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OHL Saginaw Spirit

Preview: Spirit Expect Stronger Storm Team in Game Two

April 20, 2019 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release


Saginaw, MI - The Western Conference Championship series continues Saturday, April 20 as the Saginaw Spirit host the Guelph Storm for Game Two.

The Spirit lead the best-of-seven series, 1-0 after the 7-2 Saginaw victory over Guelph in Game One. Puck drop from Wendler Arena inside The Dow Event Center is set for 7:05 p.m.

The Western Conference Finals Game Two tickets are on sale now at the Saginaw Spirit Store at 5789 State Street, ticketmaster.com, by phone (989) 497-7747, and at The Dow Event Center Box Office, which opens two hours before puck drop. There are less than 500 tickets remaining for Saturday night's game.

Watch live on OHLLive.com or listen live on the flagship 100.5 FM Newsradio WSGW and fmtalk1005.com with the voice of the Saginaw Spirit Joey Battaino and Dennis Desrosiers on the call. "Countdown to Faceoff" with host Domenic Papa starts 15 minutes prior to puck drop.

Saginaw got a huge contribution in Game One from the Cole Perfetti, Brady Gilmour, and Cole Coskey line Thursday night. The three players combined for 10 points and a plus/minus rating of plus-14 in the first game of the series.

Perfetti, the 2018 fifth overall pick of the Saginaw Spirit, collected two goals and two assists against the Storm in Game One. The rookie left-winger leads the league with four game-winning goals of the post-season Thursday evening.

The Whitby, Ontario native has five goals and five assists for 10 points in 10 post-season games. Perfetti leads all Ontario Hockey League (OHL) rookies in goals (5) and is second behind just Ottawa's Marco Rossi (11) with 10 points this post-season.

Zion, Illinois native Cole Coskey scored two goals against the Storm in Game One. The right-winger's second period insurance tally swung the momentum into Saginaw's favor for the remainder of the contest. Coskey led the Spirit for much of the regular season, until the forward missed the last 12 contests due to injury.

Gilmour, who centered the line between Perfetti and Coskey, was excellent in the face-off circle in Game One. The Detroit Red Wings prospect won four of the five face-offs he took against the Storm.

Gilmour's early second period goal sparked the Spirit's five goal explosion in the middle frame to put the game out of reach. The Grafton, Ontario native leads all Saginaw Spirit players with 12 assists in this year's playoffs.

Arizona Coyotes goaltending prospect Ivan Prosvetov contributed another solid night in net for the Saginaw Spirit. Prosvetov's 2.30 goals against average in this season's playoffs leads all OHL goaltenders. The Russian net-minder's .933 save percentage trails just Oshawa's Kyle Keyser (.936) for first in the OHL this post-season.

Overager Albert Michnac has came on strong for Saginaw in the past six playoff games. The Czech forward has points in three-straight games and five of his last six contests.

New York Islanders prospect Blade Jenkins scored the first Western Conference Finals goal in team-history Thursday evening. The Jackson, Michigan native tied the game up in the first after Guelph jumped out to an early 1-0 lead. Jenkins has five goals and six assists in 15 career post-season games for the Spirit.

2019 NHL Draft prospect Mason Millman was dangerous from the back-end in Game Two. The rookie defenseman assisted on Jenkins' first period goal and scored Saginaw's seventh goal to put Game One away. Millman was ranked 125th among draft-eligible North American skaters in the 2019 NHL Central Scouting ranking.

2017 Philadelphia Flyers 35th overall pick Isaac Ratcliffe scored just 40 seconds into Game One on his only shot on goal of the contest. The goal extended the Guelph captain's point streak to four games, which gave Ratcliffe seven points in the last four playoff games.

Montreal Canadiens prospect Nick Suzuki extended his point streak to six games with an assist in the second period Thursday. The former Vegas Golden Knights first round pick leads the OHL with 21 points in this season's post-season.

Chicago Blackhawks signee MacKenzie Entwistle assisted on Ratcliffe's first period goal to extend his point streak to three games. The Guelph center has been held scoreless in just two games for the Storm in this year's playoffs.

Los Angeles Kings prospect Sean Durzi tallied two points for the Storm in Game One. The former Toronto Maple Leafs second-round pick scored on Guelph's only man-power advantage in the second period. The Storm acquired the defenseman from the Owen Sound Attack before the trade deadline.

Guelph has 11 players with rights owned by NHL teams, forwards Cam Hillis (Montreal Canadiens), Nick Suzuki (Montreal Canadiens-signed), MacKenzie Entwistle (Chicago Blackhawks-signed), Alexey Toropchenko (St. Louis Blues-signed), Liam Hawel (Dallas Stars), Nate Schnarr (Arizona Coyotes-signed), Isaac Ratcliffe (Philadelphia Flyers-signed), defensemen Dmitri Samorukov (Edmonton Oilers-signed), Sean Durzi (Los Angeles Kings), Markus Phillips (Los Angeles Kings), and Fedor Gordeev (Toronto Maple Leafs.)

The Spirit also boasts eight players drafted by NHL clubs, forwards Brady Gilmour (Detroit Red Wings), Blade Jenkins (New York Islanders), Owen Tippett (Florida Panthers-signed), Ryan McLeod (Edmonton Oilers), Damien Giroux (Minnesota Wild), defensemen Reilly Webb (Detroit Red Wings), Bode Wilde (New York Islanders-signed), and goaltender Ivan Prosvetov (Arizona Coyotes).

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