[truebluefan]

Rangers squeak past Otters

Matt Auffrey scored the only goal of the shootout as the Kitchener Rangers shaded the Erie Otters 5-4 in an Ontario Hockey League game played tonight in front of 2,409 at the Tullio Arena.

Matt Halischuk paced the Rangers offense with two goals while Kevin Henderson and Auffrey supplied the other goals.

Nick Palmieri, Andrew Hotham, Justin Hodgman and Shayne Taylor, with the first of his career, scored for the Otters. Hotham's goal extended his consecutive game goal-scoring streak to five games, a new franchise record for defenseman (Chris Campoli, four games in 2003-04) while Hodgman and Palmieri each extended their point-scoring streaks to five games.

The Otters dropped their fourth straight (0-2-0-2) to drop to 1-2-0-2 on the season. Kitchener ended a two-game losing streak to improve to 2-3.

The Rangers led 3-1 after one and 4-1 six minutes into the second before the Otters mounted a comeback scoring three times in the final eight-and-a-half minutes of the period to send the game into the third tied at four.

Ryan O'Marra, Sean O'Connor and Palmieri all missed their shootout opportunities allowing Auffrey's goal to stand as the winner.

Ryan Ludzik started his fifth consecutive game for the Otters and allowed three goals on nine shots. He was replaced by Jeff Dawson after the Rangers jumped out to the 3-0 lead just 12 minutes into the game. Dawson turned aside 37 of the 38 shots he faced. The three stars of the game were 1. Dawson; 2. Hotham and 3. Halischuk.

The Otters return to action with the first of three road games Friday night in Mississauga against the IceDogs (3-0). The game can be heard live on 1330 Erie's ESPN Radio and on-line at www.ottershockey.com (presented by the James H. Cross Company) beginning with the pre-game show at 7:15 p.m. Saturday the Otters travel to Barrie to meet the Colts (2-1) followed by a Monday afternoon contest in Owen Sound against the Attack (3-1-0-1).

The next Otters home games take place October 13th and 14th against the Plymouth Whlaers and Toronto St. Michael's Majors respectively. Tickets for the games are on sale now at all Erie-area TicketMaster locations as well as the Civic Center Box Office.

Single game regular season ticket prices for the 2006-2007 season are $13.50 for platinum level seating and $11.50 for gold level seating. A child ticket is also available for $9.50 for children 12 and under in any seating section. All single season ticket prices include the City of Erie 3% Entertainment Tax.

 

[truebluefan]

Taylor heads to Bakersfield

Goaltender Danny Taylor won't be coming back to the Kingston Frontenacs.

Taylor passed through town yesterday on his way to Bakersfield, Calif., and the Bakersfield Condors, an independent team that plays in the Pacific Division of the 25-team East Coast Hockey League.

Taylor, 20, under contract to the Los Angeles Kings, had been trying to land one of the goaltending positions with the NHL team's top farm club, the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League.


complete article

 

[truebluefan]

Rangers drop Erie

Matt Auffery scored the only shootout goal as the Kitchener Rangers slipped by the Erie Otters 5-4 in Ontario Hockey League action Wednesday.

complete article

 

[truebluefan]

Rangers fortunate to leave Erie with win

The Kitchener Rangers snapped a two-game Ontario Hockey League losing streak with a 5-4 shootout victory over the Erie Otters in Pennsylvania last night.

Matt Auffrey got the winner.

complete article

 

[truebluefan]

Foreman intends to energize Knights

All the signs point to Jordan Foreman making his season debut with the London Knights tomorrow night at the John Labatt Centre against the Sudbury Wolves.

It couldn't come soon enough for the Knights version of the energizer bunny played at fast forward.

complete article

 

[truebluefan]

Top spot at stake in early showdown

BRAMPTON, Ont. - It's only early October in what may be the last season for the Mississauga IceDogs, but that doesn't detract from the importance of their 7:30 p.m. Thursday visit to the Brampton Battalion.

First place in the Central Division is on the line in the first of eight Ontario Hockey League games between the Peel Region rivals. The Battalion has a won-lost-extended record of 3-1-1, good for seven points and first place in the division, one point ahead of the IceDogs, who have won their first three games while scoring 21 goals.

The IceDogs missed the playoffs last season, but Battalion coach Stan Butler said Wednesday he isn't surprised by their fast start.

"They have three good lines and a forward group that is older and experienced," said Butler, whose charges boast an all-time won-lost-tied record of 34-17-5, including two overtime losses, against Mississauga since the two clubs joined the league for the 1998-99 season.

Butler said the IceDogs have benefited from the contributions of a number of players, including goaltender Lucas Lobsinger, defenceman Alex Pietrangelo, the third overall pick in the 2006 OHL Priority Selection, and veteran left winger Travis Fuller, acquired in a trade with the Barrie Colts.

