GAME PREVIEW: Saginaw Spirit at Sarnia Sting – 1/30/26
Sarnia, Ont. – The Saginaw Spirit (17-22-3-4) visit the Sarnia Sting (13-27-5-1) on January 30th, 2025, at the Progressive Auto Sales Arena.
Tonight’s Game:
Puck drop is at 7:05 pm.
Broadcast:
Radio: 100.5 FM WSGW, WSGW.com
TV: FloHockey
Last Game:
The Saginaw Spirit last played against the Ottawa 67’s, visiting TD Place on January 25th, 2026. The Spirit would fall 6-0, with goaltender Stepan Shurygin stopping 22 of 28 Ottawa shots.
The Sarnia Sting visited the Kitchener Rangers on Wednesday night at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium. Alessandