Game Preview: Saginaw Spirit at London Knights
OHL Saginaw Spirit

Game Preview: Saginaw Spirit at London Knights

Published on November 28, 2025 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release


London, Ont. - The Spirit (8-11-3-3) head on the road for the first game of a home-and-home series against the London Knights (14-7-3-0) on Friday, November 28th at Canada Life Place.

Today's Game:

Puck drop is at 7:00 pm.

Broadcast:

Radio: 100.5 FM WSGW, WSGW.com

TV: FloHockey

Last Game:

On Wednesday, the Spirit fell in a tight matchup against the Flint Firebirds, who clinched the I-75 Divide Cup with a 5-4 win. Sebastien Gervais had a multi-point night with a goal and an assist. Gervais' goal tied the game late for the Spirit to mark his sixth of the season. Dima Zhilkin also had a multi-point night, with the first goal of the game for the Spirit and an assist on Gervais's goal. Stepan Shurygin saved 38 of 43 shots against the Spirit.

The Knights took a 4-3 win against the Soo Greyhounds on Saturday, November 22nd. The Greyhounds opened up scoring, but the Knights went on to score four unanswered goals. The Greyhounds found two more goals late in the final period, but could not complete a comeback. Ben Wilmot and Evan Van Gorp each had multi-point nights for London, while Aleksei Medvedev stopped 21 of 24 shots.

This Season:

This game marks the first of four meetings between the Spirit and the Knights. The Knights will come to the Dow Event Center on Saturday night. The two teams will meet again in two weeks at the Canada Life Place, then once more at the Dow in February. The Spirit went 1-3-0-0 against the Knights in last year's season series, with their lone victory being a 5-1 win at Canada Life Place on October 18th, 2024.

Players to Watch:

In the absence of Nikita Klepov, who was playing in the CHL Prospect Challenge, Gervais joined the Spirits' top line with Egor Barabanov and Dima Zhilkin, sparking a connection that has been hot as of late for Saginaw. Zhilkin and Gervais have played well together, especially in November, combining for 19 points this month. Zhilkin took the team lead in goals, scoring his 15th of the season against Flint on Wednesday. The Spirit expect the return of their leading scorer Klepov on Friday night, with 14G-19A-33P in 24 games this year.

Spirit Goaltender Stepan Shurygin has made 30 or more stops in 12 of his 22 starts and leads the OHL with 638 saves on the season. He stopped 38 against the Firebirds on Wednesday, and 31 of 32 against the Windsor Spitfires last Saturday. His 1266 minutes in the blue crease this season lead OHL netminders as well. Friday night is expected to be the 250th OHL game for Spirit defenseman James Guo. He is Saginaw's second-highest scoring defenseman this season with 1G-15A--16P in 22 games, including a pair of assists in last weekend's win over the Windsor Spitfires. The Spirit acquired Guo in a trade with the Peterborough Petes at the 2023 OHL Trade Deadline.

Captain Sam O'Reilly leads the Knights with 24 points on the season. The center has scored at least one point in his last five games and sits at third in the OHL with 258 faceoff wins. Braidy Wassilyn has also been on a point streak for the Knights with a point in his last five games and goals in his last four. Wassilyn spent the start of the season with Niagara before being traded to London. He had five points in six games with Niagara, and since being traded, has scored 9G-5A-14P in 12 games.

Aleksei Medvedev is a leading netminder in the OHL, sitting in the top five in the league with a 2.29 GAA and a .919 SV%. The Vancouver Canucks second-round pick holds a 9-4-1-0 record this season with London. He stopped 21 of 24 Greyhound shots in London's most recent victory in Sault Ste. Marie.

Saginaw's NHL Drafted Players:

Jacob Cloutier (WPG), Miroslav Satan (WSH)

London's NHL Drafted Players:

Sam O'Reilly (TBL), William Nicholl (EDM), Henry Brzustewicz (LAK), Linus Funck (COL), Jared Woolley (LAK), Aleksei Medvedev (VAN)

Check out the Saginaw Spirit Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from November 28, 2025


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