OHL Saginaw Spirit

Spirit Beat the Greyhounds 6-5

Published on January 12, 2008 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release


(Sault Ste. Marie, ON) The Saginaw Spirit took on the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds at the Steelback Centre Saturday night, winning 6-5 in an overtime shootout. This season has seen plenty of scoring action whenever the Spirit face-off against the Hounds, with the two teams combining for a total of 43 goals in 5 contests, for an average of 8.6 goals per game. Spirit winger Tomas Zaborsky posted a 4 point game tonight with 2 goals and 2 assists. Both Jack Combs and Ryan McDonough extended their respective point streaks in the contest, with Combs having earned at least one point in the last 14 games and McDonough scoring at least one point in the last 11 games. The Saginaw Spirit are in seventh place in the OHL Western Conference with 44 points and a record of 20-16-3-1. The Spirit are one point away from the Sarnia Sting, who are in sixth place with 45 points.

Both teams came out of the gates on fire, combining for 7 of the games 11 goals in the first period. Spirit center Jack Combs was the first to start the scoring frenzy, notching a goal at 4:48 in the period courtesy assists from defenseman Adam Comrie and winger Tomas Zaborsky (NYR). The Hounds would respond by scoring two consecutive goals, taking a 2-1 lead. The first came on the power play at the 7:12 mark from defenseman Andrew Campbell, assisted by center Matthew Lyall and winger Arron Alphonso. Soo defenseman Michael Quesnele, assisted by center Michael Fine, followed with a goal at 8:29 in the period.

The Hounds would hold onto their 2-1 lead for a little over 5 minutes before Saginaw's Zaborsky would break through for an unassisted goal at 13:41 in the first, tying up the game 2-2. Soo defenseman Josh Godfrey would get the lead back for the Hounds, thanks to a power play goal at the 15:26 mark. Defenseman Jacob Muzzin and center Dustin Jeffrey assisted on the goal, which took the score to 3-2 Soo.

The Spirit would take the lead courtesy three consecutive goals. Winger Chris Chappell tied the game with a goal at 16:05 in the first, with the assist going to Comrie. Zaborsky would move the score to 4-3 Saginaw with his second goal of the evening, coming on the power play at the 19:24 mark. Center Ryan McDonough and Combs assisted on the goal. Spirit rookie Tyler Murovich gave the Spirit a two goal lead in the opening minutes of the second period with a goal at the 4:32 mark, courtesy an assist from Zaborsky.

The final minutes of the second period saw a circus act featuring a potential goal at the 18:57 mark from the Hounds. The red light never went on, and the period ended with the Spirit holding a 5-3 lead over the Hounds. However, before the teams left for their locker rooms the on-ice officials called for a goal review. The goal was allowed and 1:03 was put back on the clock, forcing both teams to go out and play to what would amount to the Spirit exiting the second period with a 5-4 lead. The Hounds' Jeffrey tallied the marker, with assists from winger James Livingston and Godfrey.

The Hounds would tie up the game with less than five minutes remaining in the game; Alphonso scored the goal at the 15:25 mark, with assists courtesy Lyall and Livingston. The two teams would continue to fight back-and-forth until the buzzer, forcing the game into what would amount to a scoreless 4-on-4 5:00 overtime and shootout.

The Soo would start off the shootout, with Jeffrey missing on the opportunity. Saginaw would call forth leading scorer Combs, who was unfortunately unable to get the puck past Hounds goalie Stephane Cesar. Spirit goalie Ryan Daniels echoed Cesar by stopping Brendan MacLean on the Hounds' next pass. Spirit captain Ryan McDonough tallied a goal in the shootout, and the Hounds' Wayne Simmonds was unable to answer. The Spirit won the game 6-5.

Spirit netminder Ryan Daniels (OTT) stood in net for Saginaw, stopping 35 of 42 shots. Hounds goalie Stephane Cesar would stop 13 of 20 shots in the game.

For a complete game sheet, please visit www.ontariohockeyleague.com

The Saginaw Spirit will face the Plymouth Whalers Monday night at 7:05 PM in Plymouth before heading to Owen Sound for a 7:00 PM contest against the Attack on Wednesday. The Spirit wrap up the weekend with a game on Friday in Sudbury and on Saturday in Barrie. The games against the Wolves and Colts begin at 7:30 PM. Listen to all Spirit games live on 97.3 JOE FM!

The Spirit return to Saginaw and TheDow Event Center on Thursday, January 24th for a 7:11 PM contest against the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. It's a Special Olympics night at the Spirit game, a league wide effort by the teams of the Ontario Hockey League to support local chapters of the Special Olympics. Stay tuned to Saginawspirit.com for more information concerning this worthy cause.

Check out the Saginaw Spirit Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from January 12, 2008


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