GAME PREVIEW: Saginaw Spirit vs Ottawa 67’s – 2/26/26
Saginaw, Mich. – The Saginaw Spirit (21-30-3-4) host the Ottawa 67’s (39-14-1-2) on February 26th, 2026, at the Dow Event Center.
Tonight’s Game:
Puck drop is at 7:05 pm.
The Spirit will be honoring Dennis Desrosiers, the team’s first head coach (2002-2004) and captain of the Turner Cup champion Saginaw Gears (1977), with a banner raising ceremony to commemorate his contributions to hockey in Saginaw prior to puck drop.
Broadcast:
Radio: 100.5 FM WSGW, WSGW.com
TV: FloHockey
Last Game:
The Saginaw Spirit last played on Sunday night, hosting the Guelph Storm for their final meeting of the season. Despite three-point nights from Nikita Klepov and Dima Zhilkin, the Spirit would fall 8-5 at home.
The Ottawa 67’s hosted the North Bay Battalion on Sunday night for their final meeting of the season, with the 67’s having the opportunity to take the season series with a win. Ondrej Ruml tied it early in the third period for the 67’s, but they would ultimately fall 4-2 at home.
This Season:
This is the second and final meeting between the Saginaw Spirit and the Ottawa 67’s, with Ottawa shutting out the Spirit 6-0 on January 25th. Kohyn Eshkawkogan led the scoring with two goals, and Ryder Fetterolf made 16 saves for his fourth shutout of the season.
Players to Watch:
With a three-point night against the Storm, rookie forward Nikita Klepov has taken the OHL scoring lead with 81 points (33G-48A) in 57 games. With 19 points (5G-14A) in his last ten games, Klepov continues to be one of Saginaw’s most consistent scorers. He sits second on the team with 21 multi-point games this season.
Egor Barabanov leads the Spirit with 22 multi-point efforts and is tied for seventh in points in the OHL. Barabanov is sitting at 76 points (26G-50A) in 58 games so far this season and leads Saginaw in assists.
Carson Harmer has points in three straight games entering Thursday night’s game (2G-2A—4P). Harmer has come out strong in the new year and has moved up to sixth on the team in scoring with 37 points (14G-23A) in 56 games this season.
Saginaw’s NHL-Drafted Players: Jacob Cloutier (WPG)
Former Saginaw Spirit forward Nic Sima will be facing off against his former club for the second time in his career, after spending his first 202 games with the Spirit. Sima picked up 86 points (40G-46A) in a Spirit sweater and has picked up 13 points (6G-7A) in 18 games with the 67’s.
Leading the scoring this season for the Ottawa 67’s is Cooper Foster, who has 56 points (25G-31A) in 54 games this season. Foster picked up his 200th career point last Friday with a four-point night against Niagara, as well as setting a personal record for points in a season. The over-ager was drafted in the sixth round by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2023, and has played 245 games with the Ottawa 67’s.
Thomas Vandenberg leads Ottawa’s rookies with 40 points (20G-20A) in 47 games played this season. The 25th ranked North American skater on NHL Central Scouting’s midterm list sits at sixth among rookies in the OHL, and has six points (3G-3A) in his last 10 games.
Ottawa’s NHL-Drafted Players: Sam McCue (TOR), Cooper Foster (PIT), Filip Ekberg (CAR), David Bedkowski (BUF)
