Erie Otters split games on back-to-back days; D'Amato, Lockhart star in OT win
WINDSOR, Ontario — The Erie Otters plucked victory from the jaws of defeat on Thursday night.
Daniel D'Amato tied the game with one second left in regulation and Connor Lockhart scored the winner in overtime as the Otters earned a 5-4 victory over Windsor.
Erie did not have the same luck Friday night in London as it dropped a 4-1 contest.
The Otters will wrap up their three-game road weekend on Sunday afternoon with a 2 p.m. faceoff at Hamilton.
Against the Spitfires on Thursday, Erie had trailed 4-1 through two periods before storming back with a three-goal third.
D'Amato, who finished with two goals and one assist, had the initial Otters goal.
Early in the third, with Erie down 4-1, a goal by Brett Bressette pulled Erie within two goals. D'Amato prevented a Windsor breakout along the boards and chipped the puck to Elias Cohen, who found Bressette for the goal.
Christian Kyrou scored about five minutes later for the Otters with assists from Spencer Sova and Brendan Hoffmann. Sova found Kyrou in the right faceoff circle.
The Otters pulled goaltender Nolan Lalonde with 1:10 remaining in regulation before D'Amato's game-tying goal.
D'Amato forced a turnover in Erie's end as the Spitfires tried to ice the game away with an empty-netter. He skated the puck through the neutral zone and then around a Windsor defender in the Spitfires' zone before beating the clock.
Lockhart won the game in the 3-on-3 overtime with assists from Bressette and Cameron Morton. Erie dictated play for the entire 1:36 of extra play and had the only shot in OT.
Lalonde was the winning goalie with 36 saves. Windsor goalie Kyle Downey totaled 25 stops.
Will Cuylle had two goals for Windsor, but had his attempt at a hat trick thwarted by D'Amato's defensive play prior to the tying goal.
Hoffmann lone scorer at London
Hoffmann had Erie's only goal against the Knights on Friday, trimming a London lead to 2-1 in the second period.
The Knights had taken a 2-0 edge in the first on goals by Ruslan Gazizov and Colton Smith.
Hoffmann finished an assist from Connor Lockhart, who muscled a pass from behind London goalie Brett Brochu. Taeo Artichuk also had an assist for the Otters.
Gazizov scored his second goal to push the Knights' lead back to two before Bryce Montgomery finished out the scoring in the third.
Nashville Predators prospect Luke Evangelista finished with three assists for the Knights.
Brochu had 32 saves in the win. Lalonde stopped 23 shots for Erie.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie Otters split 2 on back-to-back days; D'Amato, Lockhart fuel OT win
