Christopoulos scores late OT winner in Sarnia
Sarnia, Ont. – The Saginaw Spirit (19-9-0-1) downed the Sarnia Sting (11-19-2-1), 2-1, in overtime at the Progressive Auto Sales Arena on Friday, December 15th. Alex Christopoulos scored both goals for the Spirit, and Jacob LeBlanc scored his seventh in the lone goal for the Sting. Nolan Lalonde started for Saginaw, stopping 18 of 19 in the win, and Nick Surzycia fought off 31 of 32 in the OT loss.
With his 154th win, Spirit head coach Chris Lazary tied Todd Watson for the most coaching wins in Saginaw Spirit history.
Sarnia opened the game’s scoring at 7:18 into the first period. Sean Doherty sent a puck behind the net that Marko Sikic corralled in the trapezoid. While pinned to the boards by a Saginaw defender, Sikic sent a pass out front, looking for a teammate. A Saginaw stick deflected his pass and ricocheted left to Jacob LeBlanc. He patiently waited out the defense and fired a shot short side on Spirit goaltender Nolan Lalonde for his seventh of the year, setting a 1-0 score.
At 18:41 into the first, Sarnia’s Andrew LeBlanc was issued a minor penalty for cross-checking, setting the Spirit up with a powerplay that would roll over into the second period.
Sarnia led Saginaw 1-0 at the conclusion of the first while outshooting the Spirit 12-8.
Saginaw failed to capitalize on the LeBlanc penalty but would get another powerplay at 1:24 into the period after Sarnia’s James Barr committed a slashing penalty.
Sarnia killed off the aforementioned Barr slash and got their own powerplay on a slashing call on Saginaw’s Joey Willis.
The Spirit defeated the Sarnia powerplay once again and drew another powerplay, this time for a roughing call on Sarnia’s Lukas Fischer that was also killed off by Sarnia.
At the conclusion of an eventless second period, the Sting continued to lead the Spirit 1-0, while being outshot 12 to 3 in the period and 20 to 15 overall.
Saginaw tied the game early into the third period with a goal by Alex Christopoulos.
James Guo passed to Dean Loukus, who started the play by dropping a pass for Christopoulos. His shot was deflected as it fluttered toward Sting goaltender Nick Surzycia. The knuckling motion halted Sruzycia’s pursuit as the puck fluttered into the goal net. Christopoulos’s 11th of the year helped tie the game at 1-1.
Saginaw received another powerplay opportunity at 10:44 when Sarnia’s Tyson Doucette was whistled for boarding. Saginaw could not capitalize, and following offsetting penalties by the Spirit’s Braden Haché and the Sting’s Mitch Young ended the third period tied 1-1 with shots being 7 to 3 in the third and 27 to 18 overall.
The third period saw the Spirit control most of the puck until 3:46 into the OT period when Sarnia’s Lukas Fischer slashed a Saginaw forward heading toward the goal.
Saginaw took shot after shot in the Sarnia zone, with Nick Surzycia fighting all of them off. On the final play, Zayne Parekh fed a pass to Calem Mangone, who ripped a shot on the net. Surzycia stopped the first attempt, but Alex Christopoulos continued to jam away at the puck, finally sliding it around the leg of the goaltender and over the line for the OT winner.
After a lengthy review by the officials, the goal was certified, cementing a 2-1 overtime win for the Saginaw Spirit with shots ending 33 to 19 in their favor.
Saginaw’s win brought the Spirit to 19-9-0-1 on the year, while dropping the Sarina Sting to 11-19-2-1 with their second OT loss.
Saginaw’s next game is on Saturday, December 16th, to face the Sudbury Wolves at the Dow Event Center. Puck drop for Saginaw’s annual teddy bear toss is at 7:05pm.
For more information, visit saginawspirit.com or follow the team on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
For media inquiries, contact Dillon Clark at [email protected].
