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.

A weekend that began with such promise ended with a thud for the Erie Otters Saturday night.
Unlike their strong efforts in a convincing six-goal win against Saginaw Wednesday night and a shootout loss to Sault Ste. Marie Friday night, the Otters had little energy in a 5-2 loss to Sarnia in front of 2,648 fans at Erie Insurance Arena Saturday night.
Rookie center Connor McDavid had a goal and assist for the Otters (4-8-1-2), which dropped their second straight game and finished the three-game weekend series at home 1-1-0-1. McDavid, who extended his point streak to 14 straight games and has 18 points in 15 games, was one of the lone bright spots for a team that struggled to find consistency against the Sting (7-6-0-1).
The Otters entered the game with the OHL’s seventh-ranked penalty kill at 82.5 percent. But Sarnia’s third-rated power play burned the Otters for four goals on five chances in the game. Craig Duininck, who had one goal in his first 12 games, scored the first of his two power-play goals on assists from Nikolay Goldobin and Anthony DeAngelo 9 minutes, 47 seconds into the opening period.
Goaltender Oscar Dansk made several key stops, especially in close, to keep the Otters within a goal until Charles Sarault netted his sixth goal of the season, a power-play score 10:04 into the second period, to extend the Sting’s lead to 2-0. Sarnia’s lead reached 3-0 less than two minutes later, as Duininck scored his second goal of the night on assists from Goldobin and Bryan Moore.
The Otters crept within 3-1 on Connor Crisp’s sixth goal of the season – a loose puck in front that he slipped past Sting goaltender J.P. Anderson – with 1:45 left in the period. Moments later, Otters defenseman Adam Pelech was helped to the dressing room with a left ankle injury suffered while blocking a shot. Club officials believe Pelech suffered only a bruise, but he was expected to undergo x-rays. Pelech, who was hit with a shot on the same ankle in Friday’s game was seen walking gingerly outside the dressing room after the game. The Otters learned before the game that winger Nick Betz will miss at least the next six to eight weeks after undergoing surgery Friday night for a ruptured appendix.
Then any momentum the Otters gained from Crisp’s goal vanished 53 seconds into the third period, as the Sting regained a three-goal lead at 4-1 on Reid Boucher‘s goal. McDavid provided a bit of a spark, as his steal in front of the Sting’s net and two nifty moves through traffic produced his seventh goal of the season and moved the Otters within 4-2 with 10:12 left in the game.
But Goldobin’s shot into an open net – Sarnia’s fourth power-play goal in five chances – with 1:30 left sealed the Sting’s win.

- Victor Fernandes

Connor Brown recorded his first career hat trick, and eight teammates also recorded points. But the Erie Otters couldn’t hold onto an early three-goal lead, as they lost to Sault Ste. Marie 6-5 in a shootout in front of 2,196 at Erie Insurance Arena Friday night.
Andrew Fritsch scored the winning goal in the fourth round of the shootout for the Greyhounds (8-7-0-0). J.P. Labardo had three assists and scored the lone shootout goal for the Otters (4-7-1-2), which lost for the second time in three shootouts this season. Darnell Nurse scored two goals and Nick Cousins had three assists for the Greyhounds.
The No. 1 line of captain Brown, No. 1 pick Connor McDavid and overager Labardo sparked the Otters’ surge to a 3-0 second-period lead. Brown recorded a natural hat trick – his team-leading eighth, ninth and 10th goals of the season. Labardo assisted on all three goals while McDavid had an assist to extend his point streak to 13 straight games.
Brown scored on the power play off assists from McDavid and Labardo to snap the scoreless tie 9:07 into the game. Brown scored again on the power play, this time from Adam Pelech and Labardo, five minutes later to send the Otters into the second period with a 2-0 lead. Brown completed the natural hat trick – his first OHL hat trick – on a rebound of Labardo’s shot 48 seconds into the second.
The Greyhounds sliced Erie’s lead to 3-2 with two second-period goals – from Nurse at 4:03 and Nick Halagian with 7:52 left.
Connor Crisp redirected Spencer Abraham’s shot past goaltender Matt Murray for a 4-2 Otters’ lead with 5:50 left in the period. But the Greyhounds responded by scoring twice early in the third to tie the score at 4. Former Otter David Broll scored from in front to pull the Greyhounds within a goal at 4-3 at the 2:15 mark. Colin Miller‘s first goal of the season, scored on the power play, tied the score at 4 at the 5:45 mark, only to have the Otters regain the lead with their third power-play goal of the night.
Stephen Harper scored on assist from Luke Cairns to give the Otters a 5-4 lead with 11:37 left. Yet the Greyhounds rallied again to tie it at 5 with 6:25 left on Nurse’s second goal of the game. Then the Greyhounds rebounded from an early deficit in the shootut to claim the win.

