Erie Otters hosting Niagara Ice Dogs in Virgil pre-season game September 9

Next Friday night’s pre-season game in Virgil between the Erie Otters and the Niagara Ice Dogs is a battle between two teams looking for a turnaround after a disappointing 2021-2022 season.

Erie completed that campaign with a record of 27-37-2-2, good for ninth place in the Ontario Hockey League’s Western Conference, only a single point from challenging the Sarnia Sting for the eighth and final playoff spot.

Over in the East, the Ice Dogs finished the season in the basement of the conference, at 22-42-3-1.

More importantly, the year ended in turmoil after a controversial series of misogynist texts between Ice Dogs minority owner Joey Burke and head coach and minority owner Billy Burke were made public. Both were suspended indefinitely by the OHL and the team was fined $150,000. In May, majority owners Bill and Denise Burke announced the sale of the team to Brantford businessperson Darren DeDobbelaer.

The Ice Dogs are looking for a clean start under DeDobbelaer, who will fill the general manager’s role with the team. He’ll be assisted by Wes Consorti, who has held various management and coaching positions with the Brantford 99ers of the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL), an organization also owned by DeDobbelaer. Head coach Dan Fitzgerald will step behind the bench, with his assistants Brandon Shaw, Andrew Fritsch and Damon Racicot.

Last week the Dogs named Landon Cato their captain this year. Defenceman Dakota Betts wore the ‘C’ in 2021-2022 but at 21 years old he is ineligible to return for another year in the OHL.

For the Otters, 20-year-old defenseman Cameron Morton will once again be an assistant captain. He’s looking forward to the upcoming game at the Meridian Credit Union Arena, where the Otters will actually be the home team.

“I’m excited,” he tells The Local from his family home in Kingston, Ontario. “We did something like this with London my first year on the team (2019-2020). It’s nice to go to a smaller community and give them a taste of OHL hockey.”

Looking back on last year at this time, Morton remembers a locker room filled with relief and excitement to finally get back on the ice after losing an entire OHL season to the pandemic. The Otters had a large number of new players joining the team, and the returnees hadn’t played together for over a year. It made for an unusual and unsure start.

Morton missed only three of the Otters 68 games last year, amassing 3 goals and 18 assists and 99 penalty minutes.

“Last year was a big stepping stone, not only in my work ethic but also in my skills and my game as well,” he says. “My coaches and I worked on that kind of stuff. Coming into this year I feel really confident in my game.”

Finishing just a point out of the playoff picture has left a sour taste in Morton’s mouth.

“We came together really good as a group at the end,” he says. “This year, coming into camp, we’re very close. I think a big part of our game last year was how hard we worked. This year we’re going to have that skill and those extra details, put together with some hard work, I think we’re going to have a really good season.”

As one of the older players, he relished the opportunity to provide some leadership to the team, and says he’s already been sharing that responsibility with other experienced Otters during training camp.

Fellow 20-year-old Noah Sedore was marked as a player to watch last year as the Otters season began. The 5’9” left winger from Bobcaygeon played all 68 games for Erie, netting 17 goals and 29 assists on the season. The former Lakefield College School student was selected by the Otters in the eighth round as the 144th overall pick, in the 2018 entry draft. He’ll join Morton as one of the leaders on this year’s team.

One of the brightest lights for the Otters in 2021-2022 was the play of rookie goaltender Nolan Lalonde. The 49th pick in the 2020 OHL priority selection draft was anticipated to be a backup, but he quickly moved into their every-day starter role.

Lalonde, also from Kingston, was the top rookie goalie in the league and was named to the All-Rookie First Team. He backstopped 58 games for the Otters, amassing a record of 24-25-2-1. His 24 wins led all rookies and was the seventh highest amongst all goaltenders in the OHL. He’ll be back between the pipes for the Otter this season.

The 18-year-old also earned Midwest Division Academic Player of the Month honors from the OHL in November, and was named one of the goaltenders for Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Team at the 2022 IIHF U18 World Championship.

Tickets for the Friday, September 9 game are only $10 and are available in advance from Phil’s Your Independent Grocer on Niagara Stone Road. Proceeds from the game will benefit the NOTL Wolves Minor Hockey Club.