GAME PREVIEW: Saginaw Spirit vs Oshawa Generals – 12/20/25
Saginaw, Mich. – The Saginaw Spirit (9-16-3-4) are back in action at the Dow Event Center on Saturday, December 20th, set to take on the Oshawa Generals (9-23-0-0) in their final game before the holiday break.
Tonight’s Game:
Puck drop is at 7:05 pm.
The Spirit host their annual Teddy Bear Toss on Saturday night, presented by GFL. Fans are encouraged to bring stuffed teddy bears to throw onto the ice after the first Spirit goal is scored. Bears will be donated to local children through the CAN Council, MyMichigan Health, Covenant HealthCare, and Great Lakes Bay Health Centers.
Broadcast:
Radio: 100.5 FM WSGW, WSGW.com
TV: FloHockey
Last Game:
The Spirit fell to the Soo Greyhounds 8-4 in an intense midweek matchup on Wednesday night. The Spirit opened up scoring, but five unanswered goals in the second period gave the Soo a lead the Spirit could not come back against. Both Egor Barabanov and Brody Pepoy continued on their hot streaks, with two points each. Gensen Geldart also picked up his second goal of the season.
The Generals are coming off a 5-3 loss against the London Knights last night. Oshawa took an early 2-0 lead, but the Knights went on to score the next four goals spread out over three periods and left the Generals little room or time to come back. Owen Griffin had a two-goal night, scoring his 15th and 16th goals of the season.
This Season:
This will be the second and final matchup between the Generals and the Spirit in the regular season. The Generals took a 3-2 overtime win against the Spirit at the Tribute Communities Centre on October 5th.
Nic Sima and Sebastien Gervais each had a goal in that game, while Graydon Jones tallied two assists. For the Generals, Owen Griffin had a two-point night with the game-winning goal and an assist. Netminder Jaden Cholette stopped 32 of 34 shots.
Players to Watch:
Saginaw’s Dima Zhilkin is eligible to return to the lineup on Saturday night after completing a three-game suspension incurred Dec 6 at Brampton. The former OHL All-Rookie Team member is third on the team with 15G-13A–28P in 24 games this season. Though his production tailed off slightly prior to suspension (1G-3A–4P in 7 GP, Nov 21-Dec 6), Zhilkin exploded into his sophomore campaign with 14G-10A–24P in his first 17 games, including his first career four-goal game Nov 16 at North Bay.
Egor Barabanov is currently riding a six-game scoring streak (5G-6A–11P). He has taken sole control of the team lead with 40 points (15G-25A), tied for seventh in OHL scoring. Barabanov is also tied for sixth-most assists in the league. He has had consecutive multi-point games for the Spirit and will be looking to continue this streak into the Christmas break.
Brody Pepoy has been playing some of his best hockey in a recent stretch. Since his three-point night against London on November 28th (1G-2A), Pepoy has had five points in his next six games and is riding a three-game scoring streak. His goal and assist against the Soo on Wednesday night marked his second career multi-point game. The rookie has a total of 12 points (6G-6A) on the season, and half of his points have come in the last seven games.
Saginaw’s NHL Drafted Players: Jacob Cloutier (WPG)
Owen Griffin is coming off a two-goal game last night against the Knights, marking his eighth multi-point game this season. He leads the Generals with 31 points (16G-15A). Griffin had a multi-point night against the Spirit back in October with a goal and an assist. He is the only player on the Generals averaging over a point per game (1.03).
Harrison Franssen opened up scoring for the Generals in their last game with his 11th goal of the season. The center has also seen success against the Spirit, scoring a short-handed goal for his first of the season back in October. He leads the team in both game-winning-goals (3) and short-handed goals (2), proving to create offense in high-pressure situations.
Oshawa’s NHL Drafted Players: Beckett Sennecke (ANA), Owen Griffin (CBJ), Haoxi Wang (SJS)
