Shurygin Stops 47 as Spirit Beat Petes on Hockey for the Homeless Night
OHL Saginaw Spirit

Shurygin Stops 47 as Spirit Beat Petes on Hockey for the Homeless Night

Published on February 28, 2026 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release


Saginaw Spirit goaltender Stepan Shurygin vs. the Peterborough Petes
Saginaw Spirit goaltender Stepan Shurygin vs. the Peterborough Petes
(Saginaw Spirit, Credit: Steven Frank Imagery)

Saginaw, Mich. - In a highly charged, fast-paced matchup between the Saginaw Spirit and the Peterborough Petes, the Spirit's three-goal third period secured a 5-2 win at the Dow Event Center on the heels of stellar goaltending from Stepan Shurygin.

The only other time the Spirit faced the Petes this season, they took a 4-1 win, where Nikita Klepov and Egor Barabanov each had three-point nights, and Stepan Shurygin secured a career high 48 saves. Egor Barabanov had a four-point night, Nikita Klepov had a three-point night, and Shurygin saved 47 shots, one shy of tying his career high.

The Petes controlled the pace early, spending a majority of the first half of the period in their offensive zone. Shurygin had some big saves early to keep them off the board.

As the frame neared the halfway point, the Spirit began to find a flow in the offensive zone, specifically the top line of Nikita Klepov, Dima Zhilkin, and Egor Barabanov, but they were shut down by Rye. Just over ten minutes left in the period, Barabanov connected with Graydon Jones, who fired the puck towards the net and through the slimmest gap between Rye's blocker and right pad to put the Spirit on the board.

Barabanov picked up his 51st assist of the season, and Klepov was credited with the secondary assist, extending his scoring streak to five games and marking his 50th assist.

The ice leveled out in the second half of the frame, with both teams applying pressure. The Petes brought the puck into the zone with five minutes to play in the period, and Adam Novotný, rushing into the slot, sent a last-minute pass to an open Brennan Faulkner to go back door against Shurygin and tie the game up before heading into the first intermission.

Shurygin came up with a pair of big saves to finish out the frame and keep the Petes from getting any more past him. Although the Spirit only had about half the shots that the Petes did, almost every shot taken by Saginaw was a high-quality chance.

After 1: SAG: 1 - PBO: 1 (Total Shots: 10 - 19)

The game kept the intensity in the second period, but it ramped up in the next 20 minutes. There were a total of 16 minutes of penalties between the two teams in the frame, but the Shurygin and Spirit penalty kill put up a big performance to keep the game even.

The Spirit killed off three back-to-back penalties, and the Spirit lost a skater in Blake Barnes, after he dropped gloves with Bryaden McCallum.

Shurygin had another period of facing almost 20 shots from the Petes, but kept them away. In the final 90 seconds of the period, Peterborough's Brody Partridge was called for tripping. The Spirit couldn't find the go-ahead goal at the end of the frame, but still had time left over to start in the third period.

After 2: SAG: 1 - PBO: 1 (2nd period shots: 5 - 19 Total shots: 15 - 38)

Spirit could not find the back of the net in the final 30 seconds of the power play to start the period, and the Petes surged back on full strength. Three minutes into the period, Kieron Walton sent a loose puck into the slot that was hammered home by Matthew Soto to give the Petes the lead. Brody Partridge was credited with the secondary assist.

The Spirit found a response 70 seconds later when Klepov fired a puck at the net, and Levi Harper was there to fire in the rebound into the back door. Barabanov picked up the secondary assist, giving him and Klepov a multi-point night.

At the 11-minute mark, Garrett Frazer was called for slashing. The Spirit jumped on the opportunity just 30 seconds into the power play, as Zhilkin entered the slot, slid the puck through defenders and across the front of the net to Klepov, who scored his 34th goal of the season. Barabanov secured his third assist of the night as the Spirit led 3-2.

A few minutes after Klepov's goal, a shot from Drew Roscoe was deflected by the pad of Rye and right to the stick of Brody Pepoy to send the puck into the back of the net. Graydon Jones recorded his fourth multi-point game with the secondary assist, while Roscoe picked up his first OHL assist and second point of the season.

A slashing penalty on Nikita Klepov sent the Petes back to the man advantage with under ten to play, but the Spirit penalty kill shut them down. The Petes only recorded one shot on net during the man-advantage.

Once they got back to full strength, the Spirit kept rolling. On a rush into the zone, Barabanov connected with Jacob Cloutier to strengthen the Spirit's lead at 5-2. Zhilkin secured his second point of the night on the secondary assist.

The Spirit kept control until the final minutes and kept the Petes off the board to secure the win. The Spirit's top line combined for a total of nine points.

Final: SAG: 5 - PBO: 2 (3rd period shots: 11 - 11, Total shots 26 - 49)

Powerplays: SAG 1/3 PBO 0/4

Goaltenders: SAG Stepan Shurygin (47 saves, 49 shots), PBO Easton Rye (21 saves, 26 shots)

The Spirit will head on the road next weekend for a three game roadtrip, with the first game on Thursday night against the Niagara IceDogs at the Meridian Centre. Puck drop is set for 7:00 pm.

Check out the Saginaw Spirit Statistics

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Images from this story

Saginaw Spirit goaltender Stepan Shurygin vs. the Peterborough Petes
Saginaw Spirit goaltender Stepan Shurygin vs. the Peterborough Petes
(Steven Frank Imagery)		   



Ontario Hockey League Stories from February 28, 2026


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