Game Preview: Saginaw Spirit vs Sudbury Wolves
OHL Saginaw Spirit

Game Preview: Saginaw Spirit vs Sudbury Wolves

Published on February 19, 2026 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release


Saginaw, Mich. - The Saginaw Spirit (20-28-3-4) host the Sudbury Wolves (22-30-2-0) on Thursday, February 19th, 2026, at the Dow Event Center.

Tonight's Game:

Puck drop is at 7:05 pm.

Broadcast:

Radio: 100.5 FM WSGW, WSGW.com

TV: FloHockey

Last Game:

The Spirit visited the Windsor Spitfires on Monday afternoon to conclude their eight-game season series. Saginaw fell 7-1, with Brody Pepoy recording the lone Spirit goal.

The Sudbury Wolves hosted the Niagara Ice Dogs on Monday night for their third meeting of the season. Forward Jan Chovan had a career-best four points (3G-1A) in the 6-2 win, and goaltender Paolo Frasca stopped 25 of 27 at home.

This Season:

This is the second and final time the Saginaw Spirit will play the Sudbury Wolves this season. Sudbury took a 2-1 victory at home with goals from Hudson Chitaroni and Chase Coughlan. Spirit goaltender Stepan Shurygin was the third star of the game with 38 saves on 40 shots.

Players to Watch:

Rookie forward Nikita Klepov is fresh off his fourth OHL Rookie of the Week honors, the most of any rookie in the league this season. A five-game point streak (3G-10A-13P) was just snapped in Saginaw's game against Windsor on Monday. Since landing 16th on NHL Central Scouting's midterm list of North American prospects for this year's draft on January 12th, Klepov leads OHL draft-eligibles with 25 points (8G-17A) in 14 games. Just behind him, linemate and re-entry NHL draft prospect Egor Barabanov has 23 points (8G-15A) in that time. Barabanov picked up an assist against the Wolves back in November and was just named the OHL's Performer of the Week. His own five-game point streak (5G-8A-13P) was snapped the same night as Klepov's.

With a goal on Monday, forward Brody Pepoy now has seven points (5G-1A) in six games in February. Pepoy set a career high in points in December, with seven points (4G-3A) in nine games, and has 23 points (13G-10A) in 54 games this season. Pepoy sits 16th in the OHL's rookie scoring race.

Saginaw's NHL-Drafted Players:

Jacob Cloutier (WPG)

LA Kings prospect Jan Chovan picked up six points (5G-1A) in two games this weekend, with a hat trick on Monday night against the IceDogs. Chovan entered 2026 hot, picking up 24 points (12G-12A) in 18 games since the start of the new year, and has 41 points (20G-21A) in 47 games, leading the Wolves in scoring.

Since being traded to the Wolves in January, Jean-Christoph Lemieux has picked up 18 points (10G-8A) in 15 games with the club. Lemieux had 18 points (10G-8A) in 33 games played with Windsor before being traded and had one assist in five games against the Spirit this season.

Forward Adam Nemec joined the Wolves in January after 28 games with Slovakia's HK Nitra pro squad. The 29th ranked European skater according to NHL Central Scouting, Nemec has 21 points (7G-14A) in 17 games since arriving in Sudbury. He's enjoyed consecutive three-point games, first against Brampton on February 13th (3A), then against Niagara this past Monday (1G-2A).

Sudbury's NHL-Drafted Players:

Jan Chovan (LAK), Artem Gonchar (NYR)

Check out the Saginaw Spirit Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from February 19, 2026


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