Otters prevail 4-3 in OT

Matthew Schaefer scored at 2:10 of overtime to give the Erie Otters a 4-3 victory over the North Bay Battalion in Ontario Hockey League action Thursday night.

Schaefer, Malcolm Spence and Sam Alfano all had one goal and one assist, while Tyler Challenger also scored for Erie. Goaltender Noah Erliden provided 29 saves before a Memorial Gardens crowd of 2,253.

Erie improved its won-lost-extended record to 14-7-4 for 32 points, third in the Midwest Division.

Shamar Moses scored one goal and added an assist for North Bay, and Nick Wellenreiter and Ryder Carey had a goal apiece. Goaltender Mike McIvor made 40 saves for the Battalion, 11-11-3 for 25 points, fifth in the Central Division.

“I liked the effort from our guys for the most part,” said Battalion coach Ryan Oulahen. “Didn’t love our first period, but certainly really, really liked the second and third, just the way we hunted pucks. We created a lot of turnovers with our sticks, just winning battles, being a lot more aggressive.”

Defenceman Schaefer ended it 12 seconds after coach Stan Butler’s Otters called a timeout, slipping up the middle to take a breakaway pass at the blue line and backhanding his seventh goal of the season. Dylan Edwards and Martin Misiak assisted.

Spence opened the scoring at 4:01 of the first period, moving to the inner edge of the left circle and wristing the puck high past McIvor. Alfano and Schaefer assisted on Spence’s 12th goal.

The teams then saw a pair of newcomers exchange their first OHL goals in rapid succession, with Wellenreiter striking first at 12:56 when he converted a Moses rebound. Kent Greer also assisted on the goal by Wellenreiter, who made his home-ice debut after joining the Troops from the British Columbia Hockey League’s Coquitlam Express last week.

Challenger answered eight seconds later, putting the puck home at the right post. Brett Hammond assisted on the goal by rookie Challenger, the 10th overall pick in the 2024 OHL Priority Selection from the North York Rangers U16s.

McIvor sprawled to deny penalty killer Pano Fimis on a breakaway after Ty Henry went off for holding at 17:08, the only penalty of the frame.

Alfano struck for his team-leading 14th goal at 4:50 of the second period to give Erie a 3-1 lead, taking a cross-crease pass from Fimis and sliding the puck home, with Spence drawing the other assist.

Moses scored at 7:33 after Jacob LeBlanc sent the puck from the Battalion zone up the ice to the end boards. Dylan Richter retrieved it, curled behind the net and fed Moses in front for his sixth goal.

Carey tied it at 9:16, converting a pass from the right corner to the goalmouth for his fourth goal. Lirim Amidovski and Briir Long, with his first OHL point, had the assists.

Erliden foiled Ethan Procyszyn twice on a shorthanded breakaway after Jacob Therrien was whistled for high-sticking at 1:25 of the third period. Procyszyn spun to direct the rebound of his initial shot toward the net. The Troops then failed to connect on the last two power plays of the game, including a roughing call against Schaefer at 15:23.

How to Get a Fubo TV Free Trial in 2024The Battalion plays host to the Flint Firebirds at 2 p.m. Sunday on Webster & Associates Day in support of the Alzheimer’s Society.

BATTALION BULLETS: Marriott Night saw a gift card for $250 awarded … The Battalion won the teams’ other meeting 3-2 via shootout Oct. 11 at Erie … Moses, Amidovski and LeBlanc are among 18 skaters named Thursday to the Eastern Conference team in the inaugural Connor McDavid OHL Top Prospects Game on Jan. 15 at Brantford. It will feature players eligible for the 2025 National Hockey League Draft … Erie’s Wesley Royston and Reyth Smith received majors for a fight at 5:51 of the second period. Smith led all players with five shots on goal in the game … North Bay went 0-for-5 on the power play. Erie was 0-for-2 … Opening lines saw Procyszyn centring left winger Owen Van Steensel and right winger Therrien, Long pivoting left winger Moses and right winger Wellenreiter and Carey centring left winger Smith and right winger Amidovski. Richter and Natan Teshome had various linemates … Defence pairs were Bronson Ride with Wyatt Kennedy, Aaron Enright with LeBlanc and Greer with Brayden Turley. Sam Rivet, recalled from the junior A Powassan Voodoos, made his OHL debut. The North Bay native was an 11th-round pick in the 2024 OHL Priority Selection from the Halton Hurricanes U16s … The Battalion was without Declan Gallivan, Anthony Romani, Nolan Laird, Zach Wilson, Stepan Chukharev, Andrew LeBlanc and Ihnat Pazii, who turned 18 Wednesday … Adam Smeeton has returned to the junior A Haliburton County Huskies … Sean Reid and Tyson Stewart were the referees.