OHL Saginaw Spirit

Eagles Nest Notes

Published on February 9, 2009 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release


The Saginaw Spirit wrapped up last weekend with a record of 1-1-0-1, gaining three points for a total of 64 points and a record of 30-18-0-4. The Spirit are in third place in the OHL Western Conference, with the Guelph Storm (62 points) in fourth place. The Sarnia Sting and Plymouth Whalers are tied for fifth place with 57 points each.

Week 21 Recap

The Spirit hosted one of the OHL Eastern Conference's elite teams in the Belleville Bulls last Friday. The team lost 5-1 in regulation, with the games third star Joe Pleckaitis scoring the lone Spirit goal. Goalie Edward Pasquale posted 20 saves on 24 shots.

The team rebounded to beat the Erie Otters Saturday night in Erie. Saginaw was down 2-1 but responded with four straight goals to secure a 5-2 regulation win. Chris Chappell, Daniel Pachis and Jordan Szwarz chipped in on the goal scoring, with Tyler Murovich notching a goal and two assists. Jack Combs earned the games first star with a goal and an assist and goalie Edward Pasquale earned the second star with 32 saves on 34 shots.

The Spirit squared off against the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors Sunday afternoon for the second of their two game season series. The two teams battled throughout the game, with the Majors eventually edging out the Spirit in a 2-1 shootout victory. Despite the loss, the Spirit secured a point. Nick Crawford tallied the opening goal, and Adam Comrie earned the games third star. Goalie Anthony Peters earned 37 saves on 38 shots.

Week 22 Preview

The Saginaw Spirit face a stretch of four games in six days, one at home and three on the road, this week. The series starts Wednesday night when they host the Plymouth Whalers at TheDow Event Center (7:11 PM). The Spirit head to Kitchener for a Friday night match-up against the Rangers (7:30 PM) and then visit the Belleville Bulls Saturday night (7:15 PM). The team rounds out the weekend with a Monday matinee game hosted by the Oshawa Generals (2:05 PM).

Plymouth Whalers

The Spirit host their cross-state rivals Wednesday night when the Plymouth Whalers come to town. The Whalers continue to climb in the rankings, tied for fifth place in the OHL Western Conference with 57 points and a record of 26-22-5-0. The Whalers are riding a two game win streak and have posted a record of 6-3-1-0 in their last ten games. The Whalers also have the edge on their season series against the Spirit, having won the last four contests.

The Whalers offense is driven by center Matt Caria (20G 41A) and center Chris Terry (27G 33A), with the two having combined for 121 points on the season. Other notables up front include center Tyler Seguin (12G 29A), winger Ryan Hayes (21G 16A) and winger A.J. Jenks (15G 22A). European defenseman Michal Jordan (6G 21A) leads from the blueline in both the point production and plus/minus departments. He is plus-13 on the season. Josh Bemis (1G 7A) is also an anchor on the defense, posting a plus-11 on the season.

Goalie Matt Hackett is one of the major factors in the team's rise in the rankings, posting a 0.916 goals against average and 2.98 save percentage in 40 games. He has also tallied two shutouts this season.

Kitchener Rangers

The Spirit start off their road swing Friday with a visit the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium when they face off against the Kitchener Rangers. The Rangers are in danger of not making the post season, with 47 points and a record of 22-27-1-2. However they are currently enjoying a streak that has seen them earn 7 points in their last four games for a record of 3-0-0-1, and are only 7 more points away from catching the eighth seeded Owen Sound Attack (54 points). They also bested the Spirit in their last contest, 3-2 in regulation on January 11th. The Spirit are leading in the four game season series with a record of 2-1-0-0.

The Rangers lost a significant chuck of offense after trading leading goal scorer Scott Timmins (25 goals in 38 games) to the Windsor Spitfires. Winger Chris Mackinnon (18G 46A) and winger Tyler Randell (18G 13A) have filled the gap left by Timmins, with rookie forwards Jason Akeson (13G 31A) and Jeff Skinner (17G 16A) providing both depth and a glimpse of the Rangers offense's future. Pittsburgh Penguins drafted defenseman Robert Bortuzzo (6A) recently returned to blue line duty after being out the first half of the season due to injury.

Former Spirit netminder Parker Van Buskirk has shouldered the load in net this season, even more so with the trade of Chicago Blackhawks pick Josh Unice to the Windsor Spitfires. He has earned one shutout, a 3.05 goals against average and 0.911 save percentage, in 39 games.

Belleville Bulls

The Bellville Bulls are one of the first teams in the league to clinch a playoff birth, enjoying a record of 35-15-2-2 and 74 points. The Bulls are tied with the Brampton Battalion for first place in the OHL Eastern Conference. Saturday nights contest between the Spirit and the Bulls marks the second game of the two game season series between the two teams, with the Bulls taking the first game 5-1 last weekend.

Leading point producer Erie Tangradi (31G 41A) leads a potent offense featuring winger Bryan Cameron (31G 31A) and center Luke Pither (28G 30A). The team added some depth to the front end with the addition of Kitchener Rangers winger Brandon Mashinter (25G 19A) and Erie Otters winger Nick Palmieri (21G 12A) at the trade deadline. Team Canada standout and Montreal Canadians drafted defenseman P.K. Subban (8G 45A) is a factor on the majority of Belleville attacks with a team high 45 assists and is also the teams current plus/minus leader with a plus-35 in 42 games. Shawn Lalonde (18G 23A), a prospect of the Chicago Blackhawks, is another big anchor on the blue line and is plus-19 on the season.

The strong play of their defense and goalie Mike Murphy has lead to only 142 goals scored against the Bulls this season, which is second only to the Windsor Spitfires (133 goals against). The Carolina Hurricanes pick has earned 4 shutouts this season with a 2.08 goals against average and 0.942 save percentage.

Oshawa Generals

The Oshawa Generals host the Spirit Monday afternoon for the second game of the two game season series between the two teams. The Generals are tied for sixth place in the OHL Eastern Conference with 50 points and a record of 22-25-2-4. Saginaw took the first contest of the two-game season series between the two teams, a 5-1 victory on November 1st.

The Generals made headlines when they traded hockey phenom John Tavares to the London Knights in early January, but their offense still threatens with the likes of center Brett Parnham (35G 18A) and center Kory Nagy (15G 26A) driving the point production. Four Oshawa rookies are ranked amongst the teams top seven scorers - defenseman Calvin de Haan (5G 41A), center Jeff Brown (9G 13A), winger Christian Thomas (8G 14A) and winger Robert Kousal (6G 12A). de Hann is the teams leading plus/minus leader with a plus-5.

Goalie Neal Conway has posted a 3.68 goals against average and 0.902 save percentage in 26 games, and highly touted rookie goaltender Michael Zador was one of the pieces coming to Oshawa in the Tavares deal. Zador has a 3.69 goals against average and 0.898 save percentage in 28 games, a 3.75 goals against average and 0.906 save percentage in the 8 games he's played in Oshawa.

Tickets Remain!

The team hosts the Plymouth Whalers Wednesday, February 11th (7:11 PM). It's Country Night, presented by Tri-Star Trust Bank! For ticket information, please contact the Official Saginaw Spirit Ticket and Merchandise Store at 5789 State Street in Saginaw or call 989-497-7747.

Check out the Saginaw Spirit Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from February 9, 2009


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