Spirit Record Overtime Loss to Bulls
January 31, 2015 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release
The Saginaw Spirit welcomed the Belleville Bulls during Mental Health Awareness Night for some Saturday night OHL hockey. The teams entertained a large crowd en route to a 5-4 overtime loss to the Belleville Bulls.
The Belleville Bulls got the game's scoring started early in the first period, after Saginaw's starting goaltender David Ovsjannikov let in a trickling puck that came off the stick of Matt Luff. Luff gained the one goal lead for Belleville at 2:55, with the help of Brandon Saigeon and Michael Cramarossa. The Bulls and the Spirit finished off the period in a back and forth affair, with either team able to record another tally. Saginaw and Belleville were neck in neck during the first period, with each team putting 9 shots on the opposing net.
The Spirit put the large Saginaw crowd on their feet early in the second period, when Artem Artemov opened the scoring on his 11th goal of the season. Mitchell Webb fed a nice pass to Artemov who then lobbed the puck top shelf and beat Belleville's goaltender Charlie Graham 5:44 into the second. The goal tied the game at one, but was not enough to keep the Bulls from reinstating their lead just a minute after the Spirit's tally. Stephen Harper reestablished the Bulls lead, making it a 2-1 game with the help of Andrew Ming at 6:35. The Spirit sought out many scoring opportunities, putting a total of 16 shots on Belleville's goaltender during the second period, but were unlucky in finding the back of the net. The Bulls finished the second period off with 5 shots on Saginaw's net.
Saginaw turned in an outstanding third period of play thanks to some strong offensive pressure by the Spirit. Towards the beginning of the third period the Bulls netted two goals to make it a 4-1 game over Saginaw. Brett Gustavsen and Brandon Saigeon recorded the goals for Belleville. Kris Bennett put the Spirit crowd back on their feet when he netted his 6th goal of the season and sliced into the Belleville lead, making it a 4-2 game at the 11:01 mark of the third period. Greg Di Tomaso was credited with the lone assist on the play. Saginaw's Tye Felhaber followed suit, continuing the offensive pressure and cut the Spirit deficit to one on his 12th goal of the season at 13:48 of the third. Connor Brown and Marcus Crawford took the assists on the play. The Spirit tied the game at four when Jacob Ringuette joined the scoring party with five minutes left in the third period, netting his 6th goal of the season with the help of Dylan Sadowy and Artem Artemov. The teams finished off the third period still tied at four and moved to 5 minutes of overtime play at the Dow Event Center.
Not a minute into overtime, the Belleville Bulls scored on a goal by David Tomasek and silenced the Spirit crowd, finishing the night off with a 5-4 win over the Spirit. Final shots on goal read Saginaw 33, Belleville 22.
The Saginaw Spirit will be back in action at the Dow Event Center on Friday, February 6th as they play host to the Owen Sound Attack. Game time is set for 7:11 p.m.
Applebee's Three Stars
1.David Tomasek "" Belleville
2.Brandon Saigeon "" Belleville
3.Artem Artemov "" Sagianw
Get Your 2014-2015 Tickets! "" Reserve your 2014-2015 Saginaw Spirit season tickets, flex packs, and group outings today! For more information contact the Spirit at 989-497-7747, visit the Spirit store at 5789 State Street in Saginaw, or go to SaginawSpirit.com, and don't forget to follow the Spirit on Facebook, Twitter, and You Tube.
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