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Saginaw Spirit

Spirit Score Five Unanswered to Defeat Kitchener, 5-2

January 27, 2024 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release


Saginaw Spirit's Jorian Donovan on game night
Saginaw Spirit's Jorian Donovan on game night
(Saginaw Spirit, Credit: Eric Young)

Saginaw, Mich. - The Saginaw Spirit (31-12-0-1) defeated the Kitchener Rangers (30-15-2-0) on Saturday, January 27th, in front of 4884 fans at the Dow Event Center. Calem Mangone ended the night with a goal and two assists with Matyas Sapovaliv also earning himself two assists. Andrew Oke stopped 16 of 18 shots for the Spirit while Tristan Malboeuf stopped 33 of 37 shots for the Rangers.

The Rangers were the first team to strike with just 1:25 left in the first. Luca Romano stole the puck and quickly fired from the right faceoff dot. The puck went past Andrew Oke's shoulder to give the Rangers a one goal lead.

The first period ended with the Rangers ahead, 1-0, over the Spirit. Both teams had an even seven shots on goal.

Midway through the second period, the Kitchener Rangers extended their lead to two. Matthew Sop's headfake fooled Oke for his 28th of the season, with an assist coming to Adrian Misaljevic.

Just a minute later, the Spirit notched their first goal of the game. After winning a faceoff in Kitchener's zone, Matyas Sapovaliv passed to Joey Willis who danced around a defender and deposited a backhander past Malboeuf to cut the lead.

The second period ended with the Rangers leading the Spirit, 2-1. However, Saginaw outshot Kitchener, 20-12 (8-3 in the second period).

With 11:53 left in the game, Saginaw's Hunter Haight scored the game tying-goal on a delayed penalty with assists coming from Calem Mangone and Jorian Donovan. After receiving a pass from Donovan, Haight fired the puck right under Tristan Malboeuf's glove from the right faceoff circle, into the net to tie the game at two apiece.

Joey Willis scored his second goal of the game, breaking the tie, with 8:47 left. After receiving a long pass from Rodwin Dionicio, Willis rifled a shot from the right faceoff dot, sending the puck right by Tristan Malboeuf's head. Calem Mangone also received an assist on this goal, his second of the night on the go-ahead goal.

With five minutes left in the game, Michael Misa scored an unassisted goal on a 2-on-1 after intercepting a Ranger pass. Misa was just behind the right faceoff circle when he rifled the puck home for his team-leading 23rd of the season.

With the Ranger net empty, Calem Mangone added a goal to seal the deal with an assist coming to Matyas Sapovaliv. The goal gave Saginaw a 5-2 victory over Kitchener with the Spirit also outshooting them 37-18 (17-6 in the third period).

Saginaw's next game will be against the Windsor Spitfires on Sunday, January 28th, at the Dow Event Center. Puck drop is at 2:00pm.

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Images from this story

Saginaw Spirit's Jorian Donovan on game night
Saginaw Spirit's Jorian Donovan on game night
(Eric Young)		   

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from January 27, 2024


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