OHL
The winless London Knights were on the verge of capturing their first point of the season when Jordan Skellett, a London native, crushed their hopes.
Skellett’s goal with 80 seconds left in the third period snapped a 2-2 tie and gave the Erie Otters a 4-2 OHL decision over the hapless Knights, who are still feeling the effects of losing their top scorers from last year.
Patrick Kane (Chicago) and Sam Gagner (Edmonton) as well as No. 1 goaltender Steve Mason (Columbus) – all remain with their NHL clubs.
Skellett fired a shot past rookie goaltender Stephen Heming, who made 26 saves in his OHL debut.
Nick Palmieri – who had two goals in the game – scored into an empty-net with 23 seconds remaining to seal the win for Erie (3-3-0).
Elsewhere, it was: Whalers 5, Generals 2; Sting 6, Wolves 3; Bulls 3, Spirit 2 (OT); Colts 4, Petes 3 (SO); and Storm 4, Attack 3.
At Erie, Pa., the Knights (0-5-0) are the only club in the 20-team league that has yet to record a point in the standings.
Disciplined defence and two rookie goaltenders controlled the action in the opening period. The teams produced eight shots on goal apiece, with the Otters Jaroslav Janus and Heming stopping them all.
Justin Taylor’s power-play goal 1:25 in the second period gave London the lead, but Palmieri tied the match seven minutes later.
Justin Hodgman, the Otters’ hottest offensive performer, put his team ahead on a power-play goal with 9:14 left in the period.
He deflected defenceman Frank Grzeszczak’s point shot past Heming – with his back turned to the net. Hodgman has six goals and 10 points in six games, including a four-game goal and point streak.
Adam Perry, also on the power play, tied it at 2-2 in the opening minute of the third.
Janus finished with 28 saves in net for the Otters.
Whalers 5, Generals 2
At Plymouth, Mich., Andrew Fournier scored a goal and added two assists to lead the Whalers past Oshawa.
Sting 6, Wolves 3
At Sarnia, Ont., Matt Martin scored two goals to help lead the Sting over Sudbury.
Bulls 3, Spirit 2 (OT)
At Belleville, Ont., Matt Beleskey’s power-play goal 4:02 into overtime gave the Belleville Bulls a victory over Saginaw.
Colts 4, Petes 3 (SO)
At Barrie, Ont., Tomas Marcinko scored once in regulation and then the only goal of the shootout to lift the Colts over Peterborough.
Storm 4, Attack 3
At Owen Sound, Ont., Brandon Buck scored the eventual winner at 5:01 of the third period to lift Guelph over the Attack.
Source: www.tsn.ca
