place selection, three points for second place and one point for a third place selection.

In the 80 ballots collected, Houser received 182 points in the voting process and was listed as the number one selection on 30 of the submitted ballots. OHL Top Scorer Michael Sgarbossa of the Sudbury Wolves finished in second place with 164 voting points, ahead of Tyler Toffoli of the Ottawa 67’s who received 106 voting points, and Mark Visentin of the Niagara IceDogs who received 104 voting points.

The trophy is named in honour of Albert “Red” Tilson, who was killed in action in Europe during World War II. Tilson was the OHA scoring champion for the 1942-43 season after scoring 19 goals and 38 assists for 57 points in 22 games with the Oshawa Generals.

Other winners of the Red Tilson Trophy include Frank Mahovlich (Toronto 1957), Mike Foligno (Sudbury, 1979), Doug Gilmour (Cornwall 1983), Eric Lindros (Oshawa 1991), Brian Campbell (Ottawa 1999), Brad Boyes (Erie 2001 & 2002), Corey Locke (Ottawa 2003 & 2004), John Tavares (Oshawa 2007), Cody Hodgson (Brampton 2009), Tyler Seguin (Plymouth 2010), and Ryan Ellis (Windsor 2011).

Houser will be the OHL’s nominee for the Canadian Hockey League Player of the Year Award presented at the CHL Awards Ceremony during the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup in Shawinigan.

- From OHL news release

Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League today announced that a media conference is scheduled for Wednesday at 12 pm at the John Labatt Centre in London, Ontario, to announce the winner of the Red Tilson Trophy presented to the OHL’s Most Outstanding Player of the Year for the 2011-12 season.

The Red Tilson Trophy is the most prestigious individual award presented annually by the league to the Most Outstanding Player in the Ontario Hockey League during the regular season schedule of games as voted by sports writers and broadcasters in the OHL. The award is in honour of Albert “Red” Tilson, who was killed in action in Europe during World War II. Tilson was the OHA scoring champion for the 1942-43 season after scoring 19 goals and 38 assists for 57 points in 22 games with the Oshawa Generals. Ryan Ellis of the Windsor Spitfires captured the award last season.

2011-12 Red Tilson Trophy Nominees
Barrie Colts – Tanner Pearson
Belleville Bulls – Brendan Gaunce
Brampton Battalion – Sam Carrick
Erie Otters – Adam Pelech
Guelph Storm – Matt Finn
Kingston Frontenacs – Darcy Greenaway
Kitchener Rangers – Tobias Rieder
London Knights – Michael Houser
Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors – Riley Brace
Niagara IceDogs – Mark Visentin
Oshawa Generals – Kevin Bailie
Ottawa 67’s – Tyler Toffoli
Owen Sound Attack – Mike Halmo
Peterborough Petes – Andrew Yogan
Plymouth Whalers – Stefan Noesen
Saginaw Spirit – Brandon Saad
Sarnia Sting – Nail Yakupov
Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds – Nick Cousins
Sudbury Wolves – Michael Sgarbossa
Windsor Spitfires – Kerby Rychel

- From OHL news release

Toronto – The Ontario Hockey League today announced that Dougie Hamilton of the Niagara IceDogs is the 2011-12 recipient of the Max Kaminsky Trophy awarded to the OHL’s Most Outstanding Defenseman of the Year.

Hamilton led all OHL defencemen in scoring with 72 points in just 50 games and tied for third in the league with a plus-minus rating of plus-37. He scored 17 goals and finished tied for third overall in the league with 55 assists which included a league-high 30 assists recorded on the power play. Third in voting for this award last season, Hamilton becomes the first winner of the Max Kaminsky Trophy in IceDogs’ team history.

“This year has been a ton of fun and it is a huge honour to win this award,” said Hamilton. “I spent the last couple of years watching the best defencemen in the league and then trying to get myself to that point and it is exciting to be here now and receive this award. A lot of past winners have gone on to NHL careers and hopefully I can follow suit.”

An 18-year-old from Toronto, ON, Hamilton was selected by the IceDogs 27th overall in the 2009 OHL Priority Selection. This season he was recognized as OHL Defenseman of the Month four of the six times the award was presented including October, November, February, and March.

