What: Brampton Battalion (12-14-0-5) at Erie Otters (16-15-1-1)

When: Today, 7 p.m.

Where: Tullio Arena

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

Players to watch

Erie – C Greg McKegg (24 goals, 26 assists, 50 points), RW Shawn Szydlowski (17-14-31), RW Anthony Luciani (13-17-30), G Ramis Sadikov (16-11-1-1 record, 2.95 goals-against average, .911 save percentage, 2 shutouts), C Phil Varone (12-13-25)

Brampton – LW Ian Watters (17-10-27), RW Michael Santini (10-10-20), RW Scott Tanski (8-12-30), D Spencer Abraham (3-14-17), LW Barclay Goodrow (8-9-17)

Fast facts

Erie – The Otters conclude the opening half of the OHL season with consecutive home games against Central Division teams. They have a 3-2 record against that division, including a season-opening 5-1 win in Brampton Sept. 24. … The Otters have a 3-2 record in December after posting a 9-3 mark in November. … They are 13-6-0-1 since acquiring Varone from London Oct. 26. … The Otters have five hat tricks in the past eight games (McKegg 2, Szydlowski 2, Varone). That’s more than the team recorded in a season seven of the past eight years. … Szydlowski has tied the franchise record of three hat tricks in one season (Tim Connolly 1998-99, Brad Boyes 1999-2000, Cory Pecker 2001-02 and Luciani 2009-10). … McKegg is fourth overall in goals – three behind Saginaw LW Josh Shalla (27) and Ottawa RW Tyler Toffoli (27) and one behind Owen Sound LW Garrett Wilson (25). … McKegg also is fourth in points – four behind Ottawa LW Shane Prince (54), two behind Kitchener RW Jason Akeson (52) and one behind Toffoli (51). … McKegg is on pace to be the first player in franchise history to top 100 points in a season. Pecker set the mark of 99 in 2001-02. … If Sadikov starts tonight, he will set a franchise mark with 24 consecutive starts. He currently shares that mark with Josh Disher (23 from Sept. 28-Nov. 27, 2003). … Sadikov has played 1,772 minutes this season, which leads the league by 251 (Petr Mrazek, Ottawa – 1,521). … C Mike Cazzola (9-16-25 in 19 games), who has missed the past six weeks with a broken wrist, began skating with no contact or shooting this week. Yet he won’t rejoin the lineup until sometime after the Christmas break. D Tyler Hostetter (broken hand) and LW Andrew Yogan (shoulder) continue rehabilitating at their respective homes in Lititz, Pa., and Boca Raton, Fla.

Brampton – The Battalion’s roster has changed since they played the Otters in September. They traded former Otter Sean Jones, their leading scorer last season, to Kingston last month. They also traded D Kyle Pereira to Guelph and G Jacob Riley to Sudbury. … The Battalion have lost seven of their past 11 games. … They rank near the bottom of the league with 96 goals scored but in the top 10 in goals against (112). … They are 14^th on the power play (18.2 percent) but fifth on the penalty kill (82.6). … They lead the league with five shootout losses and are tied for the lead with five overtime/shootout defeats.

Up next: vs. Sudbury (Saturday, 7 p.m.), at Plymouth (Dec. 28, 2 p.m.)

– 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.)