The Saginaw Spirit played twice during the week of Nov. 18-24, taking on their in-state rival, the Flint Firebirds, and their Western Conference rival, the London Knights. A strong offensive showing in both games helped lead to a weekend split, while their power play struggled to produce in each game.
Game Results
Nov. 22 vs Flint Firebirds: 8-1 win
Nov. 23 vs London Knights: 6-5 loss
Parekh & Willis Lead the Way Offensively
After being named the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Player of the Week for the week of Nov. 11-17, Joey Willis continued his hot streak. In the two games over the weekend, the Nashville Predators prospect tallied seven more points, with four goals and three assists. With him leading the way against the Firebirds on Nov. 22, the Spirit coasted to a victory.
But he was not the only Spirit player who has continued their hot play offensively. Calgary Flames 2024 first-round pick Zayne Parekh had a strong weekend offensively. The offensive defenseman made it look easy with the puck on his stick. As Spirit play-by-play commentator Dillon Clark called him, “The puppet master” was in full force in the team’s two games. With Parekh manning the blue line in the offensive zone, the Spirit took advantage of any chance the Firebirds or Knights gave them. Parekh also continued to show his willingness to get in deep on the offensive play, which helped lead to a couple of goals.
THE PUPPET MASTER IS HERE!🦅✨@NHLFlames 2024 first round #NHLDraft pick Zayne Parekh shows off his nifty moves on the blue line and rips one to give @SpiritHockey a 4-0 lead!🚨#OHL | @CHLHockey | #Flames pic.twitter.com/SsYE2U3MFz
— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) November 23, 2024
In the two games, the 2024 Canadian Hockey League’s (CHL) Defenseman of the Year tallied two goals, four assists, and six points, extending his multi-point game streak to five.
Power Play Struggles
Even with scoring 14 goals in two games, the Spirit power play could not take full advantage of the ten total opportunities they had over the weekend. They tallied only two goals while on the man advantage. Against the Knights, they had two occasions where they had a five-minute power play, coming up empty on the first one before taking advantage twice on the second chance to help battle back toward the end of the 6-5 loss.
The first unit, which consists of Parekh, 2025 NHL Draft prospect Michael Misa, Kristian Epperson, Calem Mangone, and Willis, struggled to get themselves set up in the zone at times. This was especially true against the Knights, with the puck seemingly hopping off sticks and bouncing the wrong way for the Spirit.
Related: 2025 NHL Draft Rankings: Baracchini’s Way Too Early Top 32
Even though the power play is at 24.7% on the season (sixth-best in the OHL), there continues to be room for improvement, especially given its talent.
Penalty Kill Continues to Be Strong
While the power play was not at its greatest over the two games, the penalty kill again came up big for the Spirit. In nine times being at a man disadvantage, they only allowed one power-play goal. The strong play of goaltender Andrew Oke spearheaded the penalty kill. For the most part, the play in front of Oke was solid enough to limit their opponent’s chances, but he also made several big saves to keep his team’s penalty kill looking strong. The OHL’s sixth-best penalty kill unit withstood strong play from the Firebirds and Knights, playing sound enough to keep the high-danger chances to a minimum. The lone goal that the unit gave up came off the stick of Knights defenseman Sam Dickinson, who cashed in on a pass from Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Easton Cowan. Thanks to the assist, Cowan continues to get closer to the OHL point streak record.
Other Notes
- Misa continued his hot start to the season, tallying four more points (all assists), pushing his season totals to 23 goals, 23 assists, and 46 points, which leads the OHL. He will head to the CHL USA Prospects Challenge this week (Nov. 26 and 27).
- Epperson seemed snake-bitten with the puck on his stick, unable to cash in on a handful of high-danger chances over the two games.
- Dimian Zhilkin continues to get his offensive game going, scoring twice against the Firebirds.
What’s on Tap for the Spirit
The Spirit will be in action three times during the week of Nov. 25-Dec. 1. They will hit the road for a mid-week matchup against Liam Greentree and the Windsor Spitfires on Nov. 27 before returning home for a must-watch matchup between Misa and fellow 2025 NHL Draft prospect Porter Martone and the Brampton Steelheads on Nov. 30 before a quick turnaround to Sarnia to take on the Sting on Dec. 1.
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