Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario – A northern Ontario three-in-three weekend finally concluded for the Erie Otters on Saturday night, as the team made the trip to Sault Ste. Marie for the final game of the season against the Soo Greyhounds. After a tough loss in Sudbury the night before, the Otters would look to bounce back against the team directly above them in the Western Conference standings. With both teams fighting for their proverbial playoff lives, Erie would hope to repeat history from their early season result against the Soo; a 4-2 win on home ice on Thanksgiving.
Erie would be held with just a single shot in the opening five minutes, as the Soo Greyhounds would come out swinging in the first period – striking three times in the frame. 7:39 in, Julian Fantino (8) would put the puck past Kyle Downey on a second chance in front. Just over seven minutes later, Jordan D’Intino (21) would put the Greyhounds up 2-0. Exactly 10 minutes after the first goal, the final goal of the first would be recorded by Caeden Carlisle (4). Soo would outshoot Erie 10-5 in the first, and take a 3-0 lead into the period break.
Things would have to get worse before they got better, but for the Otters, the way they finished the period would be substantially different from the beginning. 6:42 into the period, Justin Cloutier (11) would score on a four-on-four to make it a 4-0 lead for the Greyhounds. Erie would get one back on the four-on-four from defenseman Artyom Kulakov (3) to get Erie on the board. With a marvelously chaotic sequence in front of the net on the power play, Carey Terrance (25) would grab his 10th power play goal of the season, and put Erie within striking distance in a two-goal game. Erie would outshoot the Soo 14-9 in the frame, and outscore them 2-1 in a 4-2 game.
What ended the second would start the third for the Erie Otters, as the team looked to build off an energized close to the period. It would take nearly eight minutes, but the Otters would finally get on the board as Noah Sedore (15) would give the team their second shorthanded goal in as many games to make it a one goal game. Where there’s one, there are many; for the Otters, this goal would lead to another pair, as Malcolm Spence (13) would knot the game up just past the halfway mark of the third. It wouldn’t be :90 that Erie would strike again, as Dylan Edwards (2) would put the Otters on top for the first time in the game, 5-4. This storybook game wouldn’t end that simply for the Otters, as an empty-net on one side would lead to a game-tying goal on the other from Mark Duarte (17) with three minutes left in the game. With a gritty final minutes, Erie and the Soo would both earn a point as we’d head to extra hockey.
Overtime would see the Otters control all the opportunities, outshooting the Soo Greyhounds 2-0 in extra hockey. Knowing the long trip home Erie had ahead, they didn’t want to take long to close the game out. Just 1:54 into overtime, Colby Saganiuk would feed Spencer Sova (15) to give the defenseman his third game-winner of the season, and win Erie an instant classic in overtime 6-5. This would be Erie’s fourth overtime win of the season, and bookend the weekend with wins. In the last two games, Erie’s PK would go 9/9.
The long weekend in northern Ontario finally comes to an end for the Erie Otters, as they make the trip back to the Flagship City for a short hiatus. The Otters head home with a 2-1 record out of the weekend. Erie will head back on the road for a Wednesday night divisional battle in Owen Sound for the final time this season, and close out eight-straight games away on Thursday night against the Barrie Colts. The Otters will play their first home game in 21 days on Saturday, February 25 when they host the Sudbury Wolves for Kids Takeover Game (pres. by Wendy’s).
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