OHL Saginaw Spirit

Spirit Win Streak Snapped by Greyhounds

Published on April 1, 2022 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release


Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. - The Saginaw Spirit (21-40-1-0) saw their three-game winning streak snapped Friday night in the Sault against the Greyhounds (34-21-6-1) by a score of 9-3 in front of 3,307 at GFL Memorial Gardens in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

After a power outage in the building delayed the start of the game for nearly an hour, The Greyhounds wasted little time getting to the offense, as 45 seconds into the game a shot by Jack Thompson banked off of Spirit goaltender Brett Fullerton, and off of the foot of Tyler Savard and into the net. His ninth goal of the season gave the Soo an early lead. As the period progressed, the Spirit got more comfortable on the offensive side of the puck. Nick Wong, who had just hit the crossbar moments earlier, cashed in on a perfect setup from Sault native Calem Mangone at 12:43. Sebastien Gervais' strong forecheck created the change in possession and earned him an assist, as well. As the period wound down, it looked like the Spirit and Hounds were headed to the dressing rooms in a 1-1 tie, but Rory Kerins had other plans. He picked up a loose puck in the Greyhound zone, skated down the ice, and snapped a sharp wrister past Fullerton to make it 2-1 at 19:34.

The second period was a territorial victory for the Spirit, but Saginaw had all kinds of problems keeping the Hounds offense at bay, It started with a fortuitous bounce for Bryce McConnell-Barker to score his 21st goal of the season. The puck bounced to him perfectly off a stanchion of the glass, with Fullerton looking elsewhere, McConnell-Barker filled the open side of the net. With Calem Mangone in the box, Soo defenseman Jack Thompson fired in a wrist shot to make it a 4-1 spread. Just 28 seconds later, Connor Toms scored his second goal of the season and the Hounds had broke it open, leading 5-1 just over eight minutes into the second period. But as the Spirit do, they continued to fight back. Pacey Schlueting was deep in the play behind the net and threw the puck in off of the Soo goaltender Ivanov to make it 5-2. Just 27 seconds after Schlueting's goal, OHL defenseman of the month for March Pavel Mintyukov fired in his 16th goal of the season to make it 5-3. Just as Saginaw got close, overage rearguard Robert Calisti scored twice before the conclusion of the period, to the put the Soo back in charge again. Calisti's two tallies capped off a five-goal, second period for the Hounds and gave them a 7-3 lead at the break.

It became evident in the third that the Spirit were going to be unable to continue their winning ways, as the Greyhounds hardly lost control of the puck. Kirill Kudryavtsev and Cole MacKay added to their lead and the Hounds took the game by a 9-3 score, outshooting Saginaw in the third period, 20-2.

The Spirit return home for games this weekend on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday, the Spirit face the Sarnia Sting at 7:05 p.m. and Sunday, the Spirit welcome the Guelph Storm at 5:30 p.m. for Billet Appreciation Night.

Check out the Saginaw Spirit Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from April 1, 2022


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