Veteran D Spencer Abraham figures Dane Fox and Jimmy McDowell are locks for two of the Erie Otters’ three overager spots for the 2013-14 OHL season. The departure of D Jack Kuzmyk, who recently informed club officials he has chosen to enroll in school instead of trying to play his final season in major juniors, leaves as Abraham as the only other OA on the current roster.
Yet Abraham doesn’t think he’s a sure thing right now. “I’m going to have to earn my spot,” he said. OAs need to be among the best players on the team. So where doe Abraham feel he fits in?
“I can be a depth guy,” he said, who can serve as a mentor to younger Ds like returnees Justin Felker and Darren Raddysh, soon-to-be signed 2013 second-round pick Jesse Saban and highly-touted 2012 pick Travis Dermott.
“They’re young guys coming into the league,” said Abraham, who heads into his fourth year in the OHL. “It’s a tough league. I can show them the way they need to work and the way they need to act.”
* Taking the next step: Defense prospect Patrick Murphy needed to get thinner, faster and stronger to have a chance to play for the Otters next season. He’s spending the offseason doing just that.
A more streamlined version of the Otters’ fifth-round pick in the 2011 OHL Priority Selection looked impressive during the club’s rookie development camp this weekend at Mercyhurst Ice Center.
“I wasn’t fast enough and too soft in the corners. That’s where I needed to step up to stick around,” said Murphy, who spent brief stints with the club the past two seasons.
* Hitting his mark: First-round pick Dylan Strome tossed a strike Friday night at Jerry Uht Park, when he threw the ceremonial first pitch before the Erie SeaWolves game. Strome wishes he was more accurate with his shots in Saturday’s scrimmages at MIC. He scored in the first scrimmage featuring mainly players with 1996 and 1997 birth years.
Yet he was stopped on a few quality chances in the second scrimmage.
Yet on the plus side, he quickly learned how much of a jump he will face from minor midgets to the OHL. Besides being a faster game, he said, “you’ve got to brace yourself for every hit.”
* A weekend off: C Connor McDavid enjoyed a leisurely weekend at MIC. He didn’t skate because he’s only a week removed from winning a gold medal at the IIHF U18 World Championship in Sochi, Russia. Besides, he’s still savoring the memorable experience, and not because he led all players in the tournament with eight goals and 14 points.
He enjoyed playing some of the best players in the world in that age group. McDavid also appreciated what he saw on the ice at MIC this weekend.
“It looks good out there,” he said. “I’m looking forward to training camp.”
* Getting offensive: C Kyle Pettit developed into a reliable defensive forward for the Otters last season as a 16-year-old rookie. Yet he focused on his offensive game this offseason. He has worked strictly on offense four days a week.
“It’s nice to get an offensive approach to my game,” he said.

