Guo's Five-Point Night Leads Spirit Past Otters in Come-From-Behind Win
OHL Saginaw Spirit

Guo's Five-Point Night Leads Spirit Past Otters in Come-From-Behind Win

Published on March 8, 2026 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release


Saginaw Spirit exchange congratulations with the bench
Saginaw Spirit exchange congratulations with the bench
(Saginaw Spirit, Credit: Peter Wreschinsky)

Erie, Penn. - James Guo's five-point night propelled the Spirit to a comeback 7-5 victory over the Erie Otters for the series sweep on Sunday afternoon at the Erie Insurance Arena on Sunday.

Alongside Guo, Ryan Hanrahan, Gensen Geldart, Dima Zhilkin, Egor Barabanov, and Carson Harmer each secured multi-point nights.

Both teams started with high-quality chances early. In the opening minutes, a slash on Dima Zhilkin sent the Spirit to an early power play.

Off the faceoff, Egor Barabanov set up Nikita Klepov for the one-timer to get past Noah Erliden two seconds into the power play, putting the Spirit on the board early. The goal marked Klepov's 36th of the season, putting him just one point behind Cole Perfetti's rookie scoring record.

After Klepov's goal, the Otters took control of the period. A Spirit turnover led to a 3v1 break for the Otters, and Jake Murray fired the puck past Stepan Shurygin to tie the score.

Exactly two minutes later, Luc Plante fired a shot on Shurygin, who couldn't get back in time to stop Kayden Edwards from going back door to give Erie the lead.

The Spirit saw a few opportunities, but the Otters kept the ice titled in their favor. In the final minutes of the period, another broken play for the Otters entered the zone, and McLean Agrette sent a last-second pass across to Julius Saari to put the Otters up 3-1.

In the last minute of the period, Barabanov was called for cross-checking, and the Spirit would have to start the second frame a man down.

After 1: SAG: 1 - ER: 3 (Total Shots: 5 - 17)

The Spirit killed off the penalty to start the period, and Klepov even saw some shorthanded opportunities. However, two back-to-back Spirit penalties gave the Otters some time on the 5-v-3. The Spirit killed off both penalties, but not long after, Dima Zhilkin was called for boarding to put the Otters right back on the man advantage.

Thirty seconds into the powerplay for the Otters, Plante fired the puck that was saved by the skate of Shurygin, but Jake Murray was there to fire in the rebound for his second goal of the afternoon.

The game turned after a high-sticking double minor to Erie gave Saginaw extended time on the man advantage. Ryan Hanrahan slammed a shot through the pads of Erliden for his third goal of the season.

The Spirit used that momentum to start firing on Erliden, and less than a minute later, Dima Zhilkin fired a shot that was saved, but Gensen Geldart was there to send the puck into the back of the net. Geldart extended his point streak to three games, with goals in his last two.

The Otters quickly looked to break up the Spirit's momentum, and on a rush into the zone, Cayden Smith scored his first OHL goal to give Erie a cushion heading into the final period.

After 2: SAG: 3 - ER: 5 (2nd period shots: 9 - 14 Total shots: 14 - 31)

Two penalties to the Otters gave the Spirit time on the power play to open up the period. The Spirit continued to cash in on the man advantage as Carson Harmer sent the puck into the back of the net to make it a one-goal game. Barabanov and Zhilkin each earned their second assists of the day on Harmer's goal.

The Spirit continued to apply pressure on the Otters, completely taking control of the puck, with many high-quality chances on Erliden. From the top of the zone, Jame Guo fired the game-tying shot for his third point of the day. Geldart and Hanrahan were credited with the assists.

With momentum on their side, the Spirit kept rolling, and a broken play in front of the net led to Jacob Cloutier getting the puck past Erliden to give Saginaw its first lead since the first period. Guo picked up his third assist and fourth point of the game.

In the final three minutes, Erliden was pulled to give the Otters the extra skater, looking to tie the game. Instead, Guo secured his career-best fifth point of the night on the empty-net goal to lock in the Spirit's comeback win.

Final: SAG: 7 - ER: 5 (3rd period shots 16 - 4, Total shots 30 - 35)

Powerplays: SAG 3/3 ER 1/4

Goaltenders: SAG Stepan Shurygin (30 saves, 35 shots), ER Noah Erliden (23 saves, 29 shots)

The Spirit will be back in action at home next Saturday for the final rivalry matchup of the regular season against the Flint Firebirds at the Dow Event Center. Puck drop set for 7:05 p.m.

Check out the Saginaw Spirit Statistics

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Images from this story

Saginaw Spirit exchange congratulations with the bench
Saginaw Spirit exchange congratulations with the bench
(Peter Wreschinsky)		   



Ontario Hockey League Stories from March 8, 2026


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