The Erie Otters are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Based in Erie, Pennsylvania, USA, they have played their home games at the Louis J. Tullio Arena since 1996. The Otters are the only Pennsylvania-based team in the OHL and one of only three United States-based teams in the league.

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History

The Niagara Falls Thunder relocated from Niagara Falls, Ontario to Erie in 1996, becoming the Erie Otters. The team takes 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 serves as head scout.

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.

It would be their first of three consecutive Midwest Division championships for the Otters, culminating in an OHL Championship in 2001–02. 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 in building a championship team as general manager.

The Erie Otters celebrated their 10th anniversary in the 2005–06 season.

2001–02 OHL Champions

In the 2001–02 season, the Erie Otters became the second OHL team based in the United States, to win the OHL Championship. The first were the 1995 champions Detroit Junior Red Wings (now the Plymouth Whalers).

After a disappointing conference finals loss to Plymouth the previous year, 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 16 slots to fill, equal to the number of wins needed for the title. Erie earned that 16th puck by 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. Erie 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:

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–present Robbie Ftorek

Players

A total of 21 players have been selected at the National Hockey League Entry Draft since the franchise relocated to Erie, 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 Canadiens; 1998 Michael Rupp, ninth, New York Islanders; 1999 Tim Connolly, fifth, New York Islanders; 2000 Nikita Alexeev, eighth, Tampa Bay Lightning; Brad Boyes, 24th, Toronto Maple Leafs; 2001 Carlo Colaiacovo, 17th, Toronto Maple Leafs; and Adam Munro, 29th, Chicago Blackhawks).

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

Retired numbers

• Brad Boyes (#16)

Current roster

as of July 2, 2009.

Goalies

• 29 -- Shane Owen (Shanty Bay, Ontario)
• 32 -- Jaroslav Janus (Prešov, Slovakia) ~ TBL 2009

Defencemen

• 3 -- Brett Cook (Washago, Ontario)
• 4 -- Mitch Gaulton (Grimsby, Ontario) ~ NYR 2008
• 5 -- David Shields (Rochester, New York) ~ STL 2009
• 6 -- Paul Cianfrini (Dundas, Ontario)
• 8 -- Chris Breen (Uxbridge, Ontario)
• 10 -- Tyler Hostetter (Lititz, Pennsylvania)
• 20 -- Robyn Sertic (Mississauga, Ontario)

Forwards

• 9 -- Ryan O'Reilly (Varna, Ontario) ~ COL 2009
• 11 -- Anthony Luciani (Maple, Ontario)
• 12 -- Andrew Yogan (Boca Raton, Florida)
• 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)
• 22 -- Zack Torquato (Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario) ~ DET 2007
• 23 -- Luke Gazdic (Toronto, Ontario) ~ DAL 2007
• 24 -- Michael Liambas (Woodbridge, Ontario)
• 37 -- Matthew Paton (Woodstock, Ontario)

Team records

Team records for a single season
Statistic	Total	Season
Most points	102	2000–01
Most wins	45	2000–01
Most goals for	271	1998–99
Least goals for	181	2002–03
Least goals against	171	2000–01
Most goals against	378	2006–07

Individual player records for a single season
Statistic	Player	Total	Season
Most goals	Cory Pecker	53	2001–02
Most assists	Colin Pepperall	60	1997–98
Most points	Cory Pecker	99	2001–02
Most points, rookie	Tim Connolly	62	1997–98
Most points, defenceman	Chris Campoli	66	2003–04
Best GAA (goalie)	Adam Munro	2.31	2000–01
Goalies = minimum 1500 minutes played

Season-by-season results

Regular season

Legend: OTL = Overtime loss, SL = Shootout loss

Season	Games	Won	Lost	Tied	OTL	SL	Points	Pct %	Goals For	Goals Against	Standing
1996–97	66	23	36	7	-
53	0.402	240	260	5th Central
1997–98	66	33	28	5	-
71	0.538	261	252	4th Central
1998–99	68	31	33	4	-
66	0.485	271	297	3rd Midwest
1999–00	68	33	28	4	3
73	0.515	224	229	1st Midwest
2000–01	68	45	11	10	2
102	0.735	264	171	1st Midwest
2001–02	68	41	22	4	1
87	0.632	246	218	1st Midwest
2002–03	68	24	35	6	3
57	0.397	181	248	5th Midwest
2003–04	68	29	26	6	7
71	0.471	221	212	5th Midwest
2004–05	68	31	26	6	5
73	0.500	186	207	4th Midwest
2005–06	68	26	35
4	3	59	0.434	219	266	5th Midwest
2006–07	68	15	50
1	2	33	0.243	209	378	5th Midwest
2007–08	68	18	46
2	2	40	0.294	206	343	5th Midwest
2008–09	68	34	29
3	2	73	0.537	208	254	3rd Midwest
Total:	880	383	405	52	31	9	858
2936	3335

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.
• 2008–09 Lost to London Knights 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals.

Uniforms and logos

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

For the 2005–06 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 and home to the AA Erie SeaWolves.

• The OHL Arena & Travel Guide.