Hamilton was selected by the Boston Bruins with the ninth overall pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft and represented the OHL on Canada’s National Junior Team at the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship earning a bronze medal. Last season he earned the Bobby Smith Trophy for combining high standards of play and academic excellence before being named the CHL’s Scholastic Player of the Year.

“We couldn’t be prouder of Dougie,” said IceDogs’ General Manager and Head Coach Marty Williamson. “The on ice stuff, it is easy to see how good he is, but he has leadership abilities off the ice and is a great role model not just for younger players on our team but in the community, we just can’t say enough good things about what he brings to the team.”

The Max Kaminsky Trophy is awarded each year to the Most Outstanding Defenseman as selected by OHL General Managers. Teams were not permitted to vote for their own nominee. Players received five points for a first place vote, three points for a second place vote and one point for a third place vote.

Hamilton received an impressive 80 of a maximum 95 points in the voting process ahead of Scott Harrington of the London Knights who finished in second place with 36 voting points, and Cody Ceci of the Ottawa 67’s who finished in third place with 28 voting points.

Other notable winners of the Max Kaminsky Trophy include Al MacInnis (Kitchener 1982-83), Chris Pronger (Peterborough 1992-93), Brian Campbell (Ottawa 1998-99), James Wisniewski (Plymouth 2003-04), Marc Staal (Sudbury 2006-07), Drew Doughty (Guelph 2007-08), and Ryan Ellis (Windsor Spitfires 2008-09 and 2010-11). Ron Meighan (1981-82), and Bryan Fogarty (1988-89) both received the honour as members of the Niagara Falls Thunder.

The award is named in recognition of Max Kaminsky, who enjoyed a 10-year professional playing career that included four years in the NHL with Ottawa, Boston, and Montreal. After he retired from playing, Kaminsky enjoyed a 15-year coaching career that was capped by winning the Memorial Cup with the St. Catherine’s Teepees in 1960.

Hamilton will be formally presented with the Max Kaminsky Trophy at the OHL Awards Ceremony which takes place on Tuesday June 5, 2012, at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. He will also be the OHL’s nominee for CHL Defenseman of the Year.

- From OHL news release

Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League will be hosting a media conference call on Tuesday at 12 pm to announce the 2011-12 recipient of the Max Kaminsky Trophy, awarded annually to the OHL’s Most Outstanding Defenceman.

Finalists for 2011-12 OHL Defenceman of the Year are:
Ryan Murphy, Kitchener Rangers
Scott Harrington, London Knights
Dougie Hamilton, Niagara IceDogs
Cody Ceci, Ottawa 67’s
Ryan Sproul, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
Frank Corrado, Sudbury Wolves

The Max Kaminsky Trophy is voted on by the member teams of the Ontario Hockey League. In a first round of balloting, teams vote for the top defencemen, within their own conference. The top three nominees from both the Eastern and Western conferences are declared as finalists. A second round of voting is then conducted on a league wide basis where teams vote for any of the six finalists. At no time during the voting can a team vote for their own candidate. Defencemen receive five points for a first place vote, three points for a second place vote and one point for a third place vote.

Prior to 1969, the Kaminsky Trophy was awarded to the Most Gentlemanly Player. The award is in recognition of Kaminsky, who enjoyed a 10-year professional playing career that included four years in the NHL with Ottawa, Boston and Montreal. After he retired from playing, Kaminsky enjoyed a 15-year coaching career that was capped by winning the Memorial Cup with the St. Catharines Teepees in 1960. Last season, Ryan Ellis of the Windsor Spitfires won the award.

- From OHL news release

WINDSOR, Ontario – The Erie Otters are still alive. They can credit Anthony Luciani for that.

Luciani scored his fourth goal of the game 4 minutes, 3 seconds into the overtime in Game 5 to seal the Otters 6-5 win against Windsor in front of 5,945 at WFCU Centre on Friday night.

Luciani stole the puck from Spitfires all-star defenseman Ryan Ellis at the side of the net and slipped a shot through goaltender Jack Campbell’s pads to force Game 6 on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. at Tullio Arena.

Otters goaltender Ramis Sadikov (career-high 50 saves) began the game with 10 goals against on his last 70 shots in the past two games. But he was strong through an 18-shot barrage from the Spitfires in the opening period.

