A strong third period was not enough for the Erie Otters (5-9-2-1) as they fell to the Plymouth Whalers (10-6-0-0) on Halloween night at Tullio Arena, 4-3.

The Otters scored three goals in the final stanza, including two in the closing minutes, but fell short of making a miraculous comeback on Halloween.

The Otters managed to control the pace of the game through the first five minutes, recording the first seven shots on goal. However, the Whalers were able to get on the board with a pair of power play goals 28 seconds apart to take a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.

The second period was more of the same for the Otters, who challenged the Whalers with some shots but continued to be denied. The Whalers would pick up another power play goal to take a 3-0 lead into the third period.

Mike Cazzola put the Otters on the board with a blast from the slot that eluded Whalers goaltender Matt Hackett at 5:51. The goal was Cazzola’s sixth of the season.

The Whalers tacked on another power play goal midway through the third to extend their lead back to three, but the Otters made things interesting with just over two minutes left.

Separate penalties by the Whalers eight seconds apart led to a long two-man advantage for the Otters, who capitalized quickly. A tic-tac-toe passing play between Zack Torquato, Tyler Hostetter and Shawn Szydlowski led to a Szydlowski laser from the bottom of the left circle at 17:58 to make it 4-2.

The Otters drew closer with just over 18 seconds left in regulation with the extra attacker. Andrew Yogan fired a shot from the left half-boards that ricocheted off the skate of Leo Jenner into the goal, making it 4-3.

Despite a valiant effort by the Otters to tie the game, the Whalers held on to deny Erie what would have been an incredible comeback. The Otters outshot the Whalers in the final period, 19-9, and for the game, 40-29.