KNIGHTS vs SPIRIT | ROUND THREE GAME FIVE
Spirit Force Game 6 as Knights Fall 4-2
By Yannis Economopoulos
LONDON, Ont. – The Saginaw Spirit have forced a Game 6 in the Western Conference Final after Hunter Haight’s hat-trick and Rodwin Dionicio’s four assists pushed the team to a 4-2 victory against the London Knights on Friday night.
Late in the first period, Haight opened the scoring for Saginaw (10-6-0) with his seventh of the postseason. The Strathroy, Ont. product, who was a second-round selection by the Minnesota Wild in the 2022 NHL draft, received a pass from Dionicio before wiring a shot past London (11-2-0) netminder Michael Simpson.
With under three minutes to play in the second, Haight added another goal to make it a 3-1 game, then scored his third on the man advantage in the final frame to make it a 4-2 contest.
Two minutes into the middle frame, the Spirit extended their lead to 2-0 thanks to Vancouver Canucks prospect Josh Bloom. After Dionicio’s point shot was saved by Simpson, Bloom pounced on the rebound and slid the puck into the open net.
London blueliner Oliver Bonk cut the deficit in half late in the period with a power play goal. The Philadelphia Flyers prospect, who extended his point streak to three games, took a point shot that deflected in traffic and beat Saginaw goaltender Nolan Lalonde.
After Haight made it 3-1 less than three minutes after Bonk’s tally, Easton Cowan, who had a two-point outing, responded quickly for the Knights to make it 3-2 going into the third, but Lalonde would shut the door the rest of the way.
Lalonde had a 26-save performance for his fifth postseason win. Meanwhile, Simpson, despite losing, was stellar in a 31-save outing.
Game 6 goes from the Dow Event Center in Saginaw on Sunday afternoon.