OHL Saginaw Spirit

Stingy Spirit Defense Holds off Greyhounds

Published on March 29, 2022 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release


Saginaw, Mich. - The Saginaw Spirit (21-39-1-0) won their third consecutive game Tuesday night, edging the Soo Greyhounds (33-21-6-1) by a 2-1 score in front of 2,460 fans at The Dow Event Center in Saginaw.

The Greyhounds left home defeated twice by the Windsor Spitfires this weekend, who opened up a nine-point lead on the West Division in the process. Saginaw had picked up with second win in a row Saturday for the first time since late December, and was looking to carry that momentum into tonight, the 150th all-time regular season meeting between the two clubs.

Calgary Flames prospect Rory Kerins opened the scoring just 3:27 into the hockey game on what seemed to be a broken play. The puck bounced off the foot of the Spirit defenseman right back on to the blade of Kerins. He broke in two on the Spirit goaltender Andrew Oke and fooled him with a backhand along the ice. The goal for Kerins was unassisted and was his 102nd point of the season, second most in the OHL. This Spirit killed a Sebastien Gervais minor penalty and then were given the next two man advantages in the game. On the second, Saginaw native Mitchell Smith picked the top right corner on Soo goaltender Samuel Ivanov to tie the game, 1-1. Roberto Mancini drew the lone assist on the goal. The first period shots favored the Soo, 8-7.

At 7:20 of the second period, the Spirit grabbed a 2-1 lead when Luke McNamara fed Charlie Fink on a two-on-one for his first OHL goal. This was one of just four Spirit shots in the period, but Saginaw was just as stingy holding the Soo to five. Saginaw maintained their one-goal lead into the third period.

The final frame was a huge test for Saginaw on the penalty kill. Between the 15:14 mark of the second and the 9:22 mark of the third, Saginaw was flagged for five consecutive minor penalties, killing each one off successfully. Down the stretch, the Spirit would have to kill off another when PJ Forgione was called for tripping at 16:07. In total, the Spirit went seven-for-seven on the penalty kill and one-for-five on the power play, holding on for a 2-1 win.

The Spirit face the Soo on Friday, before returning home for games on Saturday against the Sarnia Sting and Sunday against the Guelph Storm. Sunday, the puck drops at 5:30 for billet appreciation night.

Check out the Saginaw Spirit Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from March 29, 2022


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