Sports stats



OHL Saginaw Spirit

Preview: Spirit Host Petes for First 'Opioid Awareness Night'

March 3, 2019 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release


Saginaw, MI - The West Division leading Saginaw Spirit (41-15-2-3 87 pts.) host the Peterborough Petes Sunday afternoon for Opioid Awareness Night at The Dow Event Center. The puck drop for the final meeting of the season is 5:30 p.m. The Spirit dropped the Petes in the first game, 5-4 on the road.

There will be a Medication Take Back Event in the Budweiser Red Room prior to the game at 4:00 p.m. Fans can bring expired or unused medications to the safe drop off location for a complimentary upper level ticket voucher.

Sunday is Billet Appreciation Night at The Dow Event Center to acknowledge and thank all the Billet Families that take the Spirit players into their homes. There will be a Saginaw team poster giveaway item, as well as a Saginaw Spirit team autograph session following the game.

Watch live on OHLLive.com or listen live on the flagship WSGW 100.5 FM Talk and Sports 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.

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

The Spirit won their fifth straight game Saturday evening against the Kingston Frontenacs, 7-1 at home.

The Ontario Hockey League's (OHL) rookie scoring leader Cole Perfetti extended his point streak to six games with an assist against Kingston. The 2018 Saginaw Spirit fifth overall pick has points in 19 of the last 20 games.

Perfetti was honored as the OHL's Rookie of the Month in February after scoring 21 points in 12 games played. The Whitby, Ontario native scored the Spirit's first goal in the victory over Peterborough back in January.

2017 Florida Panthers 10th overall pick Owen Tippett will take on his hometown team Sunday night. The Peterborough, Ontario native is second on the Spirit in both points (64) and goals (30). The right-winger contributed an assist in the first game against the Petes.

Saginaw center Camaryn Baber is coming off the most productive game in his young OHL career. The Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario native racked up four assists against the Frontenacs. Baber is riding a career-high four-game point streak into Sunday's game.

Overager Justin Murray has been a rock for Saginaw on the backend since his acquisition midway through the season. The defenseman leads the Spirit in plus/minus with a plus-29. Saginaw has lost only four games since the Murray trade from the Barrie Colts.

Minnesota Wild prospect Damien Giroux had a goal and assist in the Kingston victory. The Spirit captain is coming into Sunday with a three-game point streak. The Hanmer, Ontario native has a career-high 27 goals through 60 games this year.

Rookie Ethan Cardwell scored two goals against the Frontenacs Saturday evening. The 2018 second round pick of the Spirit was honored with the game's first-star for the effort.

Sunday's game will feature two of the NHL's best defensive prospects in Bode Wilde (NYI) with the Spirit and Ryan Merkley (SJ) for the Petes.

Wilde, a signed-prospect of the New York Islanders, is second among OHL defensemen with 65 points this year, which leads all Saginaw Spirit players. The stellar defenseman scored a goal and assist in Saturday's victory over the Frontenacs.

Wilde comes into Sunday's game riding a five-game point streak, with three multi-point outings during the stretch. The Plymouth, Michigan native has 21 multi-point games through 55 games this year.

Merkley, a 2018 first round pick of the San Jose Sharks, is third among OHL defensemen in points (64) behind just Wilde and the Soo's Mac Hollowell.

The Peterborough defenseman has a goal and five assists in three games this season against the Spirit. Merkley was acquired by the Petes from the Guelph Storm before the trade deadline.

Northville, Michigan native Nick Robertson is second on Peterborough in both goals (23) and points (48). The 2019 top NHL Draft prospect was not in the line-up during the first matchup between the two teams. Robertson is the younger brother of Dallas Stars prospect and Niagara IceDog, Jason Robertson.

Free Agent Christopher Paquette leads the Petes with 27 goals this season. Saginaw held the Peterborough sniper in check with no points and a plus/minus of minus-one in the first game.

Former Saginaw Spirit Max Grondin scored two goals against his former squad earlier this season. The 2016 Saginaw second round pick has 10 goals since the Petes acquired the center via trade earlier this year. Grondin had one goal in 13 games for the Spirit to start the season.

Peterborough has six players with rights owned by NHL clubs, forwards Zach Gallant (Detroit Red Wings), Liam Kirk (Arizona Coyotes), Semyon Der-Aruchintsev (Toronto Maple Leafs), defensemen Cole Fraser (Detroit Red Wings), Declan Chisholm (Winnipeg Jets), and Ryan Merkley (San Jose Sharks).

The Spirit 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).

Check out the Saginaw Spirit Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from March 3, 2019


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central