"Their biggest question to start the season was defence and goaltending, but Lobsinger has played extremely well for them in net and Pietrangelo has come in and taken some good minutes as a rookie, kind of like Cody Hodgson has done for us. Fuller is a good overage, and defencemen like Nathan Martine and Kyle Lamb have matured as well."

Battalion defenceman Phil Oreskovic has faced the IceDogs 22 times over the last three seasons.

"There's no way I'd miss this one, especially a division rival like this," said Oreskovic, who returns to the lineup after sitting out two games with an ankle injury suffered Sept. 24 during off-ice warmups before a 4-3 win over the host Sudbury Wolves.

"It's a great rivalry no matter how each team is playing. The games are always exciting."

Defencemen Stephane Chabot and Ken Peroff also are available after sitting out two games with an ankle injury and flu respectively.

"I came down hard on my ankle and rolled it a bit," said Oreskovic, who played against Sudbury despite the injury. "It was a freak accident, but they kept me out of those games as a precautionary thing. It feels great now. I really wanted to be in there. I haven't been in the stands watching too many games during my career, that's for sure."

Oreskovic, a 19-year-old Brampton resident, is no stranger to the Battalion-Mississauga rivalry, having seen plenty of meetings before joining the Troops as a first-round pick in the 2003 OHL Priority Selection.

"Things seem to be working for them now," Oreskovic noted of the IceDogs. "They're coming out strong and they have a hard-working team. At the same time, I think we've had a pretty decent start too."

Eugene Melnyk, owner of both the IceDogs and Toronto St. Michael's Majors, has said he will sell the IceDogs for relocation and move the Majors into Mississauga's Hershey Centre as soon as possible, whether next season or for 2008-09.

 

[truebluefan]

Attack Adds Flatt To Roster

Owen Sound Attack General Manager Michael Futa has announced the addition of overage defenseman Dalyn Flatt.

Flatt was drafted by the New York Rangers in the third round, 77th overall, in 2005.

His junior career has been split between the Saskatoon Blades and the Kootenay Ice of the Western Hockey League.

Dalyn Flatt is expected to be in Owen Sound to practice with the team on Friday and will be eligible to be in the lineup Saturday night at 7:30pm when the Attack hosts the Plymouth Whalers.

 

[truebluefan]

Otters roll on the road

The Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League continue a busy week Friday night when they travel to Mississauga for the first of three road games in four days. The trip will include a Saturday evening encounter with the Barrie Colts and a Monday matinee in Owen Sound against the Attack.

All three games can be heard live on 1330 Erie's ESPN Radio and on-line at www.ottershockey.com (presented by the James H. Cross Company). The pre-game show begins at 7:15 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Monday afternoon the pre-game show starts at 1:45 p.m.

The Otters (1-2-0-2) enter the weekend set in the midst of a four-game losing streak (0-2-0-2) and coming off a 5-4 shootout loss to the Kitchener Rangers at the Tullio Arena on Wednesday. Andrew Hotham continued his sharp shooting striking for his sixth goal of the season and extending his goal-scoring streak to five games, a franchise record for defensemen. Nick Palmieri and Justin Hodgman also scored in the game to extend their point-scoring streaks to five games, career highs for both players.

The IceDogs enter Friday's game with a perfect 3-0 record and ranked eighth in the weekly Canadian Hockey League Top-10. Fourth year veteran forward Chris Lawrence has paced the IceDogs offensively with six goals and three assists for nine points in the first three games.

Brian Little, selected 12th overall by the Atlanta Thrashers in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, leads the Colts (2-1) with three goals and seven points in the first three games of the season.

The Otters wrap up the weekend Monday afternoon (Canadian Thanksgiving) in Owen Sound (3-1-0-1). Veteran defenseman Bob Sanguinetti has led the way offensively for the Attack with six goals and four assists in five games.

The next Otters home games take place October 13th and 14th against the Plymouth Whalers and Toronto St. Michael's Majors respectively. Tickets for the games are on sale now at all Erie-area TicketMaster locations as well as the Civic Center Box Office.

Single game regular season ticket prices for the 2006-2007 season are $13.50 for platinum level seating and $11.50 for gold level seating. A child ticket is also available for $9.50 for children 12 and under in any seating section. All single game ticket prices include the City of Erie 3% Entertainment Tax.

 

[truebluefan]

Spirit Trade Priamo to Guelph

(Saginaw, MI) The Saginaw Spirit announce today that forward Tim Priamo has been traded to the Guelph Storm for a conditional pick in the 2007 OHL Priority Selection. Further details of the trade were not disclosed.

The Guelph, ON native played 60 games for the Spirit last season, earning 4 goals and 10 assists. He also played 3 games against the Storm in the 2006 OHL Playoffs.