Meanwhile, the Otters scored the only goal of the period, as Luciani redirected Phil Varone’s cross-crease pass past Campbell at the 7:11 mark. The Otters had 12 shots in the period.

Sadikov also strong stood through the Spitfires’ 5-on-3 power play early in the second. Yet as the second penalty expired, Spitfires defenseman Adrian Robertson fired a shot from the right side that squeezed through Sadikov’s pads to tie the score at 1 just 3:34 into the period.

But the Otters’ power play awakened in the period. The Otters entered the game having failed on 24 of their first 27 chances. But they scored on three straight chances in a seven-minute span to take a 4-1 lead.

Varone split two defenders at the Spitfires’ blue line and fired a wrist shot past Campbell to break the 1-1 tie at the 8:55 mark. Less than three minutes later, Varone assisted on defenseman Derek Holden’s goal.

Holden fired a wrist shot through a screen to extend Erie’s lead to 3-1. Then Luciani deflected Holden’s shot from the point past Campbell for a 4-1 Otters’ lead with four minutes left in the period.

Varone set up the goal by diving to keep the puck in the zone on a clearing attempt and then making a cross-ice pass to Holden for his third assist and fourth point of the game.

The Otters led 4-1 after two periods despite being outshot 14-9 in the second and 32-20 in the game.

The Spitfires gained some momentum on Alexander Khokhlachev’s power-play goal 4:41 into the third period. But Luciani completed his hat trick – the eighth three-goal game in the franchise’s playoff history – by firing a rebound into an open net 1:10 later. Varone assisted on the goal to tie the Otters’ single-game playoff record with five points set by Brad Boyes (twice) in 2002.

Windsor moved within 5-3 on Kerby Rychel’s goal in front with 10:57 left. Then the Spitfires completed their dramatic comeback with two goals in 41 seconds. Jake Carrick slid a shot past Sadikov to slice the deficit to 5-4 with 3:50 left. Then during a wild scramble in front of the net, Ellis fired a slap shot through the crowd to tie the score at 5 with 3:09 left.

Windsor outshot the Otters 22-7 in the period to extend their advantage to 54-27 heading into overtime.

But Luciani scored on the game’s final shot to seal the Otters’ dramatic win.

* News and notes: The 55 shots against were four shy of the Otters’ postseason record (59 vs. Sarnia on March 26, 2002). … Varone also tied the Otters’ mark of four assists in a playoff game set by Boyes against Sarnia on March 23, 2002, and tied by Chris Campoli against the Sting two years later. … Holden had a goal and two assists. … Coach Robbie Ftorek said Andrew Yogan didn’t travel with the team to Windsor because he was sick. … Campbell allowed six goals on 31 shots in the loss. He has allowed 10 goals on his last 57 shots after stopping 105-of-112 shots in the first three games.

Series schedule

No. 4 Windsor vs. No. 5 Erie

Game 1 – Erie 2, Windsor 1

Game 2 – Windsor 4, Erie 3 (2OT)

Game 3 – Windsor 6, Erie 2

Game 4 – Windsor 7, Erie 4

Game 5 – Erie 6, Windsor 5 (OT)

Game 6 – Sunday at Erie, 4:30 p.m.

Game 7 – Tuesday at Windsor, 7:05 p.m.*

Windsor leads series 3-2

* If necessary

SUMMARY

Otters 6, Spitfires 5 (OT)

Erie  1  3  1  0  —  5

Windsor  0  1  4  0  —  5

1^st Period — 1. Erie, Anthony Luciani 2 (Varone, Shields), 7:11. Penalties — Khokhlachev (W) tripping, :44; Szydlowski (E) hooking, 2:55.

2^nd Period — 2. Windsor, Adrian Robertson 1 (Carnevale, Johnston), 3:34. 3. Erie, Phil Varone 2 (Holden, Sadikov), 8:55 (pp). 4. Erie, Derek Holden 1 (Varone, Cairns), 11:15 (pp). 5. Erie, Luciani 3 (Holden, Varone), 16:00 (pp). Penalties — Szydlowski (E) elbowing, :46; Shields (E) delay of game, 1:34; Kuhnhackl (W) roughing, 7:13; Johnston (W) checking to the head, 10:45; Kassian (E) slashing, 14:58.

