Erie Otters 2022-23 Season Thread

[OttersFan]

Are their feet tied to bricks? This is awful and another poor showing from Lalonde.

No one came to play.

 

[Erie Otters Zone]

Are their feet tied to bricks? This is awful and another poor showing from Lalonde.

No one came to play.

Downey should be the starter from here on out. That trade not looking too bad after all

 

[Mata]

Maybe getting rid of Nicholls wasn’t the greatest of moves.

Are we dropping Lalonde now hahaha...

Nicholls needed to go, period, end of story.

 

[NOA]

Saw this pic from our teddy bear toss yesterday. Could it be possible Colby has deep bruising/sprain since it’s wrapped in ice? Certainly if it was broken it would’ve been casted?

Again speculating since we have no injury report since Victor left ETN.

Ice does not necessarily mean it’s not broken. Could still be to help with swelling and reduce pain. Based on the photo, looks like it easily could be in a brace underneath the ice

Lalonde has been brutal all year. Time to bench him imo and give Gibbons a game or two while riding Downey. You can’t keep letting Lalonde play like this with zero repercussions

 

[OttersFan]

Are we dropping Lalonde now hahaha...

Nicholls needed to go, period, end of story.

I wouldn’t necessarily drop Lalonde. Team didn’t play for him tonight.

I think Lalonde has just been off and I’m not entirely sure why. He didn’t play last night so he should’ve been ready.

 

[Mata]

39-14

That's how bad we were outshot in 2 periods. I'm not sure all of it falls on Lalonde, but man, something is going on with him or in his head.

It also appears he is getting 0 support on the ice. 22 shots to 5 in the opening frame, come in. That issue goes a lot deeper than just goaltending.

I wouldn’t necessarily drop Lalonde. Team didn’t play for him tonight.

I think Lalonde has just been off and I’m not entirely sure why. He didn’t play last night so he should’ve been ready.

Still not an excuse to call for Nicholls back either.

The kid would have given up another 5 goals if he was in net the first period.

 

[OttersFan]

39-14

That's how bad we were outshot in 2 periods. I'm not sure all of it falls on Lalonde, but man, something is going on with him or in his head.

It also appears he is getting 0 support on the ice. 22 shots to 5 in the opening frame, come in. That issue goes a lot deeper than just goaltending.



Still not an excuse to call for Nicholls back either.

The kid would have given up another 5 goals if he was in net the first period.

I agree with all of this. It’s almost like once he got his first lose since coming back, he’s been thrown off his game. Maybe some sports psychology? Maybe more goaltending practice? I’m not sure. Is the team not playing for Lalonde? Could be possible, but why?

If I’m Jim Waters, this weekend would be result in a phone call to management. He was in Erie yesterday.

Nicholls isn’t the answer here.

 

[Savard18]

It seems like every goaltender I’d have put money on before the season started has struggled. Brochu? Gaudreau? Lalonde? Constantini? Flint was blowing every wrist shot past Gaudreau last night and he might be on Canada’s WJC squad. Onuska looked great in the playoffs last year. This year? Total mess. If you’ve watched hockey you’ve seen goaltenders, even at the NHL level go from being beasts to just disintegrating before your eyes and career over but I’ve never seen 5-6 goalies in the same league fall apart at the same time. It’s crazy.

 

[G0Otters]

39-14

That's how bad we were outshot in 2 periods. I'm not sure all of it falls on Lalonde, but man, something is going on with him or in his head.

It also appears he is getting 0 support on the ice. 22 shots to 5 in the opening frame, come in. That issue goes a lot deeper than just goaltending.



Still not an excuse to call for Nicholls back either.

The kid would have given up another 5 goals if he was in net the first period.

Let me make sure I understand, when the team doesn’t play well and the goalie gives up a lot of goals, it is not the goalie’s fault unless the goalie was Nicholls. Now I get the logic.

 

[G0Otters]

Are their feet tied to bricks? This is awful and another poor showing from Lalonde.

No one came to play.

There seems to be a discipline problem with this team. McDonald takes a penalty in the offensive zone with less than 3 minutes to play in the game against Barrie when the Otters had battled back to be in position to get at least one point. Barrie converts PP to win.

