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OHL Saginaw Spirit

Spirit Drop Season Opener to Rangers, 4-3

September 29, 2023 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release


Kitchener, Ont. - The Saginaw Spirit fell to a Western Conference rival in the Kitchener Rangers at Kitchener Memorial Auditorium on Friday night. Jackson Parsons started in the crease for the Rangers, and Andrew Oke started for the Spirit.

Just 25 seconds into the game, the Rangers went down two men when Carson Rehkopf and Matthew Sop were called for a hooking and face-off violation call respectively.

The Spirit took advantage of the five-on-three opportunity when Zayne Parekh took a pass at the point from Hunter Haight. The 17-year-old's shot deflected off the Ranger goaltender and was batted in by Micheal Misa for Saginaw's first goal of the season and the 1-0 lead.

On the remaining five on four, Saginaw struck again at 1:42 when Parekh again found Misa on a perfect cross-ice pass to the left circle. Misa rocketed an upstairs shot to give the Spirit a quick 2-0 lead.

The first period was back and forth until the Rangers' Carson Cambell and the Spirit's Valentin Zhugin were each given a fighting major, and Zhugin also receiving a ten-minute misconduct and a two-minute minor for instigating.

The first period ended in a 2-0 Saginaw lead, with the Spirit outshooting Kitchener 12-7.

The second period opened with a quick goal by the Rangers at 1:11 when Matthew Sop found Tanner Lam up the left board and fed a pass cross-crease to Michell Martin. His far-side shot found the net behind Saginaw's Andrew Oke and put Kitchener on the board at 2-1.

At 17:06, the Rangers would tie the game up when Antonino Pugliese kicked a puck out of a scrum to Cameron Mercer. His pass to the middle found Kyle Morey, who slipped ashot past Oke for his first OHL goal and tied the game at 2-2.

The second period would draw to a close, and the Saginaw Spirit continuing to outshoot the Kitchener Rangers 22-14 (10-7 in the period).

The third period got off to a quick start when, 22 seconds into the period, Kitchener's Matthew Andonovski scored on a drop pass from Adrian Misaljevic for a 3-2 lead.

35 seconds later, Saginaw tied the game with a goal from Hunter Haight, who scored in the slot on a spin-pass from Calem Mangone.

At 17:52, Mitchell Martin took a shot from the right circle that rebounded off of Saginaw goalie Andrew Oke. The puck popped off of Kitchener's Antonino Pugliese and into the back of the net, lifting the Rangers to a late 4-3 lead.

The Spirit would pull their goalie at 18:00, though the extra attacker was not enough to tie the game up. Saginaw would fall on opening night to the Kitchener Rangers 4-3 while outshooting them 34-29.

The Spirit's next game is their home opener against the Sarnia Sting tomorrow night, September 30th at the Dow Event Center. Puck drop is at 7:05pm, and the game is presented by United Way of Saginaw County.

A home opener celebration, presented by Covenant Healthcare, will feature live music, food, and fun for the whole family. The celebration begins at 4:30 in the Jolt Event Park, and fans can join in painting a mural by Fenton artist Kevin Burdick.

For more information, visit saginawspirit.com or follow the team on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from September 29, 2023


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.

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