Erie Otters

Hockey team
team = Erie Otters

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city = Erie, Pennsylvania
league = Ontario Hockey League
conference = Western
division = Midwest
founded = 1996-97
arena = Louis J. Tullio Arena
colours = navy blue, red, yellow and gold
coach = Robbie Ftorek
GM = Sherwood Bassin
affiliates = Huntsville-Muskoka Otters
name1 = Windsor Spitfires
dates1 = 1946-53
name2 = Hamilton Tiger Cubs
dates2 = 1953-60
name3 = Hamilton Red Wings
dates3 = 1960-74
name4 = Hamilton Fincups
dates4 = 1974-76
name5 = St. Catharines Fincups
dates5 = 1976-77
name6 = Hamilton Fincups
dates6 = 1977-78
name7 = Brantford Alexanders
dates7 = 1978-84
name8 = Hamilton Steelhawks
dates8 = 1984-88
name9 = Niagara Falls Thunder
dates9 = 1988-96
name10 = Erie Otters
dates10 = 1996-PresentThe Erie Otters are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. They have played in Erie, Pennsylvania, USA from 1996 to present, at the Louis J. Tullio Arena. The Otters are the only Pennsylvania team in the OHL, and one of only three United States-based teams in the league.

History

The Niagara Falls Thunder were relocated in 1996 from Niagara Falls, Ontario, becoming the Erie Otters. The team took its name from the otter, a water creature common to the south shore of Lake Erie.

The Otters' ownership partners are Ron Sertz, Jeff Fatica and Ray Irwin. Sherwood Bassin is the general manager and a managing partner of the team. Walt Wingfield is the head scout of the Otters.

The first three years in Erie were building years for the Otters, with the team eliminated in the first round of the playoffs each year. In the fourth year, all the hard work paid off with their first Midwest Division championship.

For the Otters it would be their first of three consecutive Midwest Division championships, culminating in an OHL Championship in 2001-2002. Dave MacQueen won the Matt Leyden Trophy in 2000-01 as the OHL Coach of the Year. Sherwood Bassin was awarded OHL Executive of the Year in 2001-02 for his role as general manager in building a championship team.

The Erie Otters celebrated their 10th anniversary in the 2005-2006 season.

2001-2002 OHL Champions

In the 2001-2002 season, the Erie Otters became only the second OHL team based in the United States of America, to win the OHL Championship. The first were the 1995 champions Detroit Junior Red Wings (now the Plymouth Whalers).

After a disappointing loss to the Plymouth Whalers the previous year in the conference finals, the Otters used their experience and work ethic to push themselves through the playoffs. Otters players had a puck holder hung on the wall of the dressing room with sixteen slots to fill for the sixteen wins needed for the title. Erie earned that 16th puck defeating the Barrie Colts in game 5 of the 2002 finals.

The Otters bid to host the 2002 Memorial Cup, but the Guelph Storm were chosen instead as hosts. The Otters earned a berth in the tournament as OHL Champions but ultimately finished in third place.

Two-time OHL MVP Brad Boyes led the Otters as captain. Team members for the 2002 championship were::T.J. Aceti, Chris Berti, Brad Bonello, Brad Boyes, Chris Campoli, Carlo Colaiacovo, Noel Coultice, Sean Courtney, Brandon Cullen, Scott Dobben, Jeff Doyle, Chris Eade, David Herring, Alex Karaulchuk, Mical Kokavec, Brian Lee, Thomas Lee, Chris Martin, Mike McKeown, Adam Munro, Cory Pecker, Mike Rice, Dave MacQueen (coach), Sherwood Bassin (GM)

Championships

* J. Ross Robertson Cup (OHL Champions)
2001-2002
* Wayne Gretzky Trophy (Western Conference Champions)
2001-2002
* Hamilton Spectator Trophy (1st place regular season)
2000-2001 (102 points)
* Holody Trophy (Midwest Division Champions)
1999-2000, 2000-2001, 2001-2002

Coaches

Dave MacQueen won the Matt Leyden Trophy in 2000-01 as the OHL Coach of the Year.

"Multiple years in parentheses"
*1996-1997 Chris Johnstone, Dale Dunbar
*1997-1998 Dale Dunbar (2)
*1998-1999 Paul Theriault
*1999-2006 Dave MacQueen (7)
*2006-2007 Peter Sidorkiewicz (2)
*2007-2008 Robbie Ftorek

Players

Since the franchise relocated to Erie prior to the 1996-1997 season, a total of 21 players have been selected at the National Hockey League Entry Draft including a five-year stretch from 1997-2001 in which seven members of the team were selected in the first round (1997 Jason Ward, 11th, Montreal; 1998 Michael Rupp, ninth, New York Islanders; 1999 Tim Connolly, fifth, New York Islanders; 2000 Nikita Alexeev, eighth, Tampa Bay and Brad Boyes, 24th, Toronto; 2001 Carlo Colaiacovo, 17th, Toronto and Adam Munro, 29th, Chicago).

Award winners

*"1999-00" - Brad Boyes, CHL Scholastic Player of the Year Award, Bobby Smith Trophy (OHL Scholastic Player of the Year)
*"2000-01" - Brad Boyes, Red Tilson Trophy (Most Outstanding Player), William Hanley Trophy (Most Sportsmanlike Player)
*"2000-01" - Joey Sullivan, Dan Snyder Memorial Trophy (Humanitarian of the Year)
*"2001-02" - Brad Boyes, CHL Sportsman of the Year Award, Red Tilson Trophy (Most Outstanding Player), William Hanley Trophy (Most Sportsmanlike Player), Wayne Gretzky 99 Award (Playoffs MVP)
*"2001-02" - Cory Pecker, Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy (Overage Player of the Year)
*"2003-04" - Chris Campoli, CHL Humanitarian of the Year, Dan Snyder Memorial Trophy (OHL Humanitarian of the Year)
*"2006-07" - Derrick Bagshaw, Roger Neilson Memorial Award (Top Academic University Player)
*"2007" - Ryan O’Reilly, Jack Ferguson Award (First Overall draft pick)

NHL alumni

*Nikita Alexeev *Adam Berti *Michael Blunden *Brad Boyes

*Chris Campoli *Carlo Colaiacovo *Tim Connolly *Steve Montador

*Adam Munro *Jeff Paul *Geoff Platt *Michael Rupp

*Stephen Valiquette *Jason Ward *Jeff Zehr

Retired numbers

*Brad Boyes (#16)

Current roster

as of October 7, 2008

Goalies
*29 -- Shane Owen (Shanty Bay, Ontario)
*32 -- Jaroslav Janus (Presov, Slovakia)

Defencemen
*3 -- Brett Cook (Washago, Ontario)
*4 -- Mitch Gaulton (Grimsby, Ontario) ~ NYR 2008
*5 -- David Shields (Rochester, New York)
*6 -- Paul Cianfrini (Dundas, Ontario)
*7 -- Frank Grzeszczak (Plantation, Florida)
*8 -- Chris Breen (Uxbridge, Ontario)
*10 -- Tyler Hostetter (Lititz, Pennsylvania)
*20 -- Robyn Sertic (Mississauga, Ontario)

Forwards

*9 -- Ryan O'Reilly (Varna, Ontario)
*11 -- Anthony Luciani (Maple, Ontario)
*13 -- Mike Cazzola (Guelph, Ontario)
*14 -- Greg McKegg (St. Thomas, Ontario)
*15 -- Josh Sidwell (London, Ontario)
*17 -- Brian Shaw (St. Thomas, Ontario)
*18 -- Sean Jones (Newmarket, Ontario)
*19 -- Shawn Szydlowski (St. Clair Shores, Michigan)
*21 -- Brandon Biggers (Sarnia, Ontario)
*22 -- Zack Torquato (Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario) ~ DET 2007
*23 -- Luke Gazdic (Toronto, Ontario) ~ DAL 2007
*24 -- Michael Liambas (Woodbridge, Ontario)
*25 -- Justin Hodgman (Brampton, Ontario)
*26 -- Edgar Rybakov (Vilnius, Lithuania)
*33 -- Nick Palmieri (Clinton, New York) ~ NJ 2007
*37 -- Matthew Paton (Woodstock, Ontario)
*39 -- Kelly Geoffrey (Newmarket, Ontario)

Team records

Playoffs

*1996-97 Lost to Guelph Storm 4 games to 1 in division quarter-finals.
*1997-98 Lost to London Knights 4 games to 3 in division quarter-finals.
*1998-99 Lost to Guelph Storm 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals.
*1999-00 Defeated Brampton Battalion 4 games to 2 in conference quarter-finals.
Lost to S.S. Marie Greyhounds 4 games to 3 in conference semi-finals.
*2000-01 Defeated London Knights 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals.
Defeated Brampton Battalion 4 games to 1 in conference semi-finals.
Lost to Plymouth Whalers 4 games to 1 in conference finals.
*2001-02 Defeated Sarnia Sting 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals.
Defeated London Knights 4 games to 2 in conference semi-finals.
Defeated Windsor Spitfires 4 games to 1 in conference finals.
Defeated Barrie Colts 4 games to 1 in finals. OHL CHAMPIONS
Lost to Victoriaville Tigres 5-4 (OT) in the Memorial Cup semi-finals.
*2002-03 Out of playoffs.
*2003-04 Defeated Sarnia Sting 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals.
Lost to London Knights 4 games to 0 in conference semi-finals.
*2004-05 Lost to Kitchener Rangers 4 games to 2 in conference quarter-finals.
*2005-06 Out of playoffs.
*2006-07 Out of playoffs.
*2007-08 Out of playoffs.

Uniforms and logos

The team mascot of the Erie Otters is an anthropomorphic otter named Shooter, who wears a home jersey. The Otters home uniforms are white background, and the road uniforms are navy blue background. Both have red, yellow & gold trim. The logo is an angry otter with a hockey stick.

For the 2005-2006 season (the team's 10th/Diamond Anniversary), the Otters unveiled a third jersey as part of the Make other teams bleed campaign. The jersey has a red background with navy blue, white and gold trim. The third logo has "Erie" in big letters across the chest with "Otters" written beneath it.

Arena

The Erie Otters play home games at the Louis J. Tullio Arena located in downtown Erie, Pennsylvania. The arena was built in 1983 and seats 5,500 spectators. The Tullio arena is one of the loudest in the league and works well for home ice advantage. The arena is part of the Erie Civic Center Complex which includes Jerry Uht Park, a baseball stadium, home to the AA Erie SeaWolves.

* [http://www.ohlarenaguide.com/otters.htm Louis J. Tullio Arena] The OHL Arena & Travel Guide

The team occasionally plays training camp at the Jamestown Savings Bank Ice Arena in Jamestown, New York.

External links

* [http://www.ottershockey.com www.ottershockey.com] Erie Otters official site
* [http://www.erieevents.com/tullio.html www.erieevents.com] Erie Event Centre official site
* [http://www.ontariohockeyleague.com/ Ontario Hockey League] Official web site
* [http://www.chl.ca/ Canadian Hockey League] Official web site