Martin Misiak caps Erie Otters' regular season with overtime goal
The Erie Otters assured the end of the franchise’s longest Ontario Hockey League playoff drought weeks ago.
That’s why Saturday’s game-winning goal by Martin Misiak didn’t fit the proverbial do-or-die criteria.
It felt that way, though, to the Slovakian center, his teammates and a crowd of 6,536 that experienced at the end of fan appreciation night at Erie Insurance Arena.
Misiak, as half of a two-on-one rush with winger Dylan Edwards, scored high to the stick side of Kitchener Rangers goaltender Tristan Malboeuf with 1 minute, 38 seconds left in the game’s five-minute overtime period.
That goal, the difference for Erie’s dramatic 4-3 victory, set off bedlam on the rink and in the stands.
The Otters, thanks to their season-long fifth straight win, concluded their 2023-24 regular season at with a record of 33-28-5-2. While not yet guaranteed, Saturday’s result significantly aided their quest to claim the fifth seed for the OHL’s Western Conference playoffs.
Erie will compete in the postseason for the first time since its 2016-17 team won the Robertson Cup.
“I know this is great for the fans who have been waiting the playoffs for so long,” Misiak said. “We’re super happy to deliver that, but this is long from being done.”
“We hope to have great playoffs. The preparations for that started (Saturday).”
Why Misiak’s goal mattered
Most Erie fans were likely unaware how significant Misiak’s goal was to team’s playoff status before it happened.
The Otters and Guelph Storm each had 71 points going into Saturday’s league action. Erie was listed fifth in the conference standings because of its greater number of regulation and overtime victories.
Although Erie was 3-1 vs. Guelph during the regular season, the OHL doesn’t use such season records as a tiebreaker.
The Storm gained their 72nd and 73rd team points when they rallied for Saturday’s 7-6 overtime victory over Owen Sound. That game concluded shortly before the opening puck drop at EIA.
Guelph, because it won in OT, reclaimed the tiebreaker advantage over Erie. It also meant the Otters had to defeat Kitchener in regulation or overtime to get it back.
Had they beaten the Rangers in the shootout format that would have followed Saturday’s overtime, they still would have permanently dropped to the sixth seed for the playoffs.
Edwards said he was aware of Erie’s unusual statistical situation before the game.
He also said some of his teammates weren’t.
“That wasn’t something I was going around sharing,” Edwards said. “I wanted the team to be focused on the situation and not what was at stake, win or lose.”
More: Will Erie Otters top goalie Ben Gaudreau be healthy when OHL postseason starts?
Rooting for rivals
Guelph’s good news is it can still claim the conference’s fifth seed because it has one game in its regular season.
The bad news for the Storm is who and where they’ll play their finale. They must gain at least one point by the end of Sunday’s 4 p.m. road game against the London Knights.
The same London Knights (49-14-1-3) who won the OHL’s Midwest Division and are sparring with the West Division champion Saginaw Spirit (49-16-1-1) for the conference’s top seed.
Should Guelph lose Sunday, Erie would be the fifth seed and draw Kitchener (41-23-4-0) as its quarterfinal opponent.
If the Storm upsets London, the Otters would drop to sixth and open against the third-seeded Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (45-17-3-2).
“We’ll see what happens (Sunday) and go from there,” Misiak said.
The OHL will announce the schedules for each of postseason series Sunday night, according to Erie communications director Shawn Bednard.
More: Will Erie Otters top goalie Ben Gaudreau be healthy when OHL postseason starts?
Still waiting for Gaudreau
The Otters held a pregame ceremony that honored its four overage players. Forward Brett Bressette, defenseman Owain Johnston and goaltenders Ben Gaudreau and Ethan Fraser will conclude their OHL careers whenever Erie’s season does.
Fraser, who recorded 19 saves during Saturday’s win, was one of seven goalies the Otters started during the regular season. They were forced to use that unusual total because of the foot injury Gaudreau suffered during a Jan. 21 game at Sault Ste. Marie.
Erie acquired the veteran, a former San Jose Sharks draft pick, in a trade with the Sarnia Sting last October.
Otters assistant coach Wes Wolfe, whom coach Stan Butler has regularly sent out to speak with Erie’s media after home games, remained vague about Gaudreau’s postseason status after Saturday’s win.
“He’s still rehabbing his injury,” Wolfe said. “We’re still taking it day to day.”
Contact Mike Copper at mcopper@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNcopper.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Playoff-bound Erie Otters win regular season finale in overtime