Versus Kitchener today, the usual level headed Bressette gets a cross checking penalty after whacking the Rangers player 4-5 times. Game was tied at that point and that penalty gave Kitchener a 5-3 power play. They score on both power plays to take a 3-1 lead and the wheels fall off from there.

There have been several similar examples this year of players taking penalties that were not necessary.

 

[Mata]

Let me make sure I understand, when the team doesn’t play well and the goalie gives up a lot of goals, it is not the goalie’s fault unless the goalie was Nicholls. Now I get the logic.

Oh look, Downey is now at 6 games and above Nicholls.

Lalonde is an NHL contracted player...Nicholls should definitely have a spot over him.

At least the coaches/staff got it right...if they listened to some of our fans we'd pick our team based on who our favorite players are, yippee! Participation trophies for everyone!

 

[Mata]

There seems to be a discipline problem with this team. McDonald takes a penalty in the offensive zone with less than 3 minutes to play in the game against Barrie when the Otters had battled back to be in position to get at least one point. Barrie converts PP to win.

Versus Kitchener today, the usual level headed Bressette gets a cross checking penalty after whacking the Rangers player 4-5 times. Game was tied at that point and that penalty gave Kitchener a 5-3 power play. They score on both power plays to take a 3-1 lead and the wheels fall off from there.

There have been several similar examples this year of players taking penalties that were not necessary.

I thought they showed some discipline concerns as well in preseason with 4 out of 6 games approaching 20+ minutes in the box.

With the injuries now accruing and games not going in their favor it appears it has reared its ugly head again. If I had to pinpoint a specific point in time, it was the November 12th game against OS when they blew the lead and gave up 5 goals in the 3rd losing 8-5. While they did lose to the Batallion the week before to end their 5 game winning streak I don't think that triggered it. It was also around that time Spence left for worlds and we lost Cohen for a short time.

 

[G0Otters]

I thought they showed some discipline concerns as well in preseason with games approaching 20+ minutes in the box.

With the injuries now accruing and games not going in their favor it appears it has reared its ugly head again. If I had to pinpoint a specific point in time, it was the November 12th game against OS when they blew the lead and gave up 5 goals in the 3rd losing 8-5. While they did lose to the Batallion the week before to end their 5 game winning streak I don't think that triggered it. It was also around that time Spence left for worlds and we lost Cohen for a short time.

Agree. Otters started the 3rd period in that Owen Sound game with a two goal lead. In the first minute of the 3rd, Gilmartin took a stupid slashing penalty that was not even necessary. That was one of the other examples of not showing discipline. Kulakov taking things too far in that game was also undisciplined. Quite honestly Otters are lucky to have won two of their last six. The way they have been playing, they should have lost all six. I was optimistic for awhile, but I think this is a lost season. Even if things continue this way, I wouldn’t expect to see any mid season coaching/GM changes.

 

[Mata]

Agree. Otters started the 3rd period in that Owen Sound game with a two goal lead. In the first minute of the 3rd, Gilmartin took a stupid slashing penalty that was not even necessary. That was one of the other examples of not showing discipline. Kulakov taking things too far in that game was also undisciplined. Quite honestly Otters are lucky to have won two of their last six. The way they have been playing, they should have lost all six. I was optimistic for awhile, but I think this is a lost season. Even if things continue this way, I wouldn’t expect to see any mid season coaching/GM changes.

I think many of us have kinda showed a desire to trade Kyrou at the deadline depending on the status of the team, but based on the Othmann trade and the Pastujov trade we are going to get nowhere near what we had hoped for him and bigger teams are fishing now instead of December.

I'm not really sure where we are headed at the deadline, but management seems so desperate in just sliding into the playoffs I suppose we could still be "buyers"?

 

[G0Otters]

I think many of us have kinda showed a desire to trade Kyrou at the deadline depending on the status of the team, but based on the Othmann trade and the Pastujov trade we are going to get nowhere near what we had hoped for him and bigger teams are fishing now instead of December.

I'm not really sure where we are headed at the deadline, but management seems so desperate in just sliding into the playoffs I suppose we could still be "buyers"?

