Rausa Scores First OHL Goal, Spirit Fall in Kitchener Friday Night
OHL Saginaw Spirit

Rausa Scores First OHL Goal, Spirit Fall in Kitchener Friday Night

Published on January 16, 2026 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release


Saginaw Spirit goaltender Stepan Shurygin faces the Kitchener Rangers
Saginaw Spirit goaltender Stepan Shurygin faces the Kitchener Rangers
(Saginaw Spirit, Credit: Cole Wilton)

Kitchener, Ont. - The Spirit started off a six-game road trip with a high-scoring matchup against the Kitchener Rangers in a game where both teams traded two-goal leads. While the game was tilted in favor of the Spirit in the first half of the game, a dominant power play performance from the Rangers saw Saginaw fall 7-4.

Less than two-minutes into the game, Jared Woolley was called for slashing, giving the Spirit a chance to jump ahead early. However, it was the Rangers that capitalized first, with Cameron Reid on a short-handed breakaway, snapping the puck from the top of the right circle past Stepan Shurygin. Jack Pridham was credited with the assist.

The Spirit didn't stay down long. Dima Zhilkin, bringing the puck up the ice connected with Nikita Klepov, whose shot deflected off a Rangers blueliner's skate and past Christian Kirsch. His shot was the first shot of the game for Saginaw. Klepov, fresh off a three-point night at the Connor McDavid OHL Top Prospects game extended his scoring streak to three games, while Zhilkin extended his to five games with his helper.

Saginaw struck again minutes later, creating traffic deep in the Rangers zone. James Guo fired a shot from the top of the zone that deflected off the boards and to Jurai Rausa, who was able to poke it past Kirsch. The goal marked Rausa's first OHL career goal, coming on the Spirit's second shot of the game.

The Rangers applied pressure throughout the period, but could not get past Shurygin or the Spirit defense. Both teams kept a back-and-forth pace, with the Spirit only allowing eight shots on net, while the Spirit's two lone shots of the period resulted in goals.

After 1: SAG: 2 - KIT: 1 (Total Shots: 2 - 8)

The second period brought much more action, with the teams trading goals back and forth.

Thirty seconds into the frame, Klepov was called for slashing, giving the Rangers a chance to fire back. It took six seconds for Pridham to find the back for his 26th goal of the season to tie the game back up at 2-2. Dylan Edwards and Reid were credited with the assists, giving Pridham and Reid their second points of the night.

The Rangers saw many high opportunity scoring chances, but were shut down by Shurygin. The Spirit only had two more shots in the game when Pridham was called for roughing, giving Saginaw some time in the offensive zone.

A smooth passing play from the Spirit power play unit found Zhilkin in the right place at the right time in front of the net to fire the puck off a shot from Jacob Cloutier past Kirsch. Klepov was credited with the secondary assist, as he and Zhilkin each entered multi-point nights.

The Spirit kept the momentum going just two minutes later, Xander Vellaris and Carson Harmer entered into the zone, connecting with Cloutier, who sent the pick from a distance into the back of the net. Cloutier recorded his second assist of the night and Harmer extended his scoring streak to six games as the Spirit led 4-2.

Sawyer Schmidt was called for tripping a few minutes later and the Rangers jumped at the power play opportunity. Edwards received a feed from Christian Humphreys and sent it past Shurygin on a tight angle to make it a one-goal game again.

Graydon Jones was called for high-sticking in the final minutes of the frame, and straight off the faceoff Edwards struck again, receiving the puck in the slot from Sam O'Reilly, to tie the game up at 4-4.

In an already hectic period, the Rangers were not done. Less than a minute remaining and Kitchener had one more opportunity in the offensive zone. Andrew MacNiel flipped the puck forward for Gabriel Chiarot, who gave the Rangers the lead with six seconds remaining in the period.

After 2: SAG: 4 - KIT: 5 (2nd period shots: 9 - 11 Total shots: 11 - 19)

Penalty struggles continued to plague the Spirit entering the final frame. Harmer was called for interference early in the period and the Rangers kept up their powerplay success with a high-slot shot from Humphreys to give Kitchener a two-goal lead.

The action in front of the net slowed down, with the teams going back-and-forth in the neutral zone and strong defensive play. Both Kirsch and Shurygin came up with big saves throughout the frame.

With three minutes remaining, Saginaw pulled Shurygin for the extra skater. The Spirit applied pressure, but an empty net goal from Pridham secured the Kitchener victory.

Final: SAG: 4 - KIT: 7 (3rd period shots 6 - 6, Total shots 17 - 25)

Powerplays: SAG 1/3 KIT 4/5

Goaltenders: SAG Stepan Shurygin (18 saves, 24 shots), KIT Christian Kirsch (13 saves, 17 shots)

The Spirit head to Erie next on the road trip to face off against the Otters at Erie Insurance Arena on Saturday, January 17th. Puck drop is set for 7:00pm.

Check out the Saginaw Spirit Statistics

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Images from this story

Saginaw Spirit goaltender Stepan Shurygin faces the Kitchener Rangers
Saginaw Spirit goaltender Stepan Shurygin faces the Kitchener Rangers
(Cole Wilton)		   



Ontario Hockey League Stories from January 16, 2026


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