3^rd Period — 6. Windsor, Alexander Khokhlachev 3 (Robertson, Kuhnhackl), 4:41 (pp). 7. Erie, Luciani 4 (Varone), 5:51. 8. Windsor, Kerby Rychel 1 (Carnevale, Ellis), 9:03. 9. Windsor, Jake Carrick 4 (Kuhnhackl, Khokhlachev), 16:10. 10. Windsor, Ryan Ellis 3 (Kassian, Brown), 16:51. Penalties — Cook (E) holding, 3:52; Erie, too many men (served by Luciani), 11:59.

Overtime — 11. Erie, Luciani 5 (unassisted), 4:03. Penalties — None.

Shots on goal — Erie, 11-9-7-4—31; Windsor, 18-14-22-1—55.

Goaltenders — Erie, Ramis Sadikov 2-2-1 (55 shots, 50 saves); Windsor, Jack Campbell 3-1-1 (31 shots, 25 saves).

Power plays — Erie (3-4), Windsor (1-5).

Referees — Darcy Burchell, Scott Oakman. Linesmen — Darryl Wolfe, Geoff Rutherford.

Attendance — 5,945.

Three stars

* Anthony Luciani, Otters (4 goals) ** Phil Varone, Otters (goal, 4 assists) *** Adrian Robertson, Spitfires (goal, assist)

WINDSOR, Ontario – It took only a minute for a tight game to turn into a rout.

The Windsor Spitfires scored three goals on four shots in a span of 1 minute, 2 seconds early in the third period on their way to a 6-2 win against the Erie Otters in front of 5,655 at WFCU Centre on Monday night.

With the victory, the Spitfires took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinal series heading into Game 4 on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Tullio Arena. Otters goaltender Ramis Sadikov was on his way to another strong effort until Kerby Rychel’s floating shot from the point bounced off his glove and then the crossbar.

Jeff Brown scored on the rebound to hand the Spitfires a 4-2 lead 1:14 into the third. Thirty-two seconds later, Sadikov stopped Rychel’s shot. But Sadikov couldn’t find the puck between his skates.

Brady Vail scored to extend Windsor’s lead to 5-2 and send Sadikov to the bench. He allowed five goals on 32 shots before being replaced by rookie Chris Festarini. Kenny Ryan followed with a goal on the first shot against Festarini for a 6-2 lead at the 2:16 mark. Festarini finished with five saves on six shots.

At first, it appeared Sadikov and Spitfires goaltender Jack Campbell (30 saves) would keep these potent offenses off the scoreboard in the opening period. But a late power play sparked the Spitfires’ attack.

Windsor, which scored on 1-of-17 chances with the man advantage in the first two games, scored on 2-of-4 chances in the first period to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.

Stephen Johnston poked a rebound past Sadikov for his second goal of the series and a 1-0 lead with 4:42 left in the period. The Otters responded 26 seconds later on Mike Cazzola’s second goal of the series.

But the Spitfires capitalized on a 5-on-3 opportunity, as Jake Carrick scored on assists from Zack Kassian – his second of the period – and Ryan Ellis with 1:40 left in the period.

Windsor outshot the Otters 18-10 in the period. The Spitfires continued their offensive momentum in the second period, as they outshot the Otters 11-7. The Spitfires also responded to Shawn Szydlowski’s tying power-play goal with 4:54 left in the period by taking a 3-2 lead on Ryan Ellis‘ unassisted goal less than two minutes later.  A poor clearing attempt from the Otters led to the go-ahead goal.

Then the Spitfires put the game away early in the third. Ellis (goal, assist), Johnston (goal, assist), Carrick (goal, assist), Kassian (two assists) and Adrian Robertson (two assists) led the Spitfires.

- Victor Fernandes

Series schedule

No. 4 Windsor vs. No. 5 Erie

Game 1 – Erie 2, Windsor 1

Game 2 – Windsor 4, Erie 3 (2OT)

Game 3 – Windsor 6, Erie 2

Game 4 – Wednesday at Erie, 7 p.m.

