GAME 1 STORYLINES
* Best move in net: Otters GM Dave Brown acquired G Troy Timpano last August to anchor the defense, even with overager Matthew Mancina available. Steelheads GM James Boyd nabbed Mancina just days after the Timpano deal. Which GM made the best trade? Both netminders have been solid in leading their teams to the finals. So a championship will provide the answer.
* Fox in the Otters’ house: Former Otters winger Dane Fox is expected to be in attendance. His brother, former Otters forward Trent Fox, will be on the ice for the Steelheads. He wasn’t a part of Erie’s stellar four-year run, as Fox was traded in the January 2015 deal that brought Remi Elie and Jake Marchment to the Otters. Now, the younger Fox has a chance to win an OHL championship.
* Preparing for the Otters: The Steelheads capped their sweep of Peterborough in the Eastern Conference finals on April 26. After two days off, they began to build game plans for what head coach James Richmond called a “potent Erie team.” In contrast, the Otters had three days to prepare for a Steelheads club that has played with much more confidence since they last met in February.
OHL FINALS FLASHBACK
* May 2002: Erie def. Barrie, 4 games to 1
A climb to the top of the OHL that began in the 1999-2000 season began with three straight wins to start the series, but culminated with the most important moment in franchise history to this day — rookie Sean Courtney’s shot from the wing in Game 5 at Tullio Arena that somehow slipped past Colts goaltender David Chant 14 minutes, 14 seconds into overtime and sealed the Otters’ lone championship. That goal sealed Courtney’s place in Erie hockey lore, and made captain Brad Boyes the most revered Otter ever.
* May 2015: Oshawa def. Erie, 4 games to 1
Otters captain Connor McDavid held the Wayne Gretzky ’99’ Award as playoff MVP after Game 5 in Oshawa. But the J. Ross Robertson Cup belonged to current Otters center Anthony Cirelli and the OHL champion Generals, who held the soon-to-be No. 1 pick in the NHL Entry Draft and the Otters to two goals in winning Games 1 and 2, and offset a Game 3 loss in Erie with Cole Cassels’ goal 8:19 into overtime in Game 4. Oshawa’s run of five straight goals in Game 5 extended the Otters’ title drought to 13 years.
– Victor Fernandes