- Victor Fernandes

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 Western Conference’s West Division (listed in alphabetical order):

Plymouth Whalers
Coach/GM: Michael Vellucci
2011-12 finish: 47-18-2-1, 1st division, 2nd conference
Playoff finish: Lost to Kitchener 4-3 in conference semifinals
Key players: LW Stefan Noesen (38 goals, 44 assists, 82 points; signed with Ottawa), C Mitchell Heard (29-28-57; signed with Colorado), RW Alex Aleardi (36-29-65), LW J.T. Miller (25-37-62; signed with N.Y. Rangers; G Matt Mahalak (19-8-0-0 record, 2.66 goals-against average, .923 save percentage, 3 shutouts; Carolina prospect)
Key losses: G Scott Wedgewood (28-10-2-1, 3.02, .911, 3 SO; signed with New Jersey), D Beau Schmitz (14-40-54, +37; signed with Carolina), C Andy Bathgate (19-44-63)
Outlook: The Whalers had a chance to reach the Western finals last season, but they lost Game 7 at home to Kitchener. They lost some key players off that team, but the Whalers still have are strong enough to make a deeper run this season.

Saginaw Spirit
Coach/GM: Greg Gilbert/Jim Paliafito
2011-12 finish: 40-22-4-2, 3rd division, 5th conference
Playoff finish: Lost to London 4-2 in conference semifinals
Key players: C Vincent Trocheck (29-56-85; signed with Florida), LW Brandon Saad (34-42-76; signed with Chicago), LW Garret Ross (25-29-54), C Eric Locke (20-20-40), D Dalton Young (5-15-20)
Key losses: LW Josh Shalla (40-36-76; signed with Nashville), RW Michael Fine (22-45-67), C John McFarland (20-21-41; signed with Florida), D Brad Walch (5-18-23, +21)
Outlook: Trocheck and Saad headline an offense that ranked fifth in the league a season ago with 259 goals. Now they have to solidify a defense that allowed 259 goals, the fourth most in the league. Clint Windsor and Jake Paterson are the keys in net.

Sarnia Sting
Coach/GM: Jacques Beaulieu
2011-12 finish: 34-27-2-5, 2nd division, 4th conference
Playoff finish: Lost 4-2 to Saginaw in conference quarterfinals
Key players: C Alex Galchenyuk (0-0-0 in 2 games; signed with Montreal), G J.P. Anderson (27-23-2-4, 3.03, .908, 3 SO), LW Reid Boucher (28-22-50), D Connor Murphy (8-18-26; signed with Phoenix), D Alex Basso (9-27-36, +5)
Key losses: RW Nail Yakupov (31-38-69 in 42 games; signed with Edmonton), C Brett Thompson (32-38-70; former Otter), C Ryan Spooner (29-37-66; signed with Boston), LW Tyler J. Brown (21-27-48), D Adrian Robertson (10-28-38, +13)
Outlook: Yakupov, the No. 1 pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, isn’t expected to rejoin the Sting. But Galchenyuk, the No. 3 pick in the draft, returns after missing nearly all of last season with a knee injury. But can the Sting overcome other key losses?

Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
Coach/GM: Mike Stapleton/Kyle Dubas
2011-12 finish: 29-33-2-4, 5th division, 9th conference
Playoff finish: Did not qualify
Key players: C Nick Cousins (35-53-88; signed with Philadelphia), G Matt Murray (13-19-0-1, 4.08, .876; Pittsburgh prospect), D Ryan Sproul (23-31-54, +16), RW Andrew Fritsch (13-19-32 in 35 games; Phoenix prospect), LW Michael Schumacher (26-24-50)
Key losses: C Brett Findlay (20-36-56; traded to Peterborough), C Carson Dubchak (16-16-32)
Outlook: The Greyhounds are trying to avoid a third straight season out of the playoff picture. But does Stapleton, the Otters’ former associate and assistant coach, have enough talented depth to make that happen in a challenging conference?

Windsor Spitfires
Coach/GM: Bob Boughner/Warren Rychel
2011-12 finish: 29-32-5-2, 4th division, 8th conference
Playoff finish: Lost to London 4-0 in conference quarterfinals
Key players: LW Kerby Rychel (41-33-74); C Brady Vail (22-30-52), LW Chris Marchese (18-25-43; former Otter), D Nick Ebert (6-33-39), RW Joshua Ho-Sang (No. 5 pick in OHL Priority Selection), LW Ben Johnson (18-20-38)
Key losses: C Alexander Khokhlachev (25-44-69; playing in Russia), C Zack MacQueen (18-20-38; son of former Otters coach Dave MacQueen)
Outlook: The unexpected departure of Khokhlachev will hurt thre Spitfires, unless forwards like Rychel, Vail, former Otter Marchese and first-round pick Ho-Sang pick up the slack. But will they have enough on defense and in net to win consistently?

- Victor Fernandes

Three former Erie Otters – David Broll, Jaroslav Janus and Greg McKegg – have a chance to win an American Hockey League championship.
The Norfolk Admirals and Toronto Marlies begin the best-of-seven Turner Cup finals today at 7:30 p.m. at Scope Arena in Norfolk, Va. Janus has a 3-1-0 record, 1.69 goals-against average, .937 save percentage and one shutout in four playoff games with Norfolk this spring. He helped the Admirals finish the regular season with 28 straight wins, the longest streak in North American professional hockey history.
McKegg joined the Marlies earlier this week after leading the Ontario Hockey League champion London Knights to the Memorial Cup final.
Broll, who spent the past season and a half with the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, also plays for the Marlies. He has no points in one playoff game. Current Otters winger Sondre Olden is no longer with the Marlies. He reportedly was released from an amateur tryout contract in April.
Game 2 is set for Saturday at 7:15 p.m. in Norfolk. The series heads to Toronto for Game 3 (Thursday, 7 p.m.), Game 4 (June 9, 3 p.m.) and Game 5 (June 10, 3 p.m.). Norfolk hosts Game 6 (June 13, 7:15 p.m.) and Game 7 (June 15, 7:30 p.m.).

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, 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

The Erie Otters hung tough with Sault Ste. Marie for the opening 20 minutes Friday night.

But the Greyhounds exploded for three straight goals in a span of 3 minutes, 6 seconds early in the second period on their way to a 6-3 win against the Otters in front of 2,869 at Tullio Arena.

Nick Cousins, Mark Petaccio and Ryan Sproul scored in that decisive span, which gave the Greyhounds a 3-0 lead. The Otters responded on rookie Stephen Harper’s first of two goals 6:14 into the second.

Sault Ste. Marie finished the period with David Quesnele’s goal at the 18:13 mark to regain a three-goal advantage at 4-1, only to have the Otters slice that lead to 4-3 with less than six minutes left in the game.

Jimmy McDowell scored his first goal as an Otter – and only the eighth in 161 career OHL games – 2:18 into the third period to move the Otters within 4-2. Then Harper scored his second goal – and 19^th of the season – on the power play with 5:44 remaining to slice the Greyhounds’ lead to one goal.

The Otters earned their third and final power-play chance of the night with one minute left. But Sproul scored short-handed into an empty net seven seconds later to seal the Greyhounds’ victory.

The Otters, which fell to 9-43-3-2 on the season, also received two assists from Luke Cairns. Ramis Sadikov stopped 30-of-35 shots in a losing effort. Matt Murray had 30 saves for the Greyhounds.

Cousins paced Sault Ste. Marie (24-29-2-4) with his team-leading 31^st goal of the season and two assists.

Ryan Sproul scored two goals while Brandon Alderson and Quesnele added a goal and assist apiece. David Broll had an assist against his former team. The Otters return to action today at 7 p.m. at home against Kingston.

SUMMARY

Greyhounds 6, Otters 3

Sault Ste. Marie  0  4  2  —  6

Erie  0  1  2  —  3

1^st Period — None. Penalties — None.

2^nd Period — 1. Sault Ste. Marie, Nick Cousins 31 (Broll, Alderson), 1:25. 2. Sault Ste. Marie, Mark Petaccio 5 (Staples), 3:44. 3. Sault Ste. Marie, Ryan Sproul 15 (Cousins), 4:31. 4. Erie, Stephen Harper 18 (Cairns, Brown), 6:14. 5. Sault Ste. Marie, David Quesnele 10 (Dubchak), 18:13. Penalties — Alderson (S) cross checking, 11:22; Pelech (E) hooking, 14:35; McDowell (E) interference, 16:23. Penalty shot — Cousins (S) no goal, 16:23.

3^rd Period — 6. Erie, Jimmy McDowell 2 (Cairns), 2:18. 7. Erie, Harper 19 (Pelech, Brown), 14:16 (pp). 8. Sault Ste. Marie, Brandon Alderson 15 (Cousins, Nurse), 15:57. 9. Sault Ste. Marie, Sproul 16 (Quesnele), 19:07 (sh-en). Penalties — McCarthy (E) slashing, 9:53; Fuller (S) hooking, 13:34; Durocher (S) delay of game, 19:00.

Shots on goal — Sault Ste. Marie, 14-10-12—36; Erie, 3-16-14—33.

Goaltenders — Sault Ste. Marie, Matt Murray 12-17-0-1 (33 shots, 30 saves); Erie, Ramis Sadikov 5-21-3-1 (35 shots, 30 saves).

Power plays — Sault Ste. Marie (0-2), Erie (1-3).

Referees — Pat Myers, Seth Ferguson. Linesmen — Ryan Holmstead, Darryl Wolfe.

Attendance — 2,869.

Three stars

* Stephen Harper, Otters (2 goals) ** Nick Cousins, Greyhounds (goal, 2 assists) *** Luke Cairns, Otters (2 assists)

Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (23-29-2-4) at Erie Otters (9-42-3-2)

When: Friday, 7 p.m.

Where: Tullio Arena

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

Up next: vs. Kingston (Saturday, 7 p.m.), at Mississauga St. Michael’s (Sunday, 2 p.m.)

Fast facts: The Otters return home after beating Belleville 4-1 Sunday to salvage the last game of a three-game East Division road trip. … They have nearly half of their wins in the past 10 games (4-5-0-1). … Erie’s magic number to clinch the No. 1 pick in the OHL Priority Selection stands at six. Any combination of Otters losses and Kingston wins totaling six points would secure the pick. … The Otters need to win seven of their final 12 games to avoid equaling or breaking their single-season record for fewest wins (15 in 2006-07). The 2006-07 team also holds the mark for most losses in regulation (50). … The OHL’s worst offense (131 goals) needs to score 51 goals (4.25 per game) to avoid equaling or breaking the franchise’s record low of 181 set in the 2002-03 season. … F Connor Crisp (shoulder) still hasn’t been cleared for full-contact practice. He will be reevaluated Monday. Club officials haven’t ruled out shutting him down for the rest of the season. … Mike Stapleton, an associate coach and assistant for the Otters from (2006-08), returns to Erie for the first time as Greyhounds head coach. … He has led them to eighth place in the Western Conference. They are one point ahead of Guelph for the final playoff spot following a 7-1 loss at Eastern Conference-leading Niagara Thursday. But Guelph has three games in hand. … Former Otters LW David Broll entered Thursday with four goals, 21 assists and 25 points in 51 games with the Greyhounds this season. The 2009 first-round pick has nine goals, 28 assists and 37 points in 76 games since being traded to Sault Ste. Marie in January 2010. He has 26 goals, 51 assists and 77 points in his first 180 OHL games. … G Jack Campbell, who led Windsor past the Otters in the first round of the playoff a season ago, began Thursday with a 11-10-2-3 record, 3.50 goals-against average, .896 save percentage and one shutout with the Greyhounds this season.

- Victor Fernandes