Game 5 – Friday at Windsor, 7:05 p.m.*

Game 6 – Sunday at Erie, 4:30 p.m.*

Game 7 – April 5 at Windsor, 7:05 p.m.*

Windsor leads series 2-1

* If necessary

SUMMARY

Spitfires 6, Otters 2

Erie  1  1  0  —  2

Windsor  2  1  3  —  6

1^st Period — 1. Windsor, Stephen Johnston 2 (Kassian, Robertson), 15:18 (pp). 2. Erie, Mike Cazzola 2 (Yogan, Pelech), 15:44. 3. Windsor, Jake Carrick 2 (Kassian, Ellis), 18:20 (pp). Penalties — Ryan (W) high sticking, :38; Thompson (E) tripping, 3:08; Cazzola (E) hooking, 14:32; Thompson (E) roughing, 15:06; MacQueen (W) roughing, 15:06; Cairns (E) tripping, 17:09; Cazzola (E) roughing, 17:38.

2^nd Period — 4. Erie, Shawn Szydlowski 2 (Cook, Hostetter), 15:06 (pp). 5. Windsor, Ryan Ellis 1  (unassisted), 17:12. Penalties — McKegg (E) charging, 1:45; Kassian (W) boarding, 3:53; Johnston (W) high sticking, 7:52; Cook (E) roughing, 11:53; Kassian (W) unsportsmanlike conduct, 13:46; Yogan (E) kneeing, 17:35; Khokhlachev (W) hooking, 18:48.

3^rd Period — 6. Windsor, Jeff Brown 3 (Rychel), 1:14. 7. Windsor, Brady Vail 1 (Rychel), 1:46. 8. Windsor, Kenny Ryan 1 (unassisted), 2:16. Penalties — Brown (W) high sticking, 7:19; Cazzola (E) hooking, 7:24; Czinder (W) interference, 10:28; Luciani (E) roughing, 10:37; Robertson (W) roughing, 10:37; Czinder (W) instigating, 18:28; Appio (E) 5-min. fighting, 18:28; Czinder (W) 5-min. fighting, 18:28; Czinder (W) 10-min. misconduct, 18:28.

Shots on goal — Erie, 10-7-15—32; Windsor, 18-11-11—40.

Goaltenders — Erie, Ramis Sadikov 1-1-1 (33 shots, 28 saves), Chris Festarini (7 shots, 6 saves); Windsor, Jack Campbell 1-1-0 (32 shots, 30 saves).

Power plays — Erie (1-7), Windsor (2-7).

Referees — Jason Faist, Bob Langdon. Linesmen — Garrett Rank, Chris Thornton.

Attendance — 5,655.

Three stars

* Zack Kassian, Spitfires (2 assists) ** Jack Campbell, Spitfires (30 saves) *** Stephen Johnston, Spitfires (goal, assist)

What: No. 4 Erie Otters vs. No. 5 Windsor Spitfires

When: Monday, 7:05 p.m.

Where: WFCU Centre – Windsor, Ontario

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

Fast facts

Erie – The Game 2 loss to the Spitfires on Saturday at Tullio Arena snapped the Otters’ nine-game overall winning streak and five-game home winning streak. … The Otters won Game 1 in Windsor on Thursday. … C Mike Cazzola had a goal and two assists on Saturday. He has four goals and nine points in 11 career playoff games. … Cazzola and C Phil Varone lead the Otters with a goal and three points in the series. … F Andrew Yogan had an assist in Game 2 – his first point in seven career playoff games. But he spent most of the third period and both overtimes on the bench after dropping from the No. 1 line to the fourth line. Coach Robbie Ftorek said rookie RW Macaulay McDonnell provided a better matchup on home ice in the game. “We’ll see what happens,” Ftorek said. “We just have to move the lines around.” … The Otters are third on the penalty kill in the playoffs (94.1 percent) after finishing second in the regular season (83.2). … G Ramis Sadikov has stopped 85-of-90 shots in the series.

Windsor – G Jack Campbell followed a strong performance in the Game 1 loss (35 saves on 37 shots) with 40 saves on 43 shots in Game 2. He also had an assist on Saturday. … D Ryan Ellis, who had 100 points in the regular season, had a goal and assist for the Spitfires after being shut out in Game 1. … Overage RW Jeff Brown scored his first two career playoff goals in the Game 2 win, including the winner in the second overtime. He had no previous playoff experience before this series. … RW Zack Kassian, a Buffalo Sabres prospect, has no goals and one point in the series.

