Game Preview: Saginaw Spirit at Windsor Spitfires
OHL Saginaw Spirit

Game Preview: Saginaw Spirit at Windsor Spitfires

Published on December 31, 2025 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release


Windsor, Ont. - The Spirit (12-16-3-4) finish out 2025 on the road, to face off against the Windsor Spitfires (23-8-3-1) and look to continue their three-game winning streak at the WFCU Centre.

Today's Game:

Puck drop is at 2:05 pm.

Broadcast:

Radio: 100.5 FM WSGW, WSGW.com

TV: FloHockey

Last Game:

A strong third period effort gave the Spirit a 5-1 win over the Sarnia Sting last night at the Dow Event Center. Jacob Cloutier opened up scoring in the first period. The Sting scored in the second to tie the game, but third period goals from Brody Pepoy, Sebastien Gervais, Nikita Klepov, and Carson Harmer propelled the Spirit to their third straight win. Stepan Shurygin stopped 27 of 28 Sarnia shots.

The Spitfires took a 4-1 victory over the Flint Firebirds on Sunday, December 28th, closing the gap for the lead in the West. The Spitfires are only behind the Firebirds by two points after the win. Ethan Belchetz had two goals in the win, and Jack Nesbitt tallied two assists.

This Season:

This marks the fifth game this season between the Spirit and the Spitfires. The previous games have been high-action matchups between the teams. Saginaw holds a 3-1 record against Windsor this season.

In the first matchup of the season back on October 26th, a comeback effort fueled by Dima Zhilkin gave the Spirit a 6-5 shootout win at the WFCU Centre. The next night at the Dow, the Spirit took a 6-3 win thanks to a Nic Sima hat trick and a 40-save night by Stepan Shurygin. In the next home-and-home series, a Liam Greentree two-goal night led the Spitfires to a 4-1 victory before the matchup returned to the Dow for a 2-1 Spirit victory.

Liam Greentree (Team Canada) and AJ Spellacy (Team USA) are both missing from the Spitfires roster as they compete in the IIHF World Junior Championships.

Players to Watch:

Jacob Cloutier extended his scoring streak to five games with his second consecutive two-point night against Sarnia. His goal and two assists last night brought him to 24 points (8G, 16A), good for fifth-best on the team (tied with Sebastien Gervais). Cloutier is on his longest scoring streak of the season, and strong momentum on a Saginaw squad looking for a better second half.

Dima Zhilkin has missed eight games this season due to injury earlier in the season and a suspension, but he has proved his impact on the ice with 31 points (16G, 15A) in 27 games. He is well on his way to surpassing his 43 points (16G-27A) in the 2024-25 season, currently averaging 1.15 points per game

Spirit forward Sebastien Gervais extended his point streak to four games on Tuesday night with a goal. The Windsor native now has 3G-4A-7P during his streak, and 18 points (9G-9A) in his last 16 games dating back to November 13th.

Saginaw's NHL Drafted Players: Jacob Cloutier (WPG)

Anthony Cristoforo has been on a hot streak for the Spitfires. He is riding a seven-game scoring streak, amassing 11 points in that time. He holds the second-best active scoring streak in the OHL behind Niagara's Ryan Roobroeck, who has 15 points in his last eight games. Cristoforo is fourth best on the team and among OHL blueliners with 32 points (10G-22A) on the season.

Jack Nesbitt is coming off back-to-back multi-point games with Windsor, notching two assists against Flint over the weekend and a goal and an assist against the Soo Greyhounds before the holiday break. Those were Nesbitt's fourth and fifth multipoint games of the season, putting him at 28 points (10G-18A) with a plus-13 rating.

Windsor's NHL Drafted Players: AJ Spellacy (CHI), Liam Greentree (LA), Jack Nesbitt (PHI)

Check out the Saginaw Spirit Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from December 31, 2025


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