OHL Saginaw Spirit

Preview: Spirit Face Division-Rival Greyhounds in Road Test

October 16, 2019 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release


Sault Ste. Marie, ON. - West Division rivals clash in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Wednesday, October 16, when the division-leading Saginaw Spirit (5-4-1-0, 11 pts.) travel to face-off against the Soo Greyhounds (5-4-0-0, 10 pts.) at the GFL Memorial Gardens.  Puck drop for the West Division foes second meeting of the season begins at 7:07 p.m.

The Spirit dropped their first meeting of the season against the Greyhounds, 6-4 at home back on September 28.

Fans can catch all the action on the flagship WSGW Newsradio 100.5 FM and www.wsgw.com with the voice of Saginaw Spirit hockey Joey Battaino on the call.  "Countdown to Face-off" begins at 6:50 p.m. prior to puck drop.

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.

The Saginaw Spirit rallied late for a comeback victory over the London Knights, 6-3 on Saturday night.  Saginaw trailed 2-1 after two periods and scored a season-high, five third period goals against the Knights.

2020 NHL Draft top-prospect Cole Perfetti's late second period tally sparked the Spirit's comeback Saturday evening.  The Whitby, Ontario native leads all Saginaw Spirit forwards with 14 points this season.  Perfetti earned the game's third star with two assists to go along with the second period power play goal.

New York Islanders seventh round draft pick Cole Coskey continued his march up the Saginaw Spirit record books on Saturday.  Coskey became just the eighth Saginaw Spirit player to participate in 250 career games.

The Zion, Illinois native Coskey also moved past alumnus Garret Ross for eighth all-time in assists by a Saginaw Spirit player with two helpers against the Knights.

16-year old goaltender Tristan Lennox earned second-star honors in the victory against London.  The Spirit net-minder stopped 38 of the Knights' 41 shots on goal to collect his third victory of the season.

Saginaw Spirit captain Damien Giroux tallied two goals against the Knights, including his Ontario Hockey League (OHL) leading sixth powerplay goal this season.  The Minnesota Wild prospect is third among OHL players with nine goals this year.

Saginaw Spirit leading scorer Ilya Solovyov contributed his team-high 14th assist in the victory Saturday evening.  The Belarusian defenseman was selected by the Saginaw Spirit in the first-round of the 2019 CHL Import Draft.

Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario native Camaryn Baber has collected points in four of his last five regular season games against the Soo Greyhounds.

The OHL's fourth-best power play improved to 30.6% after the Spirit converted on two of the three man-power opportunities against the Knights.  Saginaw has killed penalties at a 81.1% clip so far this season, which is also good for fourth in the OHL.

The Greyhounds are 1-4-0-0 since they defeated the Spirit at The Dow Event Center back on September 28.  The Soo are coming off a 7-5 loss on the road against the North Bay Battalion, Monday afternoon.

Czech center Jaromir Pytlik leads all Sault Ste. Marie players with 14 points through nine games this season.  Pytlik ranks among the OHL's top-20 players in assists (9) and points (14) this year.

Second-year center Rory Kerins leads all Soo players with six goals this year.  The Caledon, Ontario native tallied the Greyhounds' sixth and final goal against the Spirit in this season's first match-up.

Six different Soo players scored in the first game against the Spirit this season.  Zach Trott, Tye Kartye, Cole MacKay, Robert Calisti, Alex Johnston, and Kerins each tallied a goal for the Greyhounds.

One of Sault Ste. Marie's two NHL prospects have returned to the club, defenseman Jacob LeGuerrier (Montreal Canadiens) has competed in all nine Soo games this season.  2018 NHL fifth-overall pick Barrett Hayton remains with the Arizona Coyotes into the NHL Regular Season.

Five NHL prospects were returned to the Saginaw Spirit prior to the start of the regular season. Blade Jenkins (New York Islanders), Cole Coskey (New York Islanders), Nicholas Porco (Dallas Stars), Mason Millman (Philadelphia Flyers), and Damien Giroux (Minnesota Wild) have all been returned to the Spirit. Bode Wilde remains with the New York Islanders, while Ivan Prosvetov is playing for the Arizona Coyotes AHL affiliate, Tucson Roadrunners.

Saginaw returns home to The Dow Event Center Friday, October 18 to host the North Bay Battalion for the first of two meetings this season at 7:05 p.m.  The Spirit defeated the Battalion in both games last season, including a 6-2 victory on home ice last October.

To purchase tickets to any Saginaw Spirit home game call (989) 497-7747, visit www.saginawspirit.com, or visit the Saginaw Spirit Store at 5789 State Street, Saginaw MI.

Check out the Saginaw Spirit Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from October 16, 2019


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