I would be surprised if we are buyers, our draft cupboard ain’t exactly overloaded. This team is too inconsistent. I think they need to start thinking about building around Spence and Terrance.

 

[OttersFan]

Something noteworthy in the previous year trends is that we seem to either be a “home team” or an “away team”. Looking at this year we’ve had 11 home games, 7-4-0-0 and 10 games on the road, 3-5-0-2. I’m curious to see what these numbers look like in December as a short term comparison, but really come February will be the bigger challenge since we spend most of the month on the road. I don’t expect much change if we don’t become more disciplined.

 

[NOA]

I would be surprised if we are buyers, our draft cupboard ain’t exactly overloaded. This team is too inconsistent. I think they need to start thinking about building around Spence and Terrance.

Those draft charts are never accurate for Erie and incorrectly entered. They were wrong in the previous two drafts. My current listing of their picks (which I personally have kept track of since 2019) is showing a much different reality than that screenshot..

 

[HockeyPops]

Those draft charts are never accurate for Erie and incorrectly entered. They were wrong in the previous two drafts. My current listing of their picks (which I personally have kept track of since 2019) is showing a much different reality than that screenshot..

What are the differences, and what were the transactions for those differences? I am sure GeneralsUpdates will make the changes if you show him the errors.

 

[NOA]

What are the differences, and what were the transactions for those differences? I am sure GeneralsUpdates will make the changes if you show him the errors.

I have posted it before. I prefer not to share with others or add to any other thread because I’m not saying mine are 100% accurate but they are different compared to this list and this list got the 2021-22 drafts wrong for Erie. All I’m saying it - don’t rely on it as accurate

 

[Mata]

Why's the OHL Hammering Down on Mouthguard Violations?

If an OHL player isn't wearing their mouthguard correctly on the ice, they're getting a 10-minute misconduct, as Tony Ferrari and Brock Otten discussed.

thehockeynews.com

Could get worse before it gets better.

 

[Mata]

Saw this pic from our teddy bear toss yesterday. Could it be possible Colby has deep bruising/sprain since it’s wrapped in ice? Certainly if it was broken it would’ve been casted?

Again speculating since we have no injury report since Victor left ETN.

My daughter pointed this out to me and I never made the connection as I was looking at Saganiuk.

Johnston is also in a cast with broken fingers to the right of Colby. Hopefully he returns soon haha!

 

[OttersFan]

My daughter pointed this out to me and I never made the connection as I was looking at Saganiuk.

Johnston is also in a cast with broken fingers to the right of Colby. Hopefully he returns soon haha!

At the season ticket holder event Johnson told me directly that he would be back in 4-5 weeks (from the event) if everything goes as planned.

 

[7D442]

Who do we play in goal tonight - Downey or LaLonde

 

[Mata]

Who do we play in goal tonight - Downey or LaLonde

I was honestly thinking all week about how critical this game really is. It may be one of those season defining games. We have a little ground to make up in the conference but have been playing poorly as of recent and are riddled with injury/suspension. We are likely down Saganiuk and Johnston still. Because of the cancelation of 2 games, Kulakov is NOT back (I believe). London started slow but seems to be one of the hottest teams winning 9 of the last 10.

I would probably go with Downey as the hot hand only because if Lalonde gets blown up again in such a short span he could be off the rest of the season.

We have basically a week and a half to try and get positive momentum heading into the 5 away games for the middle of December.

 

[LDN]

I was honestly thinking all week about how critical this game really is. It may be one of those season defining games. We have a little ground to make up in the conference but have been playing poorly as of recent and are riddled with injury/suspension. We are likely down Saganiuk and Johnston still. Because of the cancelation of 2 games, Kulakov is NOT back (I believe). London started slow but seems to be one of the hottest teams winning 9 of the last 10.

I would probably go with Downey as the hot hand only because if Lalonde gets blown up again in such a short span he could be off the rest of the season.

We have basically a week and a half to try and get positive momentum heading into the 5 away games for the middle of December.

Big game for sure. Your boys have beat us twice. Let’s hope for a good competitive game.