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OHL Saginaw Spirit

Game Three Preview: Series Shifts to Sarnia with Spirit Eyeing 3-0 Lead

March 26, 2019 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release


Sarnia, ON - The second-seed Saginaw Spirit take a two-game series lead on the road into game three against the seventh-seed Sarnia Sting Tuesday, March 26. Puck drop from Progressive Auto Sales Arena is set for 7:05 p.m.

Saginaw took game one, 6-3 and protected home ice with a dominant 5-1 win in game two. The West Division rivalry showed with 29 combined penalties and six misconducts in game two.

Fans can follow all the action on the flagship WSGW 100.5 FM Talk and Sports and fmtalk1005.com with Joey Battaino and Dennis Desrosiers on the call. "Countdown to Face-off" begins 15 minutes prior to puck drop for all your pregame coverage.

Fans can watch the game live from the Saginaw Spirit "Watch Party" from the 2690 Tittabawassee Road Buffalo Wild Wings location.

The Spirit special teams have been stellar in the first two games of the series.

Saginaw has capitalized on four of their 10 man-power advantages in the first two contests. The Spirit have the fourth best power play in the playoffs after two first round games.

New York Islanders second round pick Bode Wilde has continued his strong play on the power play. Three of the Saginaw defenseman's four first round points has come on the man-power advantage. In the regular season, Wilde led the Spirit with 29 points on special teams.

Along with the fourth-best power play, the Spirit are tied with the Niagara Ice Dogs and the Guelph Storm for the league's best killing penalties. Saginaw has killed all 10 Sarnia man-power advantages in the series.

Saginaw's penalty kill has benefited from great goaltending from Arizona Coyotes prospect Ivan Prosvetov. Prosvetov's 2.00 goals against average and .947 save percentage is fourth among Ontario Hockey League (OHL) net-minders in the post-season.

2017 Florida Panthers 10th overall pick Owen Tippett has been excellent through two first round games. The Peterborough, Ontario native is tied for second in league scoring with six points in the post-season.

Tippett's play has picked up in the playoffs throughout his OHL career. The Spirit right-winger has points in 33 of 35 career OHL post-season games.

Saginaw Spirit first round pick Cole Perfetti has continued his outstanding play in the first round. The rookie forward contributed multi-point efforts in both home games against Sarnia.

Perfetti, the fifth overall pick of the Spirit in the 2018 Under-17 OHL Priority Selection, is tied for second among OHL rookies with four points so far in the playoffs.

Hamilton, Ontario native Hayden Davis has been solid since coming back from injury just before the end of the regular season. The Saginaw defenseman and Edmonton Oilers prospect Ryan McLeod lead the Spirit with a plus/minus of plus-four in the first two games.

Stockholm, Sweden native Hugo Leufvenius has been Sarnia's main source of offense in round one. The overage forward notched two goals and two assists in the first two games against Saginaw. The left-winger scored the first two goals in game one for the Sting.

Sarnia Sting first round pick Jacob Perreault collected his first career OHL post-season goal in game two. The Hinsdale, Illinois native has a point in both games versus the Spirit.

Sarnia, Ontario native Franco Sproviero is second among Sting players with three points through two playoff games. The overage center assisted on all three Sting goals in game one.

Sarnia has two players with rights owned by NHL teams, forward Ryan McGregor (Toronto Maple Leafs) and defenseman Mitch Eliot (Vancouver Canucks-signed).

The Spirit also boasts eight players drafted by NHL clubs, forwards Brady Gilmour (Detroit Red Wings), Blade Jenkins (New York Islanders), Owen Tippett (Florida Panthers-signed), Ryan McLeod (Edmonton Oilers), Damien Giroux (Minnesota Wild), defensemen Reilly Webb (Detroit Red Wings), Bode Wilde (New York Islanders-signed), and goaltender Ivan Prosvetov (Arizona Coyotes).

Check out the Saginaw Spirit Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from March 26, 2019


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