Sports stats



OHL Saginaw Spirit

Spirit Close Regular Season in Sault Ste. Marie Sunday Afternoon

March 24, 2024 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release


Saginaw, Mich. - The Saginaw Spirit (49-16-1-1) finish the regular season with a trip north to face the Soo Greyhounds (45-17-3-2) at the GFL Memorial Gardens on Sunday afternoon.

Tonight's Game:

Puck drop is at 2:07 PM

With a win this afternoon in Sault Ste. Marie and a regulation win by the Guelph Storm against London, the Saginaw Spirit can claim the team's first-ever Hamilton Spectator Trophy as regular season champions.

Broadcast:

Television: CHL TV, CHL App

Radio: 100.5 FM WSGW, WSGW.com

Last Time:

Saginaw's last was a marathon 8-5 win over the visiting Windsor Spitfires on March 23rd at the Dow Event Center. The Spirit and Spitfires scored three in the first, and they tied at three entering the second. Saginaw responded with two in the second, entering the third up 5-3 before Windsor added two, and Saginaw added three in the third, completing the 8-5 win. Alex Christopoulos and Calem Mangone netted three in co-hat trick performances, Josh Bloom and Zayne Parekh helped out with three assists, and Nolan Lalonde held down the blue paint, making 20 saves on 25 shots.

Sault Ste. Marie last played on March 22nd, when the Greyhounds completed a 4-2 win over the Flint Firebirds at the GFL Memorial Gardens. The Soo opened the game by scoring three straight times and taking a 3-0 lead into the second period. Flint scored late into the second and third periods, but the Greyhounds finished the win with an empty netter with nine seconds remaining in the third. Jordan D'Intino had a two-point night (1G, 1A), Jack Beck scored his 27th, and Arttu Karki added two assists and was +3. Jacob Brown started for the Firebirds, making 19 saves on 22 shots, while Charlie Schenkel started for the Greyhounds, turning away 15 of 17.

This Season:

This season-ending game for Saginaw and Sault Ste. Marie will be at the eighth meeting this season, where Saginaw has gone (3-3-0-1).

These teams last played on February 11th, when Saginaw and goaltender Andrew Oke shut out the Greyhounds 3-0 on the road. Calem Mangone scored early in the first and added an assist for a two-point night, Owen Beck scored his 25th of the season, and Josh Bloom added the final Saginaw goal with an empty netter. Charlie Schenkel made the start for Sault Ste. Marie stopped 14 of 16, while Andrew Oke finished off the shutout, grabbing all of the Greyhounds 22 shots.

Players to Watch:

Zayne Parekh continues to lead Saginaw this season in assists with 62 (fifth in the OHL) and points with 94 (first among all OHL defensemen), all while adding 32 goals. Owen Beck leads the Spirit with 33 goals and continues to add to an ongoing 19-game point streak stretching back to February 9th. In those games, Beck has accrued 12 goals and 20 assists for 32 points, clipping at a 1.68-point per-game pace. Josh Bloom also continued his point streak after the last game, now reaching 11 games and gathering 8 goals and 12 assists for an even 20 points. Alex Christopoulos and Calem Mangone are coming off hat-trick performances, and Andrew Oke continues to lead the team in all major goaltending categories, including a 2.92 goals against average (GAA) (third in the OHL), a .890 save percentage (SV%), 28 wins (third in the OHL), and 2 shutouts.

Sault Ste. Marie is led by Jack Beck, whose 85 points and 58 assists (eighth in the OHL) are team leads. The Greyhounds' top goalscorer is Gavin Hayes, who has contributed 37 goals, including 14 on the Soo powerplay. Travis Hayes has been a productive rookie for the Greyhounds, adding 14 goals and 21 assists for 35 points. Bryce McConnell-Barker looks to extend his five-game point streak where the Sault Ste. Marie Center has compiled three goals and two assists. Rookie Landon Miller currently leads the Soo in all major goaltending categories with a 2.59 GAA, a .898 SV%, 17 wins, and two shutouts in 29 games, while Sault Ste. Marie's primary starter, Charlie Schenkel, holds a 3.06 GAA (sixth in the OHL), a .884 SV%, 28 wins (tied for third in the OHL), and two shutouts in 46 games.

Saginaw currently has ten (10) players tied to the National Hockey League (NHL), including Joey Willis (Nashville), Josh Bloom (Vancouver, TR), Matyas Sapovaliv (Vegas), Hunter Haight (Minnesota), Owen Back (Montreal), Ethan Hay (Tampa Bay), Braden Haché (Florida), Jorian Donovan (Ottawa), Rodwin Dionicio (Anaheim) and Nolan Lalonde (Columbus, FA).

Sault Ste. Marie currently has six (6) players tied to the National Hockey League (NHL), including Jack Beck (Calgary), Bryce McConnell-Barker (NY Rangers), Gavin Hayes (Chicago), Andrew Gibson (Detroit), Kirill Kudryavtsev (Vancouver), and Arttu Karki (Vegas).

Check out the Saginaw Spirit Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from March 24, 2024


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