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OHL Saginaw Spirit

Mangone Scores Lone Spirit Goal in Loss to London

January 12, 2024 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release


Saginaw Spirit's Calem Mangone
Saginaw Spirit's Calem Mangone
(Saginaw Spirit)

London, Ont. - The Saginaw Spirit (25-12-0-1) fell to the London Knights (28-11-0-1), 6-1, at Budweiser Gardens on Friday night. Easton Cowan finished with three points (1G, 2A), Oliver Bonk and Kaleb Lawrence both added a goal and an assist, and Denver Barkey scored his team leading 22nd goal of the season. Calem Mangone scored the lone Spirit goal with assists to Hunter Haight and Zayne Parekh. Andrew Oke started for Saginaw swatting away 29 of 35 in a valiant effort in goal, while London went with Michael Simpson in goal with 30 on 31 shots.

Saginaw and London began the game locked in a defensive battle with just three shots between the two teams. At 8:56, London's Jackson Edward passed over to Kasper Halttunen then for Easton Cowan. The Toronto prospect muscled the Saginaw defensemen off the puck and carried the puck behind the net. After circling out to the left circle, Cowan flipped around on his forehand, dragged the puck around a second Saginaw defender, and let loose a shot past Andrew Oke for his15th of the year.

Following offsetting penalties by London's Sawyer Boulton and Saginaw's Sebastien Gervais, the Spirit received an extra penalty for roughing, setting up the Knights on the powerplay. After peppering goaltender Andrew Oke, Easton Cowan received a pass near the blue line and surveyed the defense. Cowan passed to below the goal line, finding Jacob Julien. The Winnipeg prospect spun to the interior, passing to Oliver Bonk in the process, whose shot flew past Andrew Oke for a 2-0 lead.

Before the final horn of the first period, Saginaw's Rodwin Dionicio was assessed a minor for cross-checking at 19:08, ensuring the Knight's powerplay would roll over into the next period.

Saginaw entered the first intermission trailing London 2-0 while being outshot 11 to 6 in the opening frame.

The Knights opened the second period as they had closed the first, getting many shots on goal and scoring 1:08 into the period. Off an offensive faceoff at the right dot, London's Landon Sim collected the puck and took a shot toward Andrew Oke. Sim's shot was blocked and landed in front of fellow teammate Kaleb Lawrence. The LA Kings prospect wasted no time potting the rebound for a 3-0 lead.

Following a defensive faceoff win by London, the Knights began moving the puck up ice looking for a fourth goal. Easton Cowan received the puck from Oliver Bonk, and attempted to pass up the ice to Sam O'Reilly. The pass was tipped by a Saginaw defender flipping in the air ahead of O'Reilly. The London forward smartly batted the puck ahead for himself, collected it, and fired a shot past Andrew Oke to bring the lead to four.

Saginaw broke their scoreless drought at 16:15 after a goal from Calem Mangone. Zayne Parekh began the play by firing a pass up the side boards to Hunter Haight who entered into the zone. After crossing the Knight's blue line, Haight dropped the puck back to Mangone. The third-year Saginaw forward collected the pass, looked on net, and fired a shot past the arm of London goaltender Michael Simpson for his 14th of the year, and getting the Spirit on the board at 4-1.

London scored once more before the end of the second after Sam Dickinson completed a long stretch pass up ice. Dickinson's pass found the stick of Max McCue who stopped up near the right dot, fired a pass across, and found teammate William Nicholl entering the slot. Nicholl quickly slipped the puck between the legs of Andrew Oke for his fifth of the year and extended the Knight's lead back to four.

After the horn to close the second period, Saginaw continued to trail London, 5-1, while being outshot 17 to 14 in the second and 28 to 19 overall.

Following an unsuccessful Saginaw powerplay, Kaleb Lawrence intercepted a cross ice pass by the Spirit and entered the zone for a two-on-one opportunity. Lawrence surveyed the lone Saginaw defender and decided to take the shot on goal, which was saved by Andrew Oke. The Spirit goaltender lost the puck following the save, leaving an open net for London's Denver Barkey to net his 22nd of the year and solidify a 6-1 lead for the London Knights.

Saginaw outshot the London Knights in the final period, 12-7, however the Knights outshot the Spirit overall 35 to 31.

This loss drops the Saginaw Spirit to 25-12-0-1 while the London's 11th straight win propels them to 28-11-0-1 and keeping their spot at second in the Midwest Division.

Saginaw's next game is back home at the Dow Event Center on Saturday January 13th, for a matchup against the visiting Guelph Storm at 7:05.

For more information, visit saginawspirit.com or follow the team on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

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Images from this story

Saginaw Spirit's Calem Mangone
Saginaw Spirit's Calem Mangone
   



Ontario Hockey League Stories from January 12, 2024


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