Up next: Game 4 at Erie (Wednesday, 7 p.m.), Game 5 at Windsor (Friday, 7:05 p.m.)

– Victor Fernandes

Series schedule

No. 4 Windsor vs. No. 5 Erie

Game 1 – Erie 2, Windsor 1

Game 2 – Windsor 4, Erie 3 (2OT)

Game 3 – Monday at Windsor, 7:05 p.m.

Game 4 – Wednesday at Erie, 7 p.m.

Game 5 – Friday at Windsor, 7:05 p.m.

Game 6 – Sunday at Erie, 4:30 p.m.*

Game 7 – April 5 at Windsor, 7:05 p.m.*

Series tied 1-1

* If necessary

The longest game in Erie Otters’ history also was the most frustrating.

Windsor’s Jeff Brown scored 11 minutes, 9 seconds into the second overtime to seal the Spitfires 4-3 win against the Otters in front of 4,818 at Tullio Arena on Saturday night.

The Spitfires evened the series at a game apiece heading back to WFCU Centre in Windsor, Ontario, on Monday at 7:05 p.m.

After combining for three goals in the Otters’ 2-1 win in Game 1 on Thursday, two of the league’s top three offenses in the regular season found their rhythm in the first period on Saturday.

The Otters opened the scoring by capitalizing on a 5-on-3 opportunity, as Mike Cazzola scored in front on assists from Shawn Szydlowski and Phil Varone with 9:31 left in the period. The Otters nearly scored again moments later, but Andrew Yogan’s shot glanced off the crossbar.

The teams then finished the period with three goals in the final four minutes. Jake Carrick tied score at 1 with 3:43 left on an assist from Alexander Khokhlachev. Otters captain Greg McKegg snapped the tie by turning Cazzola’s pass into his first goal of the playoffs 1:19 later.

But Ryan Ellis’ shot from the point slipped past Otters goaltender Ramis Sadikov with 1:08 left in the period to send the teams into the second period tied at 2. Then the Spitfires took a 3-2 lead – their first lead of the series – on Brown’s goal 4:47 into the second period.

Meanwhile, the Otters had a penalty-shot opportunity overturned midway through the period. A referee pointed to center ice after apparently calling Spitfires defenseman Ryan Ellis for covering the puck in the crease. But after a lengthy discussion, Ellis received a two-minute minor for delay of the game.

The Otters earned a brief 5-on-3. Yet they failed to score. They also squandered several other scoring chances despite finishing the period with only six shots on goal.

But 6:23 into the third, the Otters tied the score at 3, as Cazzola’s second assist and third point of the game led to Szydlowski’s first goal of the playoffs. Then it was on to an entertaining first overtime that featured a combined 25 shots on goal and two power plays apiece.

Brown finally ended it with a rebound from the left wing.

- Victor Fernandes

Series schedule

No. 4 Windsor vs. No. 5 Erie

Game 1 – Erie 2, Windsor 1

Game 2 – Windsor 4, Erie 3 (2OT)

Game 3 – Monday at Windsor, 7:05 p.m.

Game 4 – Wednesday at Erie, 7 p.m.

Game 5 – Friday at Windsor, 7:05 p.m.*

Game 6 – April 3 at Erie, 4:30 p.m.*

Game 7 – April 5 at Windsor, 7:05 p.m.*

Series tied 1-1

* If necessary

SUMMARY

Spitfires 4, Otters 3 (2OT)

Windsor  2  1  0  0  1  —  4

Erie  2  0  1  0  0  —  3

1^st Period — 1. Erie, Mike Cazzola 1 (Szydlowski, Varone), 10:29 (pp). 2. Windsor, Jake Carrick 1 (Khokhlachev), 16:17. 3. Erie, Greg McKegg 1 (Cazzola, Yogan), 17:36. 4. Windsor, Ryan Ellis 1 (Johnston), 18:52. Penalties — McKegg (E) high sticking, 3:20; Vail (W) goaltender interference, 6:03; Hostetter (E) roughing, 6:03; Brown (W) roughing, 6:03; Kuhnhackl (W) hooking, 8:47; Ellis (W) hooking, 9:52; Paton (E) interference, 12:04; Ryan (W) goaltender interference, 12:30.

