Game Preview: Saginaw Spirit (8) at Kitchener Rangers (1) - Game 1
OHL Saginaw Spirit

Game Preview: Saginaw Spirit (8) at Kitchener Rangers (1) - Game 1

Published on March 27, 2026 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release


Kitchener, Ont. - The Saginaw Spirit (26-34-4-4 reg. season) visit the Kitchener Rangers (47-14-5-2 reg. season) on Friday, March 27th, at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium. This is Game 1 of the opening round series between the eight seeded Spirit, and the Western Conference's top seeded Rangers.

Tonight's Game:

Puck drop is at 7:00 pm.

Broadcast:

Radio: 100.5 FM WSGW, WSGW.com

TV: FloHockey

Regular Season:

The Spirit secured their fourth consecutive playoff berth in 2026, closing out their season last weekend with a visit to the Soo Greyhounds and a home finale against the Sarnia Sting. Saginaw fell 5-1 against the Greyhounds in Sault St. Marie, and end the season in overtime against the Sting, falling 4-3 at the Dow Event Center. Nikita Klepov ended the season on a six-game point streak (2G-8A-10P), capturing the OHL's scoring title with 97 points.

With a 47-14-5-2 record, the Rangers clinched a Midwest Division title for the first time since 2018, and the top spot in the Western Conference. Like the Spirit, the Rangers would drop both of their final games last week, falling to the Sting 4-3 at home and losing to the Owen Sound Attack 8-7 in overtime. Cameron Arquette and Alex Forrest both picked up three points in the loss to the Attack, with Forrest picking up his first career OHL point in the process.

Head-to-Head 2025-2026:

Kitchener swept the four-game series against the Spirit this season, with their most recent win coming on January 16th. Jack Pridham scored three goals in the 7-4 win for his second hat-trick of the season against the Spirit. Saginaw picked up a point in a December 13th shootout loss to the Rangers where Egor Barabanov picked up two points. He and Nikita Klepov co-led the team in scoring against Kitchener this season with five points each.

Players to Watch:

With 97 points (37G-60A) in 67 games, Nikita Klepov took the organization's second consecutive Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as the league's top scorer. His six-game scoring streak to end the regular season was tied with Egor Barabanov for the longest active streak at the time. It was also his eighth streak of the season lasting five or more games. He scored in his last visit to the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium on January 16th, and finished the season with 2G-3A-5P against the Rangers. Klepov was Saginaw's only player this year to manage multiple goals against their would-be first round opponent.

Sitting third amongst OHL rookies this season in scoring is Spirit defenseman Levi Harper, who picked up 57 (12G-45A) in 68 games. His point total established a new record for rookie blueliners in Saginaw. Harper was a point-per-game player against Kitchener this season with a goal and three assists in four games. Despite being blanked in the team's final regular season game, he ended the year with 1G-3A-4P in his last four games.

Goaltender Stepan Shurygin led his OHL peers in games played (59), as well as minutes (3417), shots faced (1920), and saves (1704) this season. His games played and minute totals were each the fourth-most by a Spirit goaltender in a single season, while his save total was second (Eddie Pasquale, 1821, 2008-09). Shurygin finished his first OHL season with a 24-27-3-4 record, 3.79GAA and .888SV%.

Saginaw's NHL-Drafted Players:

Jacob Cloutier (WPG)

Jack Pridham led the Kitchener Rangers this season in scoring, picking up 90 points (46G-44A) in 65 games. The Blackhawks prospect ended the season with a 13-game point streak, netting 20 points (11G-9A) in that span. Pridham picked up nine points (7G-2A) in four games against the Spirit. Last year, Pridham picked up 13 points (7G-6A) in 16 playoff games with Kitchener, including four multi-point nights.

Kitchener Captain Cameron Reid set a career high in points this season with 56 (15G-41A) in 57 games. The defenseman picked up his 100th career assist early this month, and ten assists in 24 playoff games. Reid had four points (2G-2A) in three games this season against Saginaw and was drafted 21st overall by the Nashville Predators in the 2025 NHL Draft.

Sam O'Reilly was named the OHL Player of the Month for March, picking up 19 points (5G-14A) in 8 games with the Rangers. O'Reilly spent his first 163 games with the London Knights, winning two OHL Championships and the 2025 Memorial Cup before being traded to the Rangers earlier this season. O'Reilly has picked up 71 points (29-42A) in 56 games this season, with 43 points (17G-26A) in 28 games with Kitchener.

Kitchener's NHL Drafted Players: Luke Ellinas (OTT), Gabriel Chiarot (VAN), Sam O'Reilly (TBL), Jack Pridham (CHI), Christian Humphreys (COL), Matthew Hlacar (TOR), Luca Romano (NYI), Cameron Reid (NSH), Andrew MacNeil (MTL), Christian Kirsch (SJ), Matthew Andonovski (OTT), Jared Woolley (LAK)

Check out the Saginaw Spirit Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from March 27, 2026


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.

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