Sports stats



OHL Saginaw Spirit

Christopoulos Nets OT Winner Against His Former Team, 5-4

December 30, 2023 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release


Saginaw Spirit celebrate win
Saginaw Spirit celebrate win
(Saginaw Spirit, Credit: Eric Young)

Saginaw, Mich. - The Saginaw Spirit (21-10-0-1) defeated the Windsor Spitfires (11-20-2-0) in overtime on Saturday, December 30th, at the Dow Event Center. Alex Christopoulos scored twice, including the game-winner midway through overtime. Nolan Lalonde started in net for the Spirit and made 20 saves on 24 shots while Joey Costanzo started for the Spitfires and made 29 saves on 34 shots on goal.

With 11:27 left in the first period, Alex Christopoulos received a short pass from Sebastien Gervais and soon took off up ice. Christopoulos then took a shot from the left faceoff circle, ripping the puck over Joey Costanzo's shoulder to give Saginaw a 1-0 lead over Windsor.

They soon followed with more offense with 7:37 left in the first period. Liam Storch skated up ice, after receiving a pass from Joey Willis. His drop pass at the circle found Hunter Haight, who rifled a shot past Costanzo's glove for the 2-0 lead.

Windsor soon responded with a goal of their own with 6:56 left in the first period. Jacob Maillet made a flat pass to Liam Greentree who then took a shot from the inner hash marks of the right faceoff circle. The puck bounced off Nolan Lalonde's pads but Ryan Abraham was there for the rebound and took a short shot at goal, with the puck flying right under Lalondes glove. This goal cut the Spitfires deficit to 2-1.

With Liam Greentree in the box, the Spirit looked to capitalize on the powerplay. Instead, AJ Spellacy scored a shorthanded goal after an odd-man break into the Spirit zone.

The first period ended tied, 2-2, with Windsor outshooting Saginaw 8-7.

With 16:02 left in the second period, Saginaw's captain, Braden Haché, took a shot on goal from the slot, rifling the puck between Joey Costanzo's legs and into the net. This was an unassisted goal which gave the Spirit back the lead at 3-2.

With 15:17 left in the second period, Windsor's Cole Davis followed Haché's and took a shot from behind the inner hash marks. The puck blew past Nolan Lalonde's blocker to tie the game, 3-3, with Oliver Peer and Valentin Zhugin being credited for the assists.

With 3:17 left in the second, the Spitfires broke the tie when Jacob Maillet passed the puck up ice to Ryan Abraham who soon found Liam Greentree. His shot from 20 feet snuck past Nolan Lalonde's glove and into the net for the 4-3 lead.

The second period ended with Windsor leading Saginaw 4-3 with both teams taking a total of 19 shots on goal (11-12 in the second period).

With 9:04 left in the game, Windsor's Carson Woodall received a delay of game penalty, giving Saginaw another power play opportunity which they would capitalize on.

Dean Loukus passed the puck from the blue line to Sebastien Gervais who sat on the right faceoff dot. Gervais instantly passed across ice to Nic Sima for a one-time blast to tie the game 4-4.

At the end of regulation, a 4-4 score line sent the game into overtime. Saginaw outshot Windsor 33-23 at the end of regulation (14-4 in the third period).

The Spirit sealed the deal when Dean Loukus took a shot on goal inside the blue line that met Costanzo's pads. Alex Christopoulos was right there to get the rebound and immediately fired the puck past the sprawling Costanzo. Zayne Parekh was also credited with an assist on this game winning goal.

The Saginaw Spirit will travel to Sault Ste. Marie in a rematch against the Soo Greyhounds on Sunday, December 31st at GFL Memorial Gardens. Puck drop is at 2:07 pm.

For more information, visit saginawspirit.com or follow the team on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

Check out the Saginaw Spirit Statistics




Images from this story

Saginaw Spirit celebrate win
Saginaw Spirit celebrate win
(Eric Young)		   



Ontario Hockey League Stories from December 30, 2023


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central