Generals Fall Short to Spirit in Offensive Showdown
Published on December 20, 2025 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Oshawa Generals News Release
Oshawa, On. - The Oshawa Generals and Saginaw Spirit combined for an offensive shootout in the final game before the holiday break, but it was the Generals on the other side of a 6-4 final.
Haoxi Wang and Leo Laschon were among the notable Generals out tonight due to injuries. With two defenders out of action, Oshawa went with 13 forwards and five D-men tonight.
Jaden Cholette made a second consecutive start after making 27 stops last night in London. He would be tested early by a Spirit team that he made 32 saves against back on October 5th.
Saginaw opened the scoring early on after Nikita Klepov buried his own rebound glove side from the slot off the rush, sending stuffed animals flying over the glass on the Spirit's Teddy Bear Toss night.
Play resumed after an approximate seven-minute delay and the Spirit continued their strong start with two more tallies in the first ten minutes. Klepov netting another one from outside the circles and Xander Velliaris followed up 2:15 later by poking in a rebound on his backhand.
Isaac Gravelle came into the game after Saginaw put up three in the first half of the opening period. The goaltending change gave the Gens a spark as they got a bit more zone time in the next few shifts and Vadim Smirnov eventually got them on the board after snapping it over Stepan Shurygin's left shoulder on a partial breakaway.
Getting one back late in the first, the Generals started the second by slightly tightening things up and getting more scoring chances. Porter Byrd-Leitner got them back to within one close to the mid-way mark as he wired one blocker-side past Shurygin from just inside near circle.
Moments after, the Gens came through on their fifth power play to tie the game thanks to Harrison Franssen netting his second goal in as many nights. Then, just eight seconds after the neutral zone draw, Aiden O'Donnell came right back into the attacking zone and he ripped one over Shurygin's blocker.
On the heels of four straight goals - three of them in 47 seconds - the Gens found themselves in front after going down by three early and took a one-goal lead to the third. Oshawa defended their lead for much of the final frame, but the Spirit eventually broke through.
After an extended shift in the Generals' end, Saginaw was able to net the equalizer thanks to James Guo roofing one from the slot. Gravelle had made 18 straight stops before the game-tying goal since entering the game back in the first.
The third continued with Oshawa pushing for the go-ahead goal, but after Shurygin stood tall, Nic Sima netted another one for the Spirit off the rush to give them the eventual game-winner with just over three minutes left. Carson Harmer put it away soon after with an empty netter.
Oshawa put up a good fight as they followed up a rocky start to the game with a strong middle period but could not finish off the opposition as it got down to the wire.
Give Isaac Gravelle credit as he made 20 saves in relief, but Stepan Shurygin kept his Spirit in it and they were able to claw their way back in the third.
Oshawa will have the week off for the holidays before going back to work Sunday, December 28th when they host their rivals, the Peterborough Petes. For single-game tickets, click here.
1st Period Scoring:
SAG 1st Goal: Nikita Klepov (18) from Dimian Zhilkin at 3:43
SAG 2nd Goal: Nikita Klepov (19) from Dimian Zhilkin and Graydon Jones at 7:11
SAG 3rd Goal: Xander Velliaris (5) from Juraj Rausa and Sebastien Gervais at 9:26
OSH 1st Goal: Vadim Smirnov (5) Unassisted at 15:07
2nd Period Scoring:
OSH 2nd Goal: Porter Byrd-Leitner (2) from Brooks Rogowski and Lucas Moore at 9:27
OSH 3rd Goal (PP): Harrison Franssen (12) from Luke Posthumus and Brooks Rogowski at 10:06
OSH 4th Goal: Aiden O'Donnell (9) Unassisted at 10:14
3rd Period Scoring:
SAG 4th Goal: James Guo (2) from Jacob Cloutier and Carson Harmer at 12:57
SAG 5th Goal: Nic Sima (9) from Sebastien Gervais and Levi Harper at 16:57
SAG 6th Goal (EN): Carson Harmer (8) from Nic Sima at 18:47
OSH Power Play: 1/5
SAG Power Play: 0/3
Jaden Cholette (OSH): 6 saves on 9 shots
Isaac Gravelle (OSH): 20 saves on 22 shots
Stepan Shurygin (SAG): 24 saves on 28 shots
Ontario Hockey League Stories from December 20, 2025
- Generals Fall Short to Spirit in Offensive Showdown - Oshawa Generals
- Firebirds Head into Holiday Break with 5-3 Win over Erie - Flint Firebirds
- Spirit Snap Skid in Teddy Bear Toss Classic against Oshawa - Saginaw Spirit
- Otters Get Depth Scoring But Fall to Red-Hot Firebirds - Erie Otters
- Second Period Sinks Bulldogs in Ottawa - Brantford Bulldogs
- Gavin Betts Impressive in Saturday Win over Brampton - Kingston Frontenacs
- Generals Go for Season Sweep of Spirit - Oshawa Generals
- Game Preview: Saginaw Spirit vs Oshawa Generals - Saginaw Spirit
- Game Day, Game 35, Firebirds at Otters - 7 p.m. - Flint Firebirds
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