Erie's 3rd-period surge fuels season-opening 5-2 win vs. Sudbury; OHL team to play at Erie Insurance Arena for next decade.

Fans of the Erie Otters are now assured another decade's worth of Ontario Hockey League home openers like Friday's.

They hope for many more results like their team experienced against Sudbury.

The Otters, thanks to a three-goal flurry midway through their four-goal third period, rallied to beat the Wolves 5-2 in front of a crowd of 3,069.

Their victory at Erie Insurance Arena followed a pregame announcement that the franchise and the Erie County Convention Center Authority agreed to a 10-year lease extension.

The game was tied at 2-all when Daniel D'Amato began Erie's decisive offensive run against Sudbury goaltender Mitchell Weeks.

D'Amato was named the game's first star for converting a short pass from teammate Alex Gritz off a 2-on-1 scenario. The reserve center made it 3-2 Erie with just over seven minutes left in regulation.

D'Amato, who wore a hunting outfit during his postgame interview, said his goal allowed Erie (1-0-0-0) to shake off a malaise that held back the team.

"It was a sigh of relief," he said. "We were battling the whole game, but when I got the goal and then (Hayden) Fowler got his goal, we were really pushing in (Sudbury's zone)."

Fowler netted his goal 43 seconds after D'Amato's. Connor Lockhart, Erie's first-round pick in this year's draft, recorded his first OHL goal on an empty-netter.

SLOW START

• Coach Chris Hartsburg, like D'Amato, also said the Otters didn't have their game legs under them upon the opening puck drop.

"I thought through the first two periods we were a pretty average team," he said. "We were a step behind, and sometimes that happens. But once we got the rust off, we got better as the game wore on."

The Otters outshot the Wolves 38-25. That included a 15-5 advantage in the third period.

WOLVES' STAR

• Quinton Byfield showed why he was the first overall pick in the 2018 OHL draft. The star center scored each of the Wolves' goals.

Byfield took advantage of a turnover in Erie's zone for his first. He converted on a 2-on-1 chance against Erie goaltender Daniel Murphy.

Byfield's second came on a one-timer from between the circles with less than three minutes left in the second period. That gave Sudbury (0-2-0-0) a 2-1 lead at the second intermission.

"I thought we actually did a good job against him," Hartsburg said about Byfield. "The biggest thing with him is not allowing him free ice."

Byfield's goal total is already at four, with his first two scored Thursday. That's when the Niagara IceDogs beat the Wolves 6-3 in a game that doubled as the league's official opener.

Friday was Sudbury's lone appearance in Erie. The Otters visit the Wolves on Dec. 13.

LEASE EXTENSION

• Otters owner Jim Waters and Erie Events executive director Casey Wells shook hands while news of the lease extension was announced by public address announcer Dean Pepicello. It drew a rousing cheer.

"The Otters are very fortunate to call this fantastic facility home," Waters said in a news release. "I’m ecstatic to join our many fans and community partners in Erie in continuing Otters success for years to come."

It was April 2018 when Waters vowed in writing that if the City of Erie received a $12 grant it requested from the state, he would make a long-term commitment to keep the franchise here.

That grant was approved last August, and Waters came through with his end of the deal Friday.

HOME STRETCH

• Friday was the first of 10 home games Erie will experience over its first 14 this season. The Otters are on the road for their next three, which includes Saturday's at Hamilton, and then return to EIA on Sept. 28 vs. Windsor.

Mike Copper can be reached at 870-1614 or by email. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ETNcopper.