2^nd Period — 5. Windsor, Jeff Brown 1 (Ellis, Campbell), 4:47. Penalties — Posa (W) interference, :14; Szydlowski (W) checking from behind, 3:54; Carrick (W) boarding, 4:03; Cook (E) instigator, 4:03; Cook (E) 5-min. fighting, 4:03, 4:03; Carrick (W) 5-min. fighting, 4:03; Cook (E) 10-min. fighting, 4:03; Rychel (W) hooking, 7:16; Ellis (W) delay of game, 8:55; Cazzola (E) roughing, 8:55; Robertson (W) roughing, 8:55; Robertson (W) tripping, 19:51.

3^rd Period — 6. Erie, Shawn Szydlowski 1 (Cazzola), 6:23. Penalties — Luciani (E) roughing, 9:35.

Overtime — None. Penalties — Szydlowski (E) tripping, 2:30; Varone (E) tripping, 4:13; Kuhnhackl (W) goaltender interference, 8:39; Campbell (W) delay of game (served by Carrick), 11:46.

Second Overtime — 7. Windsor, Brown 2 (Carnevale, Rychel), 11:09. Penalties — None.

Shots on goal — Windsor, 9-11-10-11-8—49; Erie, 10-6-9-14-4—43.

Goaltenders — Windsor, Jack Campbell 1-1-0 (43 shots, 40 saves); Erie, Ramis Sadikov 1-1-0 (49 shots, 45 saves).

Power plays — Windsor (0-6), Erie (1-10).

Referees — Jason Goldenberg, Sean Reid. Linesmen — Jesse Wilmot, Mike Harrington.

Attendance — 4,818.

Three stars

* Mike Cazzola, Otters (goal, 2 assists) ** Jeff Brown, Spitfires (2 goals) *** Shawn Szydlowski, Otters (goal, assist)

What: No. 4 Erie Otters vs. No. 5 Windsor Spitfires

When: Saturday, 7 p.m.

Where: Tullio Arena

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

Fast facts

Erie – The Otters have won nine straight games. They haven’t lost since a 6-5 home loss to Peterborough on Feb. 26. … Their 2-1 win in Game 1 on Thursday at WFCU Centre in Windsor, Ontario, was the Otters’ first playoff victory since March 25, 2009, when they beat London in Game 3 of a first-round series. … The Otters won for only the fourth time in the past 17 playoff games since their last series win against Sarnia in 2004. … The Otters are 6-2 all-time when winning the first game of a series. … G Ramis Sadikov stopped 40-of-41 shots to earn his first OHL playoff win in his third appearance. … The winner of the last two series between these teams has won the OHL championship and advanced to the Memorial Cup (Otters in 2002, Spitfires in 2010). … The Otters’ penalty kill was successful on 10-of-11, man-down situations in Game 1. The unit finished No. 2 overall in the regular season (83.2 percent). … C Phil Varone scored short-handed in the opener – his 12^th goal in 20 career playoff games. … RW Brett Thompson had two assists in the win. Yet he’s still looking for his first career playoff goal (0 goals, 4 points in 6 games). … Former Otters coach Dave MacQueen (1999-2006) is expected to attend tonight’s game. His son, Zack MacQueen, plays right wing for the Spitfires.

Windsor – The Spitfires split two games in Erie during the regular season – a 3-2 win Oct. 29 and an 8-2 loss Feb. 5. … They were 18-14-2-0 on the road in the regular season. … G Jack Campbell had a strong performance in the Game 1 loss (35 saves on 37 shots) after struggling in the regular season (24-14-2-2 record, 3.80 goals-against average, .884 save percentage). … D Ryan Ellis, a Nashville Predators prospect, was held scoreless in Game 1 after being the first OHL defenseman in 16 years to reach 100 points in the regular season. … RW Zack Kassian, a Buffalo Sabres prospect, had an assist Thursday.

Up next: Game 3 at Windsor (Monday, 7:05 p.m.), Game 4 at Erie (Wednesday, 7 p.m.)

– Victor Fernandes