Victor Fernandes unveils his predictions for the OHL playoffs:

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

Western Conference
Quarterfinals
No. 1 London def. No. 8 Saginaw, 4-0
No. 2 Plymouth def. No. 7 Sarnia, 4-1
No. 3 Owen Sound def. No. 6 Sault Ste. Marie, 4-1
No. 5 Guelph def. No. 4 Kitchener, 4-3
Semifinals
No. 1 London def. No. 5 Guelph, 4-1
No. 2 Plymouth def. No. 3 Owen Sound, 4-2
Finals
No. 2 Plymouth def. No. 1 London, 4-3

League finals
No. 1W Plymouth def. No. 1E Belleville, 4-2

- Victor Fernandes

Saginaw’s Greg Gilbert has been named the OHL’s Coach of the Year. Read the full story by clicking the link.

The winner of the Matt Leyden Trophy as the OHL’s Coach of the Year will be announced Tuesday at 11 a.m. The finalists are Brampton’s Stan Butler, Ottawa’s Chris Byrne, Saginaw’s Greg Gilbert, Barrie’s Dale Hawerchuk, Kitchener’s Steve Spott and Guelph’s Scott Walker.

Erie Otters center Dane Fox stands 46th among North American skaters on NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, which was released Monday. Five teammates join him on the list, including first-tim selection Luke Cairns. The veteran center is considered No. 189 among North American skaters after not appearing on Central Scouting’s preliminary and midterm lists.
Right wing Connor Brown (No. 110 from No. 85 in the midterm rankings) as well as defensemen Adam Pelech (No. 120 from No. 54), Troy Donnay (No. 122 from No. 115) and Liam Maaskant(No. 195 from No. 134) slipped down the list.
Former Otters winger Chris Marchese, now with Windsor, stands at No. 122. Center Drake Caggiula, the Otters’ third-round pick in the 2010 OHL Priority Selection, appears at No. 185. Caggiula, who played for Stouffville in the Ontario Junior A Hockey League this season, has committed to play NCAA Division I hockey at North Dakota.
Sarnia’s duo of right wing Nail Yakupov and Alex Galchenyuk rank first and fourth, respectively, followed by Ottawa defenseman Cody Ceci (sixth), Kitchener center Radek Faksa (seventh) and London defenseman Olli Maatta (eighth). Belleville’s Malcolm Subban (first), Saginaw’s Jake Paterson (third) and Kitchener’s Frank Palazzese (ninth) rank among the top 10 North American goaltenders.
The NHL draft takes place June 22-23 at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh. Check out the the complete rankings by clicking on the link.

Victor Fernandes unveils his predictions for the 2011-12 OHL season:

REGULAR SEASON

Eastern Conference

East Division

1. Oshawa

2. Ottawa

3. Peterborough

4. Kingston

5. Belleville

Central Division

1. Niagara

2. Mississauga

3. Sudbury

4. Brampton

5. Barrie

Western Conference

Midwest Division

1. London

2. Kitchener

3. Erie

4. Owen Sound

5. Guelph

West Division

1. Plymouth

2. Saginaw

3. Sarnia

4. Windsor

5. Sault Ste. Marie

PLAYOFFS

Eastern Conference

Quarterfinals

No. 1 Niagara def. No. 8 Kingston, 4-0

No. 2 Oshawa def. No. 7 Sudbury, 4-2

No. 3 Mississauga def. No. 6 Brampton, 4-1

No. 4 Ottawa def. No. 5 Peterborough, 4-1

Semifinals

No. 1 Niagara def. No. 4 Ottawa, 4-0

No. 3 Mississauga def. No. 2 Oshawa, 4-2

Finals

No. 1 Niagara def. No. 3 Mississauga, 4-2

Western Conference

Quarterfinals

No. 1 Plymouth def. No. 8 Owen Sound, 4-2

No. 2 London def. No. 7 Erie, 4-2

No. 6 Windsor def. No. 3 Saginaw, 4-3

No. 5 Sarnia def. No. 4 Kitchener, 4-2

Semifinals

No. 1 Plymouth def. No. 6 Windsor, 4-2

No. 2 London def. No. 5 Sarnia, 4-3

Finals

No. 1 Plymouth def. No. 2 London, 4-2

League finals

No. 1E Niagara def. No. 1W Plymouth, 4-2

What: Erie Otters (17-16-1-1) at Plymouth Whalers (17-14-1-1)

When: Tuesday, 2 p.m.

