Dec. 13 marked exactly one year since the death of Erie Otters’ owner Jim Waters.
Waters, who was 73, purchased the Ontario Hockey League franchise in 2015. His decade of leadership crested two years later, when Erie won the league’s Robertson Cup championship series.
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The Otters, in Waters’ honor, held a ceremony before their game vs. the visiting North Bay Battalion.
Erie then accomplished a result that would have mattered more to him.
The Otters, thanks to Gabriel Frasca’s two goals in the final 80 seconds of regulation, beat the Battalion 3-1 at Erie Insurance Arena. That left them 12-18-1-1 at the halfway point of their four-game homestand.
Erie Otters forward Gabriel Frasca (white jersey top), on this shot from the top of North Bay’s left circle, scored through a maze of players and Battalion goaltender Mike McIvor with 1 minute, 20 seconds left in regulation of the teams’ Dec. 13 Ontario Hockey League game at Erie Insurance Arena. Frasca added a second goal within the game’s final minute for the hosts’ 3-1 victory.
North Bay, in its lone northwestern Pennsylvania appearance, dropped to 16-13-2-0.
More: Erie Otters owner Jim Waters dies at age 73
‘Here in spirit’
Otters’ personnel, both past and present, voiced their appreciation of Waters during a video presentation on EIA’s overhead scoreboard. The team also named the arena’s hockey press box in his memory
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A curtain removal unveiled, in dark blue letters above it, the Jim A. Waters Press Box.
The Erie Otters unveiled Erie Insurance Arena’s Jim A. Waters Press Box before their Dec. 13 Ontario Hockey League game against North Bay. Waters, who died Dec. 13, 2024, owned the team for 10 years.
Not there, though, was Waters’ widow.
Sheila McLarty Waters was scheduled to attend the ceremony. Her immediate family formally retained ownership of the Otters earlier this year.
However, travel concerns and weather conditions forced her to cancel her appearance.
Otters coach Kris Mallette never met Jim Waters. The former Philadelphia Flyers draft pick, amid Erie’s turbulent 2024-25 season, was hired as Stan Butler’s replacement in February.
Mallette, though, said he first met Sheila Waters in person earlier this year.
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“Hadn’t met (her extended family) before,” Mallette said. “I was looking forward to that. I know they wanted to be here, but they were here in spirit.
“I hope for the opportunity to meet them all down the road.”
Stocking the system
Sheila Waters’ cancellation wasn’t Erie’s only pregame news.
The Otters announced their acquisition of Flint forward Ulysses Lombardi three hours before the opening puck drop.
In return, the Firebirds received Erie’s 12th round pick for the league’s 2027 priority selection draft.
Lombardi, 17, isn’t expected to appear on the Otters’ roster in the near future. He’ll be assigned to the Fort Erie Meteors, the team’s Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League affiliate, according to Erie communications director Trevor Kubeja.
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Lombardi, an Aurora, Ontario, native, also hadn’t seen ice time with the Firebirds. He appeared in 18 games (11 goals and 15 assists) for their GOJHL affiliate, the Waterloo Siskins.
Who’s next
The Otters won at EIA for the first time since a Nov. 29 vs. Peterborough. That victory began a 4-2 stretch after their defeat of North Bay.
The Otters’ are at EIA for respective Dec. 19 and 20 meetings with Sarnia and Flint. Each have 7 p.m. start times.
Erie concludes the 2025 portion of its regular season with Dec. 30 and 31 home-and-home games against Brantford.
The Bulldogs are at EIA for a special New Year’s Eve puck drop of 6 p.m.
Contact Mike Copper at mcopper@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNcopper.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie Otters honor late owner ahead of victory vs. North Bay