Game 3 Preview: Series Moves to Guelph with Spirit Leading 2-0
April 22, 2019 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release
Guelph, ON - The Western Conference Championship series continues Monday, April 22 at the Sleeman Centre in Guelph, Ontario, with the Saginaw Spirit leading the Western Conference Final series over the Guelph Storm, 2-0.
Watch live on OHLLive.com or listen live on the flagship WSGW Newsradio 100.5 FM Talk and Sports and fmtalk1005.com with the voice of the Saginaw Spirit Joey Battaino and Dennis Desrosiers on the call. "Countdown to Faceoff" with host Domenic Papa starts 15 minutes prior to puck drop.
The Spirit took their 2-0 series in a 4-3 overtime win Saturday night in front of a sellout crowd of 5,605 at The Dow Event Center in Saginaw, Michigan.
2018 Edmonton Oilers second round pick Ryan McLeod scored the game-winning goal in overtime to give the Spirit the Game Two victory. McLeod was able to poke the puck through Guelph captain Isaac Ratcliffe and lift it over the pad of goaltender Anthony Popovich.
It was New York Islanders signee Bode Wilde, who gave the Spirit the chance to get to overtime, when he tied the game on a powerplay goal with the Spirit net empty and just over one minute remaining on the clock.
After being held without a point in the previous four games, Florida Panthers signee Owen Tippett contributed with two assists in the game.
The forward line of Tippett, McLeod, and Damien Giroux contributed to Game two with five total points, and were in on three of the four Spirit goals scored. The line was held without a point in Game one.
The other Spirit goal scored in Game two came courtesy of 2020 NHL Draft prospect Cole Perfetti. The Whitby, Ontario native has six goals and five assists in the playoffs for 11 points. Perfetti leads all OHL rookies with six goals, and is four points behind Ottawa's Marco Rossi for the league-lead in points (15).
Perfetti's goal was setup by 2017 Detroit Red Wings draft pick Brady Gilmour. Gilmour has four points in the series, and is second on the team with 16 points in the postseason.
2021 NHL Draft goaltending prospect Tristan Lennox picked up his first postseason victory on in Game two. After Ivan Prosvetov was ejected in third period, Lennox needed to make only two saves while his team battled back to tie and eventually win the game in overtime.
Montreal Canadiens prospect Nick Suzuki extended his point streak to seven games with a breakaway goal in the second period to tie the game at the time, 1-1. Suzuki leads the OHL Playoffs in points (22).
2017 second round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers prospect Isaac Ratcliffe extended his point streak to five games and goal streak to four games, with a multi-point effort in Game two.
Guelph has 11 players with rights owned by NHL teams, forwards Cam Hillis (Montreal Canadiens), Nick Suzuki (Montreal Canadiens-signed), MacKenzie Entwistle (Chicago Blackhawks-signed), Alexey Toropchenko (St. Louis Blues-signed), Liam Hawel (Dallas Stars), Nate Schnarr (Arizona Coyotes-signed), Isaac Ratcliffe (Philadelphia Flyers-signed), defensemen Dmitri Samorukov (Edmonton Oilers-signed), Sean Durzi (Los Angeles Kings), Markus Phillips (Los Angeles Kings), and Fedor Gordeev (Toronto Maple Leafs.)
The Spirit also boasts eight players drafted by NHL clubs, forwards Brady Gilmour (Detroit Red Wings), Blade Jenkins (New York Islanders), Owen Tippett (Florida Panthers-signed), Ryan McLeod (Edmonton Oilers), Damien Giroux (Minnesota Wild), defensemen Reilly Webb (Detroit Red Wings), Bode Wilde (New York Islanders-signed), and goaltender Ivan Prosvetov (Arizona Coyotes).
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