First-round picks contribute to Otters' 10-2 preseason win Thursday
The Erie Otters wasted little time getting their offense rolling in the second game of their preseason schedule.
Newcomer Kaleb Smith scored two goals and leading point-getter Elias Cohen finished with one goal and three assists as Erie earned a 10-2 win over Flint on Thursday night at Erie Insurance Arena.
Brendan Hoffmann and Brendan Sellan had three-point games, both totaling one goal and two assists. Noah Sedore made three assists while Brett Bressette contributed one point and one assist.
Zacharie Geroux scored both goals for the visiting Firebirds.
Erie will play its preseason home finale on Saturday night when the Saginaw Spirit visit EIA for the second time this month.
Sova, Terrance make debuts
Erie's first-round draft picks in each of the last two OHL Priority Selections made their first appearances as Otters.
Defenseman Spencer Sova had a power-play goal only 2:04 into Thursday's contest. He scored on a wrist shot from the left point to Erie a 1-0 lead.
Terrance scored during the third period, using his speed to create space on a 2-on-1 breakaway before giving Erie its ninth goal of the night.
Several first-year players also made an impact, including Smith, who made the team after getting selected in the eighth round of the 2021 Priority Selection. Smith is somewhat local, having grown up in Arcade, New York, outside of Buffalo.
Smith's first goal was rather uncommon. As he crashed the net, a Firebirds defender tried to clear the puck, but deflected it off Smith's skate and into the Flint net.
First-year goalie Nolan LaLonde looked composed in his Otters preseason debut. He made 18 saves.
"It was a pretty good first game," LaLonde said. "It's nice to get it out of the way. The guys gave me a bit of support offensively. Our 'D' were great, a lot of blocked shots. It really helps when guys are getting the puck out quick."
14 players with at least one point
After Erie's six multi-point scorers, the Otters had eight more players record at least one point. Along with Sova and Terrance, Emmett Sproule had a single goal.
Assists were dished out by Dylan Edwards, Owain Johnston, Cameron Morton, Artyom Kulakov and Christian Kyrou.
After Sova's initial goal, Sellan put the Otters up 2-0 at the 4:41 mark. Late in the period, Hoffmann and Smith scored 1:01 apart and the rout was on.
"When we were playing our best, it showed on the scoreboard," Otters coach Chris Hartsburg said. "There were a few things I didn't like. We turned over way too many pucks at our blue line. We did a lot of good things offensively. Th
e other parts of our game will get better."
Otters back in action Saturday night
Admission is free again for Saturday's game thanks to the partnership between the Otters and the UPMC Health Plan.
The Otters defeated Saginaw 5-4 in a preseason opener for both teams on Sept. 4.
The Spirit arrived to the rink on Thursday to catch part of the Erie/Flint matchup on Thursday. The two Michigan teams have an exhibition game scheduled against one another on Friday night at EIA.
Contact Josh Reilly at jreilly@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNreilly.