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OHL Saginaw Spirit

Preview: Spirit Begin Five-Game Road Swing Thursday in Peterborough

January 24, 2019 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release


Peterborough, ON - What waits for the Saginaw Spirit over the next nine days will be a stern test for how the remainder of the regular-season will shape out.

Having already begun the second half of 2018-19 with 10 wins dating back to December 28, the Spirit will play game one of a five-game road swing Thursday at the Peterborough Memorial Centre. Puck drop in the first-of-two games this season against the Peterborough Petes is at 7:05 p.m.

Broadcast, Watch Party & Ticket Info

Listen live the flagship WSGW 100.5 FM Talk & Sports and fmtalk1005.com with Joey Battaino and Dennis Desrosiers. Pre-game coverage starts at 6:50 p.m. (EST).

Fans can visit the Buffalo Wild Wings location at 2690 Tittabawassee Road in Saginaw and join the official "Watch Party" for all Spirit away games. Admission is free of charge.

To purchase your tickets for all Saginaw home games, call (989) 497-7747, visit saginawspirit.com, or by visiting the Saginaw Spirit Store at 5789 State Street, Saginaw, MI.

Last Time Out

D.J. Busdeker, Cole Perfetti, Bode Wilde and Blade Jenkins each had a goal in last Sunday's 4-1 win at The Dow Event Center over the Windsor Spitfires.

The Spirit have taking two of the last three meetings in the eight-game season series against their OHL West Division rival, going without a loss at home since December 14. The weekend finale also puts Saginaw within a game of tying their season win total (29) in 2017-18.

At 60 points and just five back from the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds for the division lead, the Spirit remain in the third place in the Western Conference. Despite having an eight-game first goal streak come to an end on Sunday, Saginaw extended its points streak to three games with four points at home during that span against Windsor.

Goaltender Ivan Prosvetov picked up his third win this season when recording 40 saves or more. The Russian native has lost only once in his previous 12 starts.

Following the promotion of Chris Lazary to head coach on November 22, the Spirit have a record of 18-3-1-1.

Spirit Standouts

Busdeker, the alternate captain, has fortified arguably one of the more dangerous fourth lines in the OHL alongside Danny Katic and Jake Goldowski. The trio earned the start on Sunday after combining for two goals and three assists the day prior against the Erie Otters. Busdeker would score on an empty netter for 11 total goals and 29 points on the season.

As the fifth overall pick in the 2018 OHL Priority Selection, Perfetti recorded his first multi-point outing Sunday since January 2 when the Spirit clinched the Coors Light I-75 Divide Cup. The forward's goal and assist on Sunday improved Perfetti to a third-place tie with Marco Rossi of the Ottawa 67's for most goals (18) and points (38) among OHL rookies this season.

Jenkins has finished with two points in two of the last three games, including Sunday on a goal and assist, to sit fourth on the team in points (43) and fifth in assists (25). The 2018 New York Islanders fifth-round (134th overall) draft pick is also tied with Perfetti for third-most goals (18) on the team.

Wilde, who received OHL Defenseman of the Month honors for December, is ranked in the top-five in all three major offensive categories among all league blueliners this season. Having already signed an entry-level contract with the Islanders last month, the Plymouth, Michigan, native has notched at least two points or more in 15 games.

Prosvetov, the 2018 Arizona Coyotes fourth-round (114th overall) draft pick finished with 44 stopped shots for his 23rd win this season and 11th since December 9. A 2018 OHL Import Draft first-round (18th overall) selection, Prosvetov has moved into a tie for second place with Niagara IceDogs' Stephen Dhillon for most wins among league goaltenders. Prosvetov and Dhillon also hold the second-most shutouts (3) behind only 2017 Buffalo Sabres second-rounder Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (4).

Detroit Red Wings prospect Brady Gilmour was recently featured on saginawspirit.com this week, discussing his return from an elbow injury that kept him out for half of the 2017-18 season and reaching the 50 career goal mark earlier this month. The alternate captain for the past three years is tenth on the team in points (25) on eight goals and 17 assists.

Nicholas Porco and Mason Millman were among the 50 OHL players to appear in NHL Central Scouting's Midterm Rankings for the 2019 NHL Draft this week at 101st and 173rd, respectively. Porco, the second-year forward, has registered 15 goals and nine assists for 24 points this season. As a rookie, Millman is third on the third among Spirit defensemen in both assists (15) and points (17).

Team leading scorer Cole Coskey is on a four-game points streak and has finished with at least one point in every game except for two dating back to November 29. The 19-year-old is first on the team in goals (24) and points (53), as well as third in assists (29).

Since arriving to Saginaw before the trade deadline almost two weeks ago, in the combined 14 games played for the Spirit this season, Owen Tippett and Ryan McLeod have been held to without a point in just three. The pair of future NHL standouts have also collaborated for five goals and 10 assists for 15 points in their short tenure with the Spirit.

On special teams, the Spirit have the league's sixth-best man-up unit on 37 goals for a 24.5 percent success rate this season. The penalty kill is ranked third overall with 28 goals allowed for an 81.6 percent success rate.

Peterborough Scouting Report

At 23 wins, 19 losses, one overtime loss and one shootout loss, the Petes enter Thursday sitting in fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings, but are just two points in front of eighth place Hamilton Bulldogs.

Peterborough wrapped up three games in three days this past weekend with a 6-3 win at home on Saturday against the Sarnia Sting.

In 12 games with the Petes since being traded from the Guelph Storm on December 15, 2018 San Jose Sharks first-round (21st overall) draft pick Ryan Merkley has accounted for two goals and seven assists for nine points.

Goaltender Hunter Jones and forward Nick Robertson were also listed on the NHL Central Scouting Midterm Rankings.

Ranked second among North American goalies eligible for the draft this year, Jones has compiled a record of 21-16-1-1 this season with a goals against average (GAA) of 3.18 with a 0.910 (SAV%). His save percentage is the fifth-highest among league goaltenders.

Robertson was the 30th ranked prospect among all North American skaters on the report. After being drafted by Peterborough in the first-round (16th overall) in 2017, Robertson is second on the team in both goals (17) and points (33).

On special teams, Peterborough is ranked eighth in the OHL on the penalty kill this season with 36 goals allowed for a 79.9 percent success rate. The Petes have the 18th best man-up unit with 27 goals scored for a 16.6 percent success rate.

Featured NHL Prospects

There will be a combined 16 players on the ice Thursday with their rights owned by NHL teams. For the Petes, it'll be Zach Gallant (Detroit), Christopher Paquette (Tampa Bay), Liam Kirk (Arizona), Semyon Der-Arguchinstev (Toronto), Cole Fraser (Detroit), Austin Osmanski (Buffalo), Declan Chrisholm (Winnipeg) and Ryan Merkley (San Jose).

Defenseman Reilly Webb (Detroit), captain Damien Giroux (Minnesota), Gilmour (Detroit), Jenkins (NY Islander), McLeod (Edmonton), Tippett (Florida), Prosvetov (Arizona) and Wilde (NY Islanders) will represent Saginaw.

Looking Ahead

The road trip continues tomorrow with Saginaw visiting the Kingston Frontenacs at Leon's Centre. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m.

Another two-game series that gets underway this week for the Spirit features the last-place club in the Eastern Conference standings. At 12 wins, 32 losses and one overtime loss, the Frontenacs have lost nine of their last 10 games and are currently on a two-game losing streak.

Without a player surpassing the 30-point mark in 45 games played, Kingston's overage right-winger Ryan Cranford and 17-year-old defenseman Billy Constantinou have combined for 53 points on 18 goals and 35 assists.

Saginaw will finish the weekend stretch on Sunday, January 27, at TD Place against the Ottawa 67's, before going on a two-day break.

Check out the Saginaw Spirit Statistics



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