Where: Compuware Arena – Plymouth, Mich.

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

Players to watch

Erie – C Greg McKegg (25 goals, 29 assists, 54 points), RW Shawn Szydlowski (17-15-32), RW Anthony Luciani (13-17-30), G Ramis Sadikov (17-12-1-1 record, 2.89 goals-against average, .912 save percentage, 2 shutouts), C Phil Varone (12-14-26)

Plymouth – G Scott Wedgewood (16-9-0-1, 2.51, .917, 2 SO), RW Stefan Noesen (15-21-36), RW Robbie Czarnik (13-19-22), LW Tyler Brown (11-16-27), C Alex Aleardi (14-12-26)

Fast facts

Erie – The Otters and Whalers begin the second half in a virtual tie for fifth place in the Western Conference. Both teams have 36 points and 17 wins (the first tiebreaker), but the Whalers have a better winning percentage (.545 to .514). … The Otters begin the second half without rookie LW Chris Marchese (3-7-10) and rookie D Adam Pelech (1-5-6, plus-1), who are representing Ontario in the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. The tournament runs from Wednesday through Dec. 28 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. … Sadikov should continue his franchise-record streak of 25 straight starts. … McKegg begins the half fourth in the OHL scoring race and tied for third in goals. … Luciani has 10 goals and 25 points in 16 games since returning from a broken wrist last month. … Szydlowski needs six goals and 16 points to surpass his single-season career high in goals (23 in 2008-09) and points (48 in 2009-10). … The Otters won the first meeting between the teams – 4-1 in Erie Oct. 27. That remains the Otters’ only win against the West Division (1-4-0-1). … Varone made his Otters’ debut that same night. The team has a 14-7-0-1 record since he was acquired from London Oct. 26. … C Mike Cazzola (9-16-25), who has missed two months with a broken wrist, is scheduled for X-rays today. He could rejoin the lineup next week.

Plymouth – The Whalers ended the first half with a four-game losing streak. … They won both meetings with the Otters in Plymouth last season. … Wedgewood ranks among the league’s top five in wins, goals-against average, save percentage and shutouts. … Noesen has shattered his 33-game totals from his rookie season last year (3 goals, 8 points). … The Whalers rank near the bottom of the league on the power play (17 percent), but they are in the top 10 on the penalty kill (80.5). … They are the second-most penalized team (671 minutes). … D Beau Schmitz (3-16-19) ranks among the top 20 defensemen in scoring.

Up next: at Saginaw (Wednesday, 7:11 p.m.), at Windsor (Friday, 2:05 p.m.)

– Victor Fernandes

The Erie Otters found a new heartbreaking way to lose Friday night.

One minute, Greg McKegg appeared to score the tying goal as time expired. The next minute, the video replay judge disallowed the goal, which sealed the Otters’ 4-3 loss to Saginaw at Tullio Arena.

Moments earlier, a second or two extra appeared to run off the clock after officials called a slashing penalty on Spirit defenseman Matt Ashman. The officials chose not to replace that time, leaving the Otters (7-13-1-0) with two seconds left on the clock.

McKegg scored off a rebound of Shawn Szydlowski’s shot as the green light, which signifies the end of the game, emerged. Seconds later, the green light was replaced by the red light, which signifies a goal.

After a review that lasted a few minutes, the crowd of 2,869 erupted into a chorus of

Sherry Bassin (Contributed/Erie Otters)

boos. Otters coach Robbie Ftorek argued vehemently with the officials for several minutes. Meanwhile, Sherry Bassin, Otters managing partner and general manager, voiced his displeasure long after the game ended. Then afterwards, Bassin and other club officials watched footage of the game’s final seconds. They determined the referees should have set the clock at 3.6 seconds, Bassin said.

