For the first time in almost seven years, the Erie Otters took to the ice at Erie Insurance Arena hosting an OHL Playoff game. Although the night started out perfectly, it ended with a big thud in overtime.
Justin Bottineau scored both the tying goal in the third period and then won it in overtime on the Kitchener Rangers’ first shot of overtime to lift them to a 4-3 comeback win over the Otters. After falling down 3-0 just 1:12 into the second period, the Rangers allowed nothing the rest of the night.
Goaltender Jackson Parsons finished the night with 40 saves including several game saving ones in the third period and overtime. The Otters outshot the Rangers 24-5 in the third and overtime.
It was the Rangers bottom-six that provided the offense. Antonio Pugliese had a goal and two assists while Luca Romano added three assists on the night.
Valuable Lesson
For coach Stan Butler, the issue for his team was how they played after building a 3-0 lead. He didn’t mince words when describing what he saw.
“I think what happened is our guys didn’t understand that it’s a 60-minute game,” Butler said. “We have a lot of inexperienced guys in the playoffs. I think once we got up 3-0, I think they were too focused on cutting corners and trying to get the fourth goal instead of just playing the proper way. It really took until the third period when they tied the game up and then I thought we started to play well again. Then in overtime, that’s hockey, we had eight shots. The one they had unfortunately went in our net.”
Coach Butler believes this Game 3 loss can serve as a valuable lesson. But in his words, the players have to decide if they take the lesson to heart.
“If they have a short memory and want to park and realize it’s the first game to four, first team to four, then you know what the motivation is that you gotta win three more games. If you’re gonna feel sorry for yourself and think about things like that, then sometimes those type of games change the momentum. But all year our guys with the injuries we’ve had, they’ve been a pretty resilient group. If they take any character from their coach, I’m sure they’ll bounce back on Thursday.”
Gaudreau Returns
The other big story in game 3 was the return of goaltender Ben Gaudreau to the Otters lineup. Although he allowed four on 27 shots, he played well in his return given how long he was out of the lineup.
“I thought he was good,” Butler said. “He hasn’t played for two months and it’s only practice for a little bit of time. I thought he was pretty good. He gave us a chance to win. I felt like we let him down a little bit. I think we had guys tonight that if they’re gonna play beyond this level, they gotta realize that it’s a 200-foot game and usually when you cut corners, you end up in dead-end streets.”
Gaudreau said postgame he didn’t know until Monday that he would be coming back for Game 3. He was cleared after skating in some practices.
“It was a little tough,” Gaudreau said. “I mean, getting back into it especially when he got stuck in our end there for a bit. The second (period), definitely feel that a little bit more than usual. But all in all, I think I might have had three or four practices basically had full strength coming back. I can’t go too hard on myself. It’s a short series too. I gotta be able to bounce back and come back.”
First Look at Game 4
We’ll see if the Otters take the Game 3 lesson to heart. It got good for them up 3-0. They’re now down 2-1 in the series. They certainly played well enough to win but let up just enough to have the game slip away.
With Gaudreau back, it was Jacob Gibbons that was the backup since Ethan Fraser is an OA player. Gaudreau is expected to start in Game 4.
The Otters didn’t do a lot of line shuffling. They generated chances but just couldn’t get the fourth goal. Expect much of the same in terms of their lineup. We’ll see if a forward becomes available to make it a traditional 12/6 setup. They played 11/7 with Nicholas Holomego in the lineup.
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The Rangers did shorten their bench in the third and in overtime. It will be curious to see what kind of impact that will have on the rest of this series. Parsons should be right back in net for Game 4.
Should the Otters win at least one of Games 4 or 5, they will host Game 6 on the day of the total solar eclipse. Erie is in the path of totality. The city expects around 200,000 people in town for this event that would take place mid afternoon. Travelling and getting around town could prove to be interesting. Most every hotel is also sold out.
It’s been a good series so far. Game 4 should be more of the same in terms of entertainment value.