NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



 Saginaw Spirit

Game Day Preview: Spirit Welcome Generals, Ted Lindsay Award Trophy to Saginaw Saturday

January 4, 2020 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release


Saginaw, MI. - The Saginaw Spirit (21-11-2-2 46 pts.) host the Oshawa Generals (18-12-3-2 41 pts.) for Ted Lindsay Night at The Dow Event Center on Saturday, January 4.  Puck drop for the second and final regular season meeting begins at 7:05 p.m.

The Spirit dropped a close 4-3 decision on the road in the first matchup against the Generals back on October 6.

The game's patrons will have a photograph opportunity with the Ted Lindsay MVP Trophy in the Budweiser Red Room prior to the game against the Generals.  The Ted Lindsay Trophy is awarded to the MVP of the National Hockey League (NHL) as voted on by the players.  Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Ted Lindsay Memorial Trophy with 41 goals and 87 assists for 128 points last season.

Fans can catch the action on the flagship WSGW Newsradio 100.5 FM and www.wsgw.com with Art Lewis and the voice of Saginaw Spirit hockey Joey Battaino on the call.  "Countdown to Face-off" with host Charley Porter begins 15 minutes prior to puck drop.

To purchase tickets to any Saginaw Spirit home game call (989) 497-7747, visit www.saginawspirit.com, or visit the Saginaw Spirit Store at 5789 State Street, Saginaw MI.

Saginaw's six-game winning streak was snapped Friday in a 4-2 road defeat against the Kitchener Rangers.  The loss was Saginaw's first since December 7 against the Windsor Spitfires.

Saginaw Spirit captain Damien Giroux notched his team-leading 23rd goal in the defeat to the Kitchener Rangers.  Through 35 games this season, the Minnesota Wild prospect is just seven goals shy of his career-high goal total (30) that Giroux set last season. Giroux has five goals and four assists for nine points in his last six games.

2020 NHL Draft top-prospect Cole Perfetti extended his point streak to six games with an assist on Saginaw Spirit captain Giroux's goal in the second period of Friday's contest.  The Whitby, Ontario native Perfetti is second on the Spirit in goals (20) and leads the team in assists (36) and points (56) this season.  The potential first-round draft pick has been on a tear of late with points in 15 of his last 17 games for Saginaw.  Perfetti contributed two assists in the first game this season against the Oshawa Generals.

2019 Saginaw Spirit second round pick Josh Bloom scored in the second period of Friday's game against the Rangers for his third goal of the season.  The rookie Bloom scored the first two goals of the season via penalty shots.

New York Islanders draft pick Cole Coskey's six-game point streak was snapped Friday when the overager failed to register a point against the Rangers. The Zion, Illinois native Coskey (89) is just two goals shy of tying Spirit alum Dylan Sadowy for sixth all-time among Saginaw Spirit in goals.  The Spirit right-winger found the back of the net twice against the Generals in the matchup earlier this season.

Former Oshawa General Danil Antropov will play his former team for the first time since the forward was acquired by the Saginaw Spirit earlier this season.  The Spirit are 7-3-1-1 since the Antropov acquision back on November 28 of this season.

The Oshawa Generals are coming off a 5-4 overtime loss on the road Friday night against the Flint Firebirds.

Overage forward Brett Neumann's third period game-tying goal against the Firebirds sent the game into overtime.  The Toronto, Ontario native Neumann leads the Generals in both goals (27) and points (49) this season.  Neumann had a goal in the 4-3 victory for the Generals against the Spirit earlier this season.

2020 NHL Draft prospect Ty Tullio notched his 15th goal of the season in Friday's loss to Flint, which matched his career-high goal output from last season.  Tullio brings a four-game point streak into the game against the Spirit and the center scored two goals and four assists during the streak.

2018 Florida Panthers 34th overall pick Serron Noel has 13 goals and 15 assists for 28 points in his 27 games this season.  The Oshawa right-winger scored twice, including the eventual game-winning goal in the first game against the Spirit this season.

Oshawa goaltender Andrew MacLean was a major factor in the Generals' victory over Saginaw back on October 6.  Saginaw outshot Oshawa by 10 shots in the game and MacLean stopped 35 of the Spirit's 38 shots en route to the victory.

The Oshawa Generals have four players with rights owned by NHL teams in forwards Serron Noel (Florida Panthers), Allan McShane (Montreal Canadiens), defenseman Giovanni Vallati (Winnipeg Jets), and Nico Gross (New York Rangers).

The Gens have three players listed in the 2020 NHL Central Scouting 'Players to Watch' list in 'B' prospects Oliver Suni and Tyler Tullio, along with 'C' prospect Lleyton Moore

The Saginaw Spirit have a total of four players on their roster with NHL ties. Blade Jenkins (NY Islanders), Cole Coskey (NY Islanders), Mason Millman (Philadelphia), and Damien Giroux (Minnesota).

Saginaw has two players listed in the 2020 NHL Central Scouting 'Players to Watch' list, including 'A' prospect Cole Perfetti. Ilya Solovyov is listed as a 'C' prospect.

The NHL Central Scouting Service uses letter grades to classify their rankings. 'A' prospect is classified as a potential first round pick. A 'B' prospect is classified as a second or third round candidate. A 'C' prospect is classified as a potential fourth, fifth, or sixth round pick.


• Discuss this story on the Ontario Hockey League message board...

Ontario Hockey League Stories from January 4, 2020


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