Nick Baptiste scored his 13th goal of the year Thursday as Erie squandered a three-goal, second-period lead in a 4-3 loss at Sarnia. Baptiste, who began on a line with Connor McDavid ('15) and Alex Debrincat ('16), has 13 points (5+8) in his last eight games. Just over a minute after the Baptiste tally, McDavid scored a highlight reel goal when he split the defense for his 17th of the year. It was McDavid's first game back with the Otters after helping Canada to World Junior gold.
Elsewhere, Eric Cornel finished with a minus-one rating as Peterborough came up short in a 3-2 loss to Ottawa. Cornel has hit a slow patch for the struggling Petes, producing just one goal and five assists in his last dozen games.
Brendan Lemieux was quiet offensively as Barrie was defeated by Niagara 5-2. Lemieux was handed three penalties on the night plus a 10-minute misconduct for being at the center of a scrum at the end of the second period.
In Sweden, Victor Olofsson returned from World Junior duty, posting two shots on goal as MODO was edged by Vaxjo 3-2. Gustav Possler missed the game due to illness, while Linus Ulmark continued to rest an injured groin.
