Papineau Stops 26, Spirit Fall in Flint Saturday Night

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OHL Saginaw Spirit

Papineau Stops 26, Spirit Fall in Flint Saturday Night

March 22, 2025 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release


Flint, Mich. - The Saginaw Spirit fell to the Flint Firebirds 6-3 on Saturday, March 22nd. Michael Misa, Brody Najim and Jacob Cloutier all found the back of the net for Saginaw. Kaleb Papineau got the start in net for Saginaw, recording 26 saves on 30 shots. Nathan Day was the starting goaltender for Flint, tallying 24 saves on 27 shots.

Saginaw opened the scoring while on a two-man advantage as Michael Misa redirected a pass from Igor Chernyshov into the back of the net. Chernyshov and James Guo picked up the assists on Misa's 61st 9:20 into the game.

Flint answered while on the powerplay as Sam McCue poked in the loose puck from behind Papineau. Jimmy Lombardi and Matthew Mania tallied the assists as the Firebirds made it a 1-1 game.

After 1: SAG 1 - 1 FLNT (Total Shots: 12 - 11)

The Spirit got on the board first in the second as James Guo fired a shot from the blue line and Brody Najim tipped it into the back of the Flint net. Guo and Ethan Weir recorded the assists as Saginaw took a 2-0 lead.

Jacob Cloutier extended the Spirit lead as he picked up a loose puck, toe dragged around Day and roofed a backhand shot into the net. Carson Harmer and Josh Glavin got the assists which gave Saginaw a 3-1 lead.

59 seconds later, the Firebirds answered as Sam McCue scored his second powerplay goal of the night. Nathan Aspinall and Jimmy Lombardi were credited with the assists.

After 2: SAG 3 - 2 FLNT (2nd Period Shots: 5 - 13 Totals Shots: 17 - 24)

Urban Podrekar tied the game at 3-3 as he skated into the slot and buried a shot past Papineau. Nathan Aspinall and James Paul tallied the assists with 9:19 left in the third period.

The Firebirds took their first lead of the game as Christopher Thibodeau beat Papineau glove side to give Flint a 4-3 lead. Nathan Aspinall and Kaden Pitre recorded the assists.

Blake Smith gave Flint a two-goal lead as he cleared the puck from his own zone and into the empty spirit net while shorthanded.

With 26 seconds left, Christopher Thibodeau buried a shot into the empty Saginaw net. Matthew Mania and Jimmy Lombardi picked up the assists.

FINAL: SAG 3 - 6 FLNT (3rd Period Shots: 10 - 8 Total Shots: 27 - 32)

Powerplays: SAG 1/6 FLNT 2/6

Goaltenders: SAG Kaleb Papineau (26 Saves / 30 Shots L) FLNT Nathan Day (24 Saves / 27 Shots W)

Saginaw closes out the regular season as they host the Flint Firebirds on Sunday, March 23rd. Puck drop is set for 5:30 PM at the Dow Event Center.

Photo: Natalie Shaver - OHL Images

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