Spirit outlast 67’s

Though the Ottawa 67’s twice managed to come back from a trailing position, they couldn’t do it a third time, and the Saginaw Spirit hung on for a 5-2 win on Thursday night.

Good chances were shared at each end of the rink, testing both goaltenders in the early going, but it was the Spirit who broke through first. Zayne Parekh faked his shot, and cut toward the middle of the ice, before throwing a puck on goal, beating Collin MacKenzie – who stopped 12 shots in the period – to open the scoring.

The Barber Poles tried to claw that goal back as the frame drew to an end. On the power play, they moved the puck around, and had a handful of great chances, but each time, Ottawa was turned aside by Kaleb Papineau.

The remainder of the man advantage ticked away without anything to show for it, but the 67’s did level the score not long after. On a breakaway, Nathan Amidovski fooled the goaltender, and fired the puck between his legs three minutes into the second.

Saginaw answered back, however, reclaiming the lead late in the period, courtesy of Carson Harmer. Much like they did in the first, the Barber Poles turned up the heat as the buzzer loomed, but this time, they were rewarded.

Cooper Foster and Henry Mews teamed up to get the puck to Brady Stonehouse in the middle of the pond, and the overager made no mistake, beating Papineau five-hole, making the third winner-take-all.

Thanks to a late-period penalty, the Barber Poles started the third short-handed, and it only took Saginaw 35 seconds to find twine. Kristian Epperson put the Spirit back out in front with plenty of time left to play.

That time began to fade away quickly, and with the goal vacant, Epperson cashed in with an empty net goal, effectively sealing the deal, before Jacob Cloutier made it 5-2.

Box score

Teams	Score	Shots on goal	Power plays
Ottawa	2	24	0/3
Saginaw	5	42	1/2

 

First period

1-0: SAG ​​#19 Zayne Parekh (12) scores. Assists: #77 Michael Misa, #86 Kristian Epperson

Second period

1-1: OTT #26 Nathan Amidovski (2) scores. Assists: #17 Brady Stonehouse

2-1: SAG #13 Carson Harmer (15) scores. Assists: #7 Calem Mangone, #42 Jacob Cloutier

2-2: OTT #17 Brady Stonehouse (4) scores. Assists: #29 Cooper Foster, #11 Henry Mews

Third period

3-2: SAG #86 Kristian Epperson (14) scores. Assists: #31 Kaleb Papineau POWER PLAY

4-2: SAG #86 Kristian Epperson (15) scores. Assists: #77 Michael Misa EMPTY NET

5-2: SAG #42 Jacob Cloutier (9) scores. EMPTY NET

Next up

The 67’s are right back at it tomorrow night, when they visit the Flint Firebirds at 7 p.m.