According to Bassin, off-ice officials told Shawn Waskiewicz, Otters assistant general manager, that they didn’t hear the whistle over the crowd noise. At that point, Bassin said, the off-ice officials should have discussed the situation with the referees. “We got suckered in our own building for time,” Bassin said.

Video of the controversial goal was inconclusive, Bassin said.

Meanwhile, the Spirit (14-4-1-1) celebrated a win that snapped a two-game losing streak.

The teams battled to a scoreless tie for the first half of the opening period. Then Spirit center Michael Sgarbossa snuck a rebound past goaltender Ramis Sadikov for a 1-0 lead with 6:18 left in the period.

The Spirit extended the lead to 2-0 on a rebound, as Mathew Sisca fired a shot over a fallen Sadikov for Sisca’s sixth goal of the season. Meanwhile, the Otters squandered several scoring chances, headlined by Anthony Luciani’s wrist shot off the left post during a power play late in the period.

Yet the Otters capitalized on the power play 3:59 into the second, as defenseman Tyler Hostetter floated a shot from the point past Spirit goaltender Tadeas Galansky to slice Saginaw’s lead to 2-1.

That sparked a three-goal outburst that built a 3-2 lead heading to the third period. Rookie Macaulay McDonnell and Jordan Coccimiglio scored 1:47 apart late in the period. McDonnell poked a rebound through Galansky to tie the score at 2 with 6:11 left. Coccimiglio deflected defenseman Derek Holden’s shot from the blue line past Galansky to snap the tie with 4:36 remaining.

Sadikov stymied a Spirit attack that failed to score on all 18 shots on goal in the period. But the Spirit tied the score at 3 at the 7:16 mark of the third on Josh Shalla’s 14^th goal of the season. Kantor then turned Ivan Telegin’s pinpoint cross-crease pass into the eventual winning goal.

- Victor Fernandes

SUMMARY

Spirit 4, Otters 3

Saginaw  2  0  2  —  4

Erie  0  3  0  —  3

1^st Period — 1. Saginaw, Michael Sgarbossa 5 (Saad), 13:42. 2. Saginaw, Mathew Sisca 6 (Szwarz, Shalla), 19:26. Penalties — Crisp (E) 5-min. fighting, 10:59; Kea (E) 5-min. fighting, 10:59; Camara (S) interference, 15:15.

2^nd Period — 3. Erie, Tyler Hostetter 4 (Cairns, Marchese), 3:59 (pp). 4. Erie, Macaulay McDonnell 4 (Marchese, Hostetter), 13:49. 5. Erie, Jordan Coccimiglio 3 (Holden, Paton), 15:24. Penalties — Kantor (S) goaltender interference, :53; Kantor (S) interference, 3:38; Appio (E) 5-min. fighting, 11:43; Kantor (S) 5-min. fighting, 11:43.

3^rd Period — 6. Saginaw, Josh Shalla 14 (Szwarz, Sisca), 7:16. 7. Saginaw, Michael Kantor 7 (Telegin, Trocheck), 17:15. Penalties — Ashman (S) slashing, 19:58.

Shots on goal — Saginaw, 8-18-8—34; Erie, 12-13-10—35.

Goaltenders — Saginaw, Tadeas Galansky 5-0-1-0 (35 shots, 32 saves); Erie, Ramis Sadikov 7-10-1-0 (34 shots, 30 saves).

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

Referees — Darren Price, Chris Carnegie. Linesmen — Fraser McIntire, Sean Pindar.

Attendance — 2,869.

Three stars

* Josh Shalla, Spirit (goal, assist) ** Jordan Coccimiglio, Otters (goal) *** Tyler Hostetter, Otters (goal, assist)

What: Guelph Storm (9-5-1-1) at Erie Otters (6-12-1-0)

When: Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Where: Tullio Arena

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

Players to watch

Erie – C Greg McKegg (10 goals, 16 assists, 26 points), C Mike Cazzola (9-16-25), G Ramis Sadikov (6-9-1-0 record, 2.96 goals-against average, .912 save percentage, 1 shutout), D Tyler Hostetter (3-10-13), RW Anthony Luciani (3-2-5 in 5 games)

Guelph – C Peter Holland (12-9-21), C Michael Latta (12-7-19), RW Taylor Beck (9-9-18), D Tim Campbell (1-13-14, plus-4), LW Tyler Carroll (4-4-8)

Fast facts

Erie – The Otters have a three-game home stand over the next four days, which concludes a stretch of eight home games in nine outings. … They split the first six games of this stretch. … Sadikov has a 2.57 goals-against average and .936 save percentage in seven games since being replaced in the first period of an Oct. 22 loss to Sault Ste. Marie. He stopped 95-of-99 shots, including a shutout, in three games this past weekend (1.29 GAA, .959 save pct.). … Luciani (broken right wrist) said he will play tonight. He hasn’t played since Oct. 2. … RW Shawn Szydlowski (7-8-15) hopes to play after being a last-minute scratch before Saturday’s game against Owen Sound because he was ill. He also suffered a minor undisclosed injury after hitting a rut in pregame warm-up that night. But he could have played if he wasn’t ill, Szydlowski said. … D Brady Austin, who suffered neck spasms on Saturday that sent him to Hamot Medical Center for X-rays during the game, doesn’t expect to play. But he should be ready for this weekend’s games. … The Otters won the first of six regular-season meetings with the Storm 3-2 on the road Oct. 8. … Cazzola has points in six straight games.

Guelph – Holland, Latta and Beck have scored 33 of the Storm’s 50 goals. … Holland and Latta rank among the OHL’s top 10 in goals. … G Brandon Foote (6-3-1-1, 3.07, .921) missed the past two games with an injured left arm, according to the Guelph Mercury. Rookie backups Garret Sparks and Matej Machovsky earned a win apiece in Foote’s absence. … The Storm have won four of their last five games.

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

- Victor Fernandes

Vince Scott (Contributed/Erie Otters)

The No. 18 took one final spin around the Tullio Arena ice. Then before the Erie Otters’ home opener against Saginaw on Saturday, No. 18 ascended to the rafters.

“No one will ever wear No. 18 ever again,” Sherry Bassin, Otters managing partner and general manager, said during a pregame ceremony honoring the late Vince Scott, an Otter from 2003-07 who died in an automobile accident in April. Scott joined the No. 16 of Brad Boyes, the club’s revered former captain.

But first, Otters winger Brett Appio skated onto the ice for pregame warm-ups wearing a No. 18 sweater.

Appio wore that number last season after joining the Otters in January. But on this night, it was merely a loaner. During the emotional ceremony, he skated to the east end of the rink to present the sweater to Scott’s parents, Bob and Sue. Then Bob Scott handed Appio his new No. 8 sweater.

“This is a special night to honor a special memory. He was a special, special kid,” said Bassin, as he fought back tears. “We lost a special person. But his memory will never ever be lost here.”

Several members of Scott’s immediate and billet families stepped onto the ice before a moment of silence was observed. Then they glanced towards the center-ice scoreboard for a video salute featuring photos of Scott’s childhood and his days with the Otters. He totaled 29 goals and 71 points in 202 career games.

Moments later, the rest of the Otters joined Appio in exchanging hugs and handshakes with Scott’s family and friends. Then club officials presented Scott’s family with a poster and plaque bearing, among other things, Scott’s name and number. Bob Scott’s poignant parting words capped the ceremony.

He spoke about his son’s love for the Otters. “I know the day he became assistant captain was one of the happiest days of his life,” Bob Scott said. “Vinny loved playing for the Otters and skating on this ice.”

The elder Scott also addressed his son’s love for Erie and the team’s fans.

“The people of Erie really made Vinny feel welcome,” Bob Scott said. “He really loved you guys.”

The Otters and their fans loved him, too. “His memory will never ever end,” Bassin said.

- Victor Fernandes

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.)