OHL Saginaw Spirit

Spirit Close Weekend in Guelph Sunday Afternoon

Published on March 3, 2024 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release


Guelph, Ont. - The Saginaw Spirit (43-15-0-1) finish their weekend road trip against the Guelph Storm (27-24-5-1) at the Sleeman Centre on Sunday, March 3rd.

Tonight's Game:

Puck drop is at 2:00 PM

Broadcast:

Television: CHL TV, CHL App

Radio: 100.5 FM WSGW, WSGW.com

Last Time:

Saginaw played just last night on March 2nd, where they held down the Owen Sound Attack in a 6-2 victory. The Spirit opened the first period scoring four goals to Owen Sound's one, adding one in the second and one in the third to grab their second win on the weekend.

Owen Beck and Hunter Haight each collected three points (1G, 2A), while Braden Haché and Joey Willis both had a goal and an assist. Andrew Oke swatted away 27 of 29 shots in his 24th win of the season.

Guelph's last game was a 3-2 shootout win over the visiting Owen Sound Attack on Friday, March 1st. The Attacked opened the scoring halfway through the first and took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission. The Storm responded with their own goal at 11:11 into the second, setting a 1-1 tie entering the third. Guelph scored with just 1:11 remaining in regulation. However, the Attack responded 17 seconds later, sending the game to overtime. Neither team could break the deadlock through the five minutes, setting up a shootout. Guelph netted the lone goal in the shootout, securing the 3-2 after extra time.

Braden Bowman netted his 29th of the season in the second period, and winger Charlie Paquette scored his 15th late into the third. Jett Luchanko collected one assist and converted the only shootout attempt to secure the win. Brayden Gillespie started for Guelph, making 34 saves on 36 shots for his 21st win of the season.

This Season:

Saginaw and Guelph last saw each other on January 13th, when the Spirit took a 5-2 home win aided by three powerplay goals. Defensemen Zayne Parekh (2G, 1A) and Rodwin Dionicio (1G, 0A) netted powerplay goals, Hunter Haight scored his 18th late into the third, and Owen Beck collected three points (1G, 2A), including an unassisted short-handed goal in the second. Nolan Lalonde guarded Saginaw's blue paint well, stopping 17 of 19 shots in what was, at the time, his ninth win in a row.

Jake Karabella scored his 17th for the Storm, and Braeden Bowman netted his 23rd, both of which came from the powerplay. Michael Buchinger, Jett Luchanko, and Max Namestnikov all collected assists. Brayden Gillespie got the start, stopping 32 of 37 shots in the loss.

Players to Watch:

Zayne Parekh continues his record-setting season, leading the Spirit in points with 85 (tied for third in the OHL and first among OHL defensemen), in assists with 56 (fourth in the OHL). Owen Beck leads Saginaw in goals (31), scoring last night to take sole team lead over Parekh (30). Beck is currently riding an 11-game point streak in which the Montreal prospect has collected 10 goals and 10 assists for 20 total points. Hunter Haight is one of multiple Spirit players coming off a multi-point on March 2nd collecting three points (1G, 2A) in the win. Andrew Oke leads Saginaw in all major goaltending categories, including a 3.04 goals-against average (GAA) (fourth in the OHL), a .886 save percentage (SV%), 24 wins, and one shutout.

Recent shootout hero Jett Luchanko leads the storm in points (62) and assists (42) while adding 20 goals. Braeden Bowman holds the Guelph goal lead, netting 29 on the season, while fellow winger Max Namestnikov sits at second with 24 goals, with 10 coming on the powerplay. Michael Buchinger is the team's top-scoring defenseman with 39 points (9G, 30A), and Leo Serlin has broken out in an excellent start to his OHL tenure, collecting eight goals and ten assists for 18 points over 53 games so far this season. Damian Slavik leads the Storm in all in goals against average and save percentage with a 2.75 GAA and a .901 SV%, while Brayden Gillespie has started the lion's share of games (44) and posted a 3.12 GAA, a .898 SV%, 21 wins, and one shutout.

Saginaw currently has ten (10) players tied to the National Hockey League (NHL), including Joey Willis (Nashville), Josh Bloom (Vancouver), 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).

Guelph currently has six (6) players tied to the National Hockey League (NHL), including Jake Karabela (Washington), Matthew Poitras (Boston), Vilmer Alriksson (Vancouver), Michael Buchinger (St. Louis), Cam Allen (Washington), and Chandler Romeo (Ottawa).

Check out the Saginaw Spirit Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from March 3, 2024


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