GAME PREVIEW: Saginaw Spirit vs Peterborough Petes – 2/28/26
Saginaw, Mich. – The Saginaw Spirit (21-31-3-4) play the final matchup of a five-game homestand against the Peterborough Petes (33-21-1-3) at the Dow Event Center on Saturday night.
Today’s Game:
Puck drop is at 7:05 pm.
The Spirit host their 14th Hockey for the Homeless Night with the Rescue Ministries of Mid-Michigan on Saturday. Specialty jerseys will be worn during the game and auctioned off after the game.
Fan Information: Know Before You Go
Broadcast:
Radio: 100.5 FM WSGW, WSGW.com
TV: FloHockey
Last Game:
The Spirit fell 8-2 to the Ottawa 67’s on Thursday night. The 67’s struck early in the game, but responses from Dima Zhilkin and Brody Pepoy tied the game at 2-2 before the first frame was up. The 67’s took back the lead in the final minute of the first period and scored six unanswered goals.
The Petes are also coming off a loss after falling to the Windsor Spitfires in the shootout on Thursday night, 4-3. The Petes had a hard-fought comeback after going down 2-0 in the first period. Kieron Walton (1G-1A) and Aiden Young (0G-2A) each had multi-point games.
This Season:
This marks the second and final meeting of the season between the Spirit and the Petes. Saginaw took a 4-1 win at the Peterborough Memorial Centre on January 22nd. Stepan Shurygin posted a career-high of 48 saves, while Nikita Klepov (2G-1A), Egor Barabanov (0G-2A), and Dima Zhilkin (0G-2A) recorded multipoint nights.
Players to Watch:
Dima Zhilkin’s goal on Thursday night extended his active point streak to four games. In that stretch, the Spirit captain has scored seven points (4G-3A). Zhilkin is having a career season (33G-30A) with his 63 points marking 20 more than he scored in his rookie season (16G-27A–43P). He is tied with Nikita Klepov for seventh in the league with 33 goals.
Klepov also extended a scoring streak with seven points in his last three games. Klepov has taken control of the lead in OHL scoring in this stretch with a total of 82 points (33G-49A) this season. The winger has already claimed the Spirit record for points and assists by a rookie, surpassing Cole Perfetti’s marks in 2018-19. Klepov sits four goals shy of Perfetti’s remaining rookie record of 37.
Saginaw’s NHL Drafted Players: Jacob Cloutier (WPG)
Kieron Walton is on a four-game point streak, with his last three games being multipoint performances. Walton sits in second for OHL scoring with 79 points (37G-42A), behind only Saginaw’s Klepov. He leads the Petes in scoring and has scored in every game but three since he was traded to Peterborough from Sudbury at the start of 2026.
Aidan Young’s two assist night on Thursday extended his point streak to three games (1G-3A–4P). Young’s 46 points (18G-28A) mark a career high for him as he sits at third on the team in points. A first-round pick by Saginaw in 2023, Young was acquired by the Petes in a trade for Owen Beck at the 2024 trade deadline. He enters Saturday’s game with 93 career points (34G-59A) in 175 OHL games.
Peterborough’s NHL Drafted Players: Kieron Walton (WPG)
