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OTTERS GNAW OUT WIN AGAINST MAJORS
December 15, 2002
Story by: Armando
D'Andrea
TORONTO, ONT. - On an afternoon when the
Toronto St. Michael's Majors honoured one
of their heroes from the past the Erie Otters
responded by calling on a hero of the present.
Amidst the hoopla of having storied St.
Mike's and Maple Leaf great Frank Mahovlich
on hand for a special opening face off ceremony
it was the surging Otters, led by their
stalwart captain Chris Eade, who were able
to eke out an ugly but hard fought 1-0 victory
over Toronto. With the win the Otters extended
their current game winning streak to five
and it appears now that the defending OHL
champions, after a miserable 2-7-1 slump
marking the season's start, are giving notice
to the rest of the league that rumours of
their demise have been greatly exaggerated.
Erie Head Coach Dave MacQueen was pleased
with the way his team worked for the victory.
"It's a good feeling to come in here
and pull out a win like this. The thing
we've really been striving for this year
is accountability. We want everyone on this
team to work hard every night, and give
us a chance to win every game, no matter
what, and that's what we had today."
Making the team's current hot streak more
noteworthy is that the Otters have been
winning these games while their top player,
Leaf pick Carlo Colaiacovo, is in Halifax
at the Canadian Junior National team training
camp. While praising the Otters' full team
effort MacQueen gave particular credit to
Eade, the game's first star and defenceman
who has so admirably filled in Colaiacovo's
shoes during the Leaf's absences.
"You can't replace Carlo but Chris
has done a great job", the coach said.
"He's added an offensive element to
his game and he can take control of the
play now."
Otters goalie T.J. Aceti, who with 24 stops
for his first shutout of the season was
also a hero on the day, agreed with his
coach.
"Chris is our captain. He's a great
guy, an honest guy. All the guys listen
to him. He is a great leader."
After dominating what was for the most
part a slow moving affair through the first
two scoreless period Eade did what leaders
do by stepping up and making the big play
at crucial points in the game. Midway through
the third, with Majors defenceman Chris
Cunningham in the penalty box for cross-checking,
Eade took a pass at the point from Otters
defenceman Chris Campoli, skated into position
and let a booming shot rip that Erie winger
Mike Milenko tipped past St. Mike's goalie
Andy Chiodo.
Although St. Mikes had a glorious chance
to tie the game in dramatic fashion minutes
later, with Frank Lukes forcing a turnover
deep in the Otter zone and skating in alone
on Aceti, Campoli made a huge defensive
play by skating back and diving to poke
the puck away harmlessly into the corner.
As unattractive as the game was to watch,
Eade was understandably pleased with how
it went.
"We want to be able to play games
like this", the former Florida Panthers
pick said afterwards. "This is the
kind of game we expect to win. We know we
can't blow teams out. We have to be able
to win games with strong defence and determination."
Despite earning the hero's laurels on the
day, Eade was quick to mention that this
was undeniably a team effort, one that they
can only improve on when the main cog Colaiacovo
returns from his national team tour of duty.
"It's good that the guys don't give
up, that we don't give less effort because
Carlo isn't here. We're getting into a rhythm
now. Carlo is a great all around player,
and when we get him back it will be nothing
but a benefit."
Despite its slow pace the game was still
fought in the trenches, marked by several
huge hits and some vicious physical play.
Majors' winger Alan Nolan decked Otters'
centre Alex Karaulchuk, crossing paths with
him at centre ice and flooring him with
a clean shoulder check. Erie responded with
centre Mike Blunden colliding at his own
blue line with charging St. Mike's centre
Ryan Rorabeck and knocking him down. Things
came to a head in the second period with
Otters' Noel Coultice dropping the gloves
at centre with Toronto's Scott Lehman, exchanging
a flurry of punches, and then dropping the
St. Mike's defender to the ice.
Aceti, last year's Hap Emms Memorial Trophy
winner as the most outstanding goalie at
the 2002 Memorial Cup, said winning these
kinds of ugly, physical games are exactly
what his team needs to build on.
"These are the kinds of wins you have
to get in the playoffs. We stress winning
games like this. They are more meaningful
than if we put up eight or nine goals. These
are the real character building wins. We
have to show up physically. We can't shy
away, we have to crash and bang. If we don't
do that we won't be successful, and we did
it well tonight."
With the win the Otters avenged a 4-2 loss
suffered in this same barn against St. Mike's
three weeks ago. The two points give the
Otters 33 on the season, with a 15-13-1-2
record in the Midwest Division. St. Mike's
drops to 17-13-3-1 and remain a tight two
points ahead of the charging second place
Barrie Colts in the Central Division. The
Otters next host the Guelph Storm at home
on Wednesday the 18th of December, while
the Majors host Oshawa the following day.
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