The Saginaw Spirit were in action three times this last week (Oct. 9-15) riding high on a two-game win streak but were unable to keep that streak intact by week’s end, dropping two of the three games they played.
Game Results
- Oct. 11 vs Flint Firebirds: 2-1 Win (3-1-0 record)
- Oct. 13 @ Oshawa Generals: 6-4 Loss (3-2-0 record)
- Oct. 14 @ Mississauga Steelheads: 4-3 Loss (3-3-0 record)
Oct. 11 vs. Flint Firebirds
In the first matchup against their I-75 Divide Cup rival since a hard-fought seven-game series in the 2022-23 playoffs (from Saginaw Spirit beat Flint Firebirds in Game 7 of OHL playoff series, mlive.com, April 10, 2023), the Spirit and Firebirds played yet another hard fought game against each other which turned into a goalie battle between Saginaw’s Andrew Oke and Flint’s Nathan Day.
In the first period, neither team tallied a shot on net until almost eight minutes into the game, but the Spirit got on the board first with a powerplay goal from 2024 draft-eligible defenseman Zayne Parekh, who continued his hot start to the 2023-24 season. The second period did not see any action on the scoreboard until the last minute when the Firebirds became the first team to score a powerplay goal on the Spirit when Kaden Pitre tied the game for Flint.
The game stayed deadlocked at one a piece until Dean Loukus scored his first of the season and 40th career Ontario Hockey League (OHL) goal to put the Spirit ahead 2-1 off assists from Vegas Golden Knights prospect Matyas Sapovaliv (two assists on the night) and PJ Forgione. The Spirit withstood the pressure from Flint for the rest of the game to hang on for a 2-1 win. Oke finished with 24 saves on 25 shots while Day finished with 21 saves on 23 shots for the Firebirds.
Oct. 13 @ Oshawa Generals
Riding into Oshawa on a three-game win streak, head coach Chris Lazary gave Oke the night off and gave the netminder duties to the newly acquired Nolan Lalonde. It marked the 100th career start in the OHL for Lalonde but could have gone better for him.
The Generals scored on their first shot on net against Lalonde and later scored again in the first period to take a 2-0 lead headed into the second period even after the Spirit had sustained pressure throughout the period and tallied 12 shots on goaltender Jacob Oster.
The second period saw the Spirit continue to put pressure on the Generals’ defense and Oster, finally getting on the board off a goal from Valentin Zhugin on a rebound in front of the net. Zhugin continued his hot play in the second period, scoring on a breakaway that tied the game at two but the Spirit momentum was short-lived as the Generals scored less than a minute later to take back the lead heading into the third period, 3-2.
The third period saw a total of five goals scored between the two teams, with the Spirit scoring twice and the Generals three times. The Generals scored six and a half minutes into the period to take a two-goal lead, and later scored an empty net goal which should have put the game out of reach. But the Spirit fought back in the last few minutes of the game, with Calem Mangone scoring and then Zhugin collecting his hat trick with less than a minute left in the period. The Generals eventually tallied another empty-net goal with ten seconds left in the game to secure the 6-4 win for Oshawa.
While the Spirit outshot the Generals 44-32 in the game, Oster outshined Lalonde, stopping 40 of 44 shots while Lalonde stopped 26 of 30 shots faced.
Oct. 14 @ Mississauga Steelheads
The third game of the week for the Spirit saw them conclude the weekend with a trip to Mississauga to play the Steelheads. They again topped the 40-shot mark but only mustered three goals on Steelhead goalie Ryerson Leenders. The Spirit were also without forward Michael Misa, who did not play due to an upper-body injury, missing out on the chance to play his brother Luke.
Related: Spirit Earned Memorial Cup Season with Hard Work & Excellence
The first period saw the Spirit go down 1-0 within the first five minutes of the game with Lucas Karmiris scoring off a rebound in front of the net. But the Steelheads’ lead was short-lived with the Spirit scoring less than a minute later off a goal from captain Braden Hache off a shot from the point from a solid pass by Luke McNamara. Zayne Parekh once again made his presence felt on the ice, jumping into numerous offensive zone chances but was unable to cash in on any of those chances.
The Spirit penalty kill got tested in the first period and allowed a go-ahead goal to the Steelheads who found themselves down 2-1 at the end of the first period.
The Spirit came out of the intermission on fire the first few minutes, having numerous scoring chances but were unable to get one past Leenders, including a failed powerplay that consisted of sustained pressure in the offensive zone that was led by Parekh. The Spirit outshot the Steelheads 15-3 in the first ten minutes of the second period with nothing to show for it, meanwhile, the Steelheads scored a goal at the halfway point of the period to give themselves a 3-1 lead.
The Spirit finally cashed in on a powerplay opportunity in the closing minutes of the second period off a cross-ice pass from Parekh to Sapovaliv to get the team within one goal going to the locker room after two periods.
Hunter Haight tied the game up for the Spirit in the third period on yet another powerplay goal off a back-door pass from Valentin Zhugin. But that would be the end of the scoring for the Spirit, as Mississauga scored the eventual game-winning goal with just a minute-and-a-half left in the third period for a 4-3 victory. The Spirit outshot the Steelheads 44-21 in the game.
Notable Numbers & Stats
- The Spirit now sit at 3-3-0 for the season, placing them third in the West Division.
- The Spirit powerplay ranks first in the OHL at 42.9%, while their penalty kill ranks second at 92.6% success rate.
- Haight sits tied for fifth in the league in points with 10, while Parekh is tied for first among defensemen in points with 10 as well.
What’s On Tap For the Spirit
The Spirit will continue their road trip this weekend (Oct. 21) when they travel to Windsor to play the Spitfires before returning home on Oct. 22 to play the London Knights.
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