OHL Saginaw Spirit

Eagles Nest Notes

Published on January 21, 2008 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release


Welcome to Eagles Nest Notes, the Saginaw Spirit weekly recap and preview. The Spirit wrapped up an extended road trip that saw them lose in a shootout 3-2 to the Plymouth Whalers, lose 4-2 to the Owen Sound Attack, lose 5-4 in overtime to the Sudbury Wolves and beat the Barrie Colts in a 4-3 shootout. The team got 4 out of 8 possible points on the trip.

The Saginaw Spirit are ranked 7th in the OHL Western Conference with 48 points and a record of 21-17-4-2. The Sarnia Sting are in 6th place with 50 points and the Guelph Storm are in 8th place with 48 points; the Storm have tallied less wins then the Spirit, giving Saginaw the edge in the rankings.

OHL Leader Board - Top 20

Jack Combs is ranked 5th in the OHL top scorers category, with Ryan McDonough holding the 18th spot in that category. Tyler Murovich and Jordan Szwarz are two of the top scoring rookies in the league, with Murovich being ranked 14th and Szwarz being ranked 15th.

In the goal scoring category, Combs is ranked 8th and Ryan McDonough 11th. Combs is ranked 10th in the assists category.

Spirit Leader Board

Jack Combs (29-39-68) leads the Spirit in scoring, with Ryan McDonough (28-30-58) and Tomas Zaborsky (24-25-49) rounding out the top-3. Chris Chappell (11-12-23) has moved up the ladder, coming in as the fourth leading scorer on the team. Tyler Murovich (13-9-22) is the fifth top scorer.

Chris Breen leads the Spirit d-men with a plus-17; Jordan Ogilvie and Adam Comrie are at plus-6, T.J. Brodie is at plus-5 and Nick Crawford is at plus-4.

Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds

January 24th; 7:11 PM

TheDow Event Center, Saginaw

The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds square off against the Spirit several time in January. The Spirit beat the Hounds 6-5 in a shootout on January 12th, and will host the Hounds on January 24th and January 31st. This season the Spirit are 2-2-1-0 against the Hounds. The Greyhounds continue to be a dominate force in the Western Conference, in second place with 64 points and a record of 30-12-1-3.

The Soo offensive production is powered by center Dustin Jeffrey (19-39-58), winger Wayne Simmonds (22-24-46), winger Brandon MacLean (17-21-38), center Matthew Lyall (13-25-38) and defenseman Josh Godfrey (14-20-34). Godfrey is averaging a goal a game against the Spirit this season. Defensemen Andrew Quesnele (5-16-21, plus-16) and Andrew Campbell (9-10-19, plus-17) anchor the blue line while veteran goalie Andrew Gajewski has posted a 9.10 save percentage and 2.46 goals against average in 40 games this season.

The Hounds have compiled a record of 25-16-1-2 against the Spirit over the last five seasons and are 10-9-1-1 when playing in Saginaw. This season the Hounds are 12-10-1-0 when on the road.

Sarnia Sting

January 25th; 7:35 PM

Sarnia Sports and Entertainment Centre

The Sarnia Sting are one spot ahead of the Spirit in the rankings, coming in at the sixth spot in the Western Conference. The Sting are 2-1-0-0 against the Spirit this season, the last game being a 6-4 Sarnia victory on November 9th. The team enters the week with 50 points and a record of 24-18-2-0.

The Sting boast several high scorers up front - winger Justin DiBenedetto (27-36-63), center Steven Stamkos (32-38-60), winger Vladimir Nikiforov (22-38-60), and winger Devin DiDiomete (17-17-34). DiBenedetto has tallied 5 goals and 2 assists in 3 contests against the Spirit this season. The Sting will be without Nikiforov from awhile, having sustained an injury in a recent contest against the Plymouth Whalers. Defenseman Ryan Wilson (5-43-48) directs the action from the blue line and often contributes on the Sting's offensive production while defenseman Mark Katic (2-22-24) has posted a team high plus-15 in 32 games this season. The Sting made a bold move at the deadline by bringing in Nikiforov and standout netminder Andrew Perugini from the Barrie Colts. Perugini has earned a 3.03 goals against average and 0.918 save percentage in 35 games this season, but in 8 games with the Sting has posted a 2.35 goals against average and 0.923 save percentage.

The Sting are 18-10-3-1 against the Spirit over the last five seasons and are 6-6-3-1 when playing in Sarnia. This season the Sting have compiled a home record of 15-7-0-0.

Guelph Storm

January 26th; 7:11 PM

TheDow Event Center, Saginaw

The Guelph Storm will enter Saturday's game undefeated against the Spirit in their two games this season; the Storm beat the Spirit 3-1 on December 7th and 3-1 on December 9th. The Storm are ranked eighth in the Western Conference with 28 points and a record of 20-17-5-3.

The Storm have several skaters that contribute on offense. Center Brandon Buck (19-21-40), center Luke Pither (13-25-38), center Rafael Rotter (5-30-35) and center Anthony Nigro (18-15-33) are a few of the top producers on the team, with Buck having tallied two goals against the Spirit this season. The Storm picked up center Harrison Reed (8-23-31) at the trade deadline from the Sarnia Sting, who tallied two goals against the Spirit this season as well. Defenseman Drew Doughty (9-29-38) has returned from the World Juniors tournament to resume his leadership role on the Storm's blue line. Storm goalie Thomas McCollum has posted a 2.66 goals against average and 0.907 save percentage in 35 games this season; he has earned 3 shutouts on the season so far.

The Storm are 16-5-0-1 against the Spirit over the last five seasons, 7-3-0-1 when playing in Saginaw. This season they are 7-10-1-3 when playing on the road.

Next 5 Games

January 24th, 2008; Home vs Sault Ste. Mare Greyhounds; 7:11 PM

January 25th, 2008; Away at Sarnia Sting; 7:35 PM

January 26th, 2008; Home vs Guelph Storm; 7:11 PM

January 31st, 2008; Home vs Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds; 7:11 PM

February 2nd, 2008; Home vs Ottawa 67's; 7:11 PM

Check out the Saginaw Spirit Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from January 21, 2008


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