OHL Saginaw Spirit

Four Straight Wins and First Place as Spirit Defeat Soo 2-1

Published on October 26, 2005 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release


(Sault Ste. Marie, ON) -- The Saginaw Spirit won their team-best fourth straight game Wednesday night, with a 2-1 win over the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. The victory also propelled the Spirit into first place in the West Division, with 16 points, one better than the Plymouth Whalers.

The Spirit opened scoring on the powerplay at 8:24 of the first period, when center Tom Pyatt (NYR '05) scored from point-blank range, from Ryan McDonough and Jesse Gimblett.

The Soo tied the game 1-1 just :35 into the second period, on the powerplay, when defenseman Brett Halstead scored. Spirit goaltender Francois Thuot turned back 19 shots into the 13th minute of the second period, when he removed himself from the game, to be replaced by goalie Ryan Daniels. The Spirit took a 2-1 lead just a minute later, when rookie forward Tom Craig put a shot in on net. Forward Jamie Klie snapped a shot in close, then linemate Joe McCann knocked the puck in the net from mid-air after the Soo's goaltender, Kyle Gajewski, failed to control the rebound. Craig's assist was his first OHL point. The goal marked McCann's second game-winning goal in three games.

The Spirit and Soo battled scoreless into the final minute of the game, when the Greyhounds pulled goalie Gajewski to put an extra attacker on the ice. The Spirit managed to defuse pressure, including a key zone-clearing shot by forward Chris Chappell with :14 seconds left in the game to preserve the 2-1 victory.

Spirit goalie Ryan Daniels turned back 14 Greyhound shots to earn his 5th win in relief of Thuot. The victory takes Saginaw's record to 8-3 on the season. Saginaw returns to action Friday against the Kitchener Rangers at 7:11pm at the Dow Event Center.

A complete game sheet is available at www.ontariohockeyleague.com.

Check out the Saginaw Spirit Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from October 26, 2005


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