The Erie Otters defeated the Peterborough Petes at home on Sunday afternoon. The Otters exploded on offense for their 29th win this season while the Petes’ losing streak extended to five. A full 60-minute effort helped lead Erie to a 7-2 win in front of 4472 fans. 

Erie Otters Offense Fills Up The Stat-Sheet

The Otters offense had a huge afternoon against the Petes. Erie scored seven goals on 44 shots. NHL Draft prospect Malcom Spence had two goals, one assist, and was named the first star of the game. Four total Otters finished with three points. Defenseman Alexis Daviault led the team with a 4 plus-minus rating. 

Charlie Burns Shines In First Start Since January 

Charlie Burns had a nice performance in his first start in over a month. The 19-year old goaltender last started on January 26th against the Niagara IceDogs. Since then, starter Noah Erliden has handled duties. After getting the start, Burns had 22 saves and a 2.00 goals-allowed-average in the win. He also had a .917 save percentage. 

Erie Otters Improve On Special Teams 

One of the biggest weaknesses for the Otters this season has been consistency at special teams. Erie entered the game bottom-half in both power play and penalty kill percentage. Despite only getting three opportunities, Erie scored on the power play and recorded six shots. On the other side it was a strong effort by the penalty kill. The unit was pretty successful only allowing one goal on seven attempts. The Otters also had a shorthanded goal as well. 

A Brawl At The Benches 

The story of the game was the huge brawl during the second period between the Otters and Petes. Before the faceoff, Erie’s Alex Messier dropped the gloves and fought with Peterborough’s Francis Parish and Grayden Strohack. Moments later, Otters coach Kris Mallette and Petes coach Rob Wilson exchanged some words between the two benches. 

Messier was given three game misconducts and Strohack was given two. Both coaches were given one and were ejected from the game. Following the brawl, Peterborough would be given a five-minute major powerplay. 

End Of My Erie Otters Rant

This game was one of my favorites of the season. Not only did the Otters win, there was a lot of chaos and I’ve never seen a brawl like this! The crowd was involved and the feeling was electric! It’ll be interesting to see if any suspensions get handed out. The Erie Otters host the Owen Sound Attack next weekend starting on Friday night.

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