After about a week of waiting, the #3 seed Erie Otters return to the ice tonight as they head to #2 seed Sault Ste. Marie to take on the Greyhounds for the second round of the OHL playoffs.
The Otters will start this series on the road as the first round of the postseason produced no upsets in the Western Conference, with the top four seeds winning their respective series. The Otters dispatched the Saginaw Spirit in five games, including three which went to overtime. The West Division champion Greyhounds needed five games to send the Owen Sound Attack packing.
Erie should have their young playoff jitters under control. Lack of postseason experience showed throughout the first round. Never was it more evident in Game 3 of the series. The Otters sloppy play in their own end and a lackluster performance by G Oscar Dansk resulted in the Otters only loss in the series. They were able to rebound the next two games in the opponents rink and take care of the Spirit, thanks to series heroics from Dane Fox and Michael Curtis.
The Soo had a much easier time in their first round series. With exception of an overtime loss in the first game, the Soo overpowered the Attack, winning each game by two goals or more.
Season Series
The Otters and Greyhounds met just twice during the regular season. Erie got the upper-hand in the first meeting on Nov. 15 with the Otters cruising to a 3-0 victory at Erie Insurance Arena. Dylan Strome, Patrick Murphy, and Dane Fox were the goal scorers as the Otters peppered Soo netminder Matt Murray with 33 shots in the victory. Devin Williams stopped 18 shots en rout to the shutout.
The second time around, it was all Greyhounds. The Soo blew out the Otters 8-2. Bryan Moore netted a hat-trick in the rout. Oscar Dansk was chased after allowing six goals.
It will be hard to gauge just how this series will turn out just based on the two sample of these teams meetings this season. That said, it will come down to individual performances.
Players to Watch
For Erie, it will be on the shoulders of the always clutch Dane Fox. The Canucks prospect led all of the CHL in goals this season with 64 and is known to score when his team needs it most. Playing on a line with Connor Brown and Connor McDavid definitely helps Fox get loose and be in the right place at the right time to net markers. He netted two out of the three game-winning goals in overtime against Saginaw. Expect a few goals from the circles from Fox.
Dane Fox has six goals and six assists in five games this postseason,
Expect Andre Burakovsky to keep up his stellar play. The winger scored goals in four out of five games in the previous series, including two two-goal games. He has six total this postseason so far.
Goaltending may be Erie’s biggest question mark. Devin Williams held his own in the last series with Saginaw, while Oscar Dansk rode the struggle bus in his only start of the series. However, as Victor Fernandes of the Erie Times-News reported earlier in the week, head coach Kris Knoblauch is planning on sticking with the two goaltender system. It will be interesting to see how Dansk responds after struggling hard the past couple of months.
For the Soo, it will be all about the defense, most notably Edmonton Oilers first-round pick Darnell Nurse. The nephew of former Philadelphia Eagles QB Donovan McNabb, Nurse has been a standout on the back end ever since breaking into the league. He is one of the top defenders in league and can contribute to the offensive game as well. The Otters need to solve the Soo defense to advance to the conference championship.
Nurse has two goals and five assists this postseason.
Prediction
It will be a hard-fought series, but the Otters will come away with another victory. Erie in six.
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The Otters begin the series on the road in Sault Ste. Marie tonight at 7:07 p.m. Otters Press Box will be at Game 3, which is scheduled for Monday at 7:05. Keep following Otters Press Box for updates. You can also follow @RealJeffSnyder and @theZothman for Twitter updates.
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