Erie Otters (18-37-3-5) at Owen Sound Attack (39-18-1-5)
When: Today and 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)
Upcoming schedule: Wednesday vs. London, 7 p.m.
What to expect: The Otters snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-4 comeback win in overtime against Windsor Saturday night at Erie Insurance Arena. … D Spencer Abraham scored the winning goal to complete his second two-goal game and three-point outing of his three-year OHL career. He was one point short of matching his single-game best of four points, set in his second career game with Brampton against Barrie Sept. 30, 2010. … F Dane Fox (16 goals, 17 assists, 33 points in 32 games) had two goals and an assist against the Spitfires in his first game back from a two-game, OHL-imposed suspension. … D Adam Pelech (7-30-37) rejoins the lineup tonight after serving a five-game suspension. … C Jake Evans (5-11-16) served his two-game suspension last weekend. But he hasn’t skated since injuring his knee during practice Feb. 25. … The Otters also are without rookie RW Hayden Hodgson (8-4-12), who’s serving a 10-game suspension that carries over to the first three games of the 2013-14 season. … RW Connor Brown (26-40-66) has skated on his own this week as he recovers from a concussion. Brown, who has been symptom-free the past few days, hopes to play this weekend. … Rookie D Justin Felker (neck) has been shut down for the rest of the season. … The Otters have all but clinched the No. 2 pick in the OHL Priority Selection April 6. Ottawa (16-42-0-5) is on pace to secure the No. 1 pick, while Peterborough (22-34-3-4) has the inside track to the third overall spot. … Otters C Connor McDavid (25-35-60) and Sarnia RW Nikolay Goldobin (27-33-60) are tied atop the league’s rookie scoring list. Both teams have five games left. McDavid, who has played five fewer games than Goldobin, leads his counterpart by two assists and trails him by two in goals. … Owen Sound is in a tight battle with Midwest Division rival Kitchener for third place in the Western Conference. The Attack has 84 points, one more than the Rangers, with five regular-season games left. … The Attack have the league’s best scoring defense (155 goals against) despite being the most penalized team (1,173 minutes). They are third on the penalty kill (84 percent). … C Daniel Catenacci ranks among the top 15 overall with 34 goals, 72 points and 111 penalty minutes. … LW Steven Janes (104), D Kurtis MacDermid (101) and LW Kyle Hope (100) also rank among the top 20 in penalty minutes. … G Jordan Binnington ranks among the leaders in wins (29), goals-against average (2.25), save percentage (.931) and shutouts (6). … The Attack won three of the first four meetings with the Otters.

- 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

GUELPH, Ontario – The Erie Otters began the third period Friday night with a chance at a road win against a Midwest Division rival.
That chance didn’t last long, though, as Tyler Bertuzzi‘s goal 1 minute, 46 seconds into the final period sparked Guelph’s decisive three-goal outburst that handed the Otters a 6-3 loss in front of 3,417 at Sleeman Centre. Erie (2-4-1-1) fell to 1-4-1-0 on the road.
Otters captain Connor Brown scored his team-leading fifth and sixth goals of the season. He scored with 6:36 left in the first period, and then added a power-play goal 24 seconds into the second to complete a comeback from an early 2-0 deficit. Guelph (5-2-0-1) regained the lead at 3-2 on Scott Kosmachuk‘s sixth goal of the season, scored on the power play 4:26 in the period.
That lead disappeared when Spencer Abraham’s first goal as an Otter tied the score at 3 with 6:07 left in the period. But Bertuzzi’s second goal of the game early in the third helped the Storm pull away for the victory. Oscar Dansk allowed all six goals on 39 shots to take the loss for the Otters. J.P. Labardo assisted on Brown’s two goals, while linemate Connor McDavid added an assist to give the team’s most potent line 11 goals and 15 assists in six games together. McDavid leads all OHL rookies with 10 points. He also has a seven-game point streak after being held scoreless in his debut Sept. 20 at Niagara. Tanner Richard had three assists for the Storm.
The Otters return to Erie Insurance Arena to face Mississauga today at 7 p.m.

The Erie Otters acquired defenseman Spencer Abraham from Brampton Wednesday for a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2014 Priority Selection.
Abraham, 19, a native of Campbellville, Ontario, has nine goals, 42 points and 28 penalty minutes in 116 career games, all with the Battalion, including a career-best six goals and 31 points in 67 games as a rookie in 2010-11.
He had nine points in 45 games in 2011-12 before reportedly suffering a season-ending ankle injury last February. He has a goal, two points and two penalty minutes in four games this season. Abraham makes his Otters debut against the Battalion in Friday’s 7 p.m. home opener at Erie Insurance Arena. He joins a defense that has allowed a league-high 27 goals in five games.
In other news, the Otters announced at a news conference Wednesday that Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine will serve as the club’s exclusive medical provider for the 2012-13 season. The partnership includes medical coverage at all home games, as well as office visits, continuing medical care, x-rays and rehabilitation for all injured players.
LECOM President John Ferretti said, “Not only will our doctors be on hand to treat injuries, but through their skills in sports medicine, they’ll be able to guide the players to prevent injuries and improve their health.” Sherry Bassin, Otters managing partner and general manager, who recently toured LECOM’s Wellness Center, said, “They’ve got a phenomenal facility.”

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