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OHL Saginaw Spirit

Spirit Take Two of Three on Road Swing; Beat Firebirds 5-4

March 26, 2022 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release


Flint, Mich. - The Saginaw Spirit (20-39-1-0) completed a three-game, West Division road-swing with a thrilling 5-4 victory over rival Flint Firebirds (35-19-1-4) to complete their 15-game season series with Saginaw's fifth victory on the road this season over Flint.

The Spirit were looking to take two of three games on this road swing with a victory tonight. 2022 NHL Draft eligible Matyas Sapovaliv got the Spirit started on a breakaway goal at 15:17 of the opening period. Sapovaliv was sprung on the break by a bank pass off of the boards by PJ Forgione. Brayden Hislop also earned an assist on Sapovaliv's 16th goal of the season. The Spirit and Firebirds were even in shots at 10-10, but the Spirit held the 1-0 lead after one period.

Two minutes into the second period, the Spirit extended their lead to 2-0 on Sebastien Gervais' ninth goal of the season. He was set up to the right of the net and Calem Mangone tucked a pass back to the right of the goal for Gervais to fire it in to the open side. Nick Wong also drew an assist on the Gervais. Saginaw went back to the power play almost midway through the period, but it was the Firebirds who cashed in. Leading scorer Brennan Othmann scored his 41st goal of the season on a shorthanded breakaway to get the Firebirds on the board. At 13:28, the Spirit went back up by two goals on a Mitchell Smith tally. His 12th goal of the season and third goal in his last two games was assisted by Grand Blanc native Dalton Duhart and Matyas Sapovaliv. Less than a minute later, the Firebirds cashed in on a rebound from James Petrovski for his third goal of the season. Samuel Assinewai and Tag Bertuzzi picked up the assists on the goal at 14:13. The Firebirds tied the game on a strong individual effort by Bertuzzi and the rebound was cleaned Amadeus Lombardi for his 17th goal of the season. The game was tied up 3-3 heading into the final period. Flint outshot the Spirit 12-8 in the period.

In the final frame, the Spirit retook to the lead again at 9:37 on a mid-air deflection from overage forward Nick Wong for his 18th goal of the season and 30th point. Calem Mangone earned his second assist of the game on the goal. Again, the Firebirds answered less than a minute later. Overage Ethan Keppen scored his 20th of the season since reassigned by the Vancouver Canucks at 10:21. Down the stretch, the Spirit were given a power play when Flint had too many players on the ice. Though they didn't score with the man advantage, it took just six seconds for Luke McNamara to streak in on the right wing and firing in the game-winning goal with 4:46 remaining. Forgione and Smith earned assist on the 2021 first round pick's sixth goal of the season and fourth in the seven games. The Firebirds pulled their goaltender in the final minute but the Spirit held down the fort to earn their 20th victory of the season.

Saginaw returns to The Dow Event Center Tuesday night when they face the Soo Greyhounds. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

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