OHL Saginaw Spirit

Spirit Come up Short in 4-3 Overtime Loss to Firebirds

Published on February 3, 2016 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release


SAGINAW, MI - The Saginaw Spirit welcomed the Flint Firebirds to The Dow Event Center for a mid-week matchup against their Coors Light I-75 Divide rival. Although the Spirit erased a three-goal deficit, the Firebirds recorded the 4-3 win in overtime on Wednesday night.

The Flint Firebirds scored three consecutive goals in the first period, to take a comfortable 3-0 lead through the first 20 minutes of play. Two goals from Francesco Vilardi and a tally from Nicholas Caamano lifted the Firebirds up and over the Spirit within the first 15 minutes of the game. Jacob Collins registered two points in assisting Vilardi's goals. Despite the three-goal deficit, the Spirit outshot the Firebirds, 11-7.

In the second period, Spirit left wing Mike Davies put the Spirit on the board and scored the only goal of the middle frame. Sophomore Tye Felhaber set up Davies' 10th goal of the season and cut into the Firebirds' lead by a score of 3-1. Saginaw continued to outshoot the Firebirds in the second period, recording a total of 13 shots in comparison to Flint's 10 shots.

The Saginaw Spirit battled back in the third period to erase their two-goal deficit. At 7:57 of the third period, Kris Bennett put the Spirit within one on his 15th goal of the season. Connor Brown and Brady Gilmour picked up the helpers on the play. An untimely penalty for the Firebirds sent Alex Peters to the box and the Spirit to the power play unit to the ice. On the ensuing power play, Hayden Hodgson scored his first goal in a Spirit uniform and his 6th goal of the 2015-16 campaign. The 3-3 tie held until the end of regulation, forcing the Spirit and the Firebirds into three-on-three overtime.

The Spirit defense and Evan Cormier stood tall for a majority of the overtime performance, killing off a minor penalty 54 seconds into overtime. With 35 seconds left in the game, Flint' Ryan Moore beat Evan Cormier and clinched a 4-3 win over the Saginaw Spirit. Final shots on goal favored the Spirit, 40-28.

Applebee's Three Stars

Ryan Moore - (GWG) FLNT

Francesco Vilardi - (2G) FLNT

Hayden Hodgson - (G) SAG

For tickets call (989) 497-7747 or visit us at saginawspirit.com. Tune into every Spirit game on WSGW 100.5 with the voices of Spirit Hockey, Joey Battaino and Dennis Desrosiers.

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from February 3, 2016


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