UHL Opening Weekend
River Otters Lose Two in a Row
By Louis J. Launer
Opening Weekend for the Missouri River Otters turned out to be a little rough out on the Family Arena ice. River Otters goaltender Kevin Reiter returned to the team after his latest Chicago call-up. On opening night at Family Arena, Reiter appeared shell shocked.
The Motor City Mechanics shot only seven times in the first period on opening night. Three of those shots were goals. Reiter was benched at the end of the first period. Brenden Cuthbert, the team’s new backup goaltender, replaced Reiter and finished the game.
The damage was already done as Motor City defeated the River Otters, 5-2, spoiling the opening day festivities including the first allowed tailgate party held at the Family Arena parking lot. Damian Surma and Brian Church scored for Missouri.
On Saturday night, the Rockford IceHogs came to town and the River Otters remained in focus on the game the first two periods. The River Otters had a 2-1 lead in the second period. Disaster struck in the third period when one IceHog single-handedly finished the River Otters. Left-winger Jason Notermann scored a hat trick (3 goals in a game) and the game-winning goal in a 5-2 loss for Missouri.
Lars Pettersen got his first goal of the season for the Otters in the Rockford game. Damian Surma scored his second of the year as a River Otter. Pettersen’s goal game at 9:00 of the second period after picking up a loose puck at the Rockford blue line and fired in a slap shot.
Steve Yetman for Rockford scored a fluke goal for Rockford late in the third, taking advantage of Kevin Reiter being kept away from the net by the Rockford defense. To add to the disaster, Rockford center Olivier Proulx scored an empty net goal after Reiter was replaced by a sixth River Otter attacker.
Although the River Otters lacked scoring last weekend, they made it up with a number of fights. In the Rockford game, River Otter left winger Richard Paul slammed Rockford defenseman Ryan Carrigan into the boards. Carrigan retaliated by slugging Paul. Both received fighting majors and Paul was giving an additional minor penalty for boarding.
Paul fought again in the second period. This time, he took on Rockford’s Robin Big Snake. Later in the game, Big Snake took on River Otter defenseman Martin Vasut, after Big Snake was high sticked in the face. This time, Big Snake drew blood as Vasut suffered a gash to his head. Vasut was able to skate off the ice and is expected to play on the River Otters first road trip of the season this Halloween weekend.
Forward Mark Odut is expected to return to the River Otters possibly in December. Odut has had a broken wrist suffered in training camp. Dimitri Toupikov is still absent from the team due to U.S. visa problems. Toupikov remains in Canada awaiting U.S. entry.
The River Otters dedicated last Saturday night’s game in memory of long-time season ticket holder Fran Pinkley. She had been a season ticket holder since the team’s beginning in 1999. Pinkley passed away this June. Also, fans cheered as they announced the news former River Otter enforcer Marty Melnychuk, who became a proud father of a baby girl on October 22. Melnychuk played for the River Otters in the 2002-03 season and continues to be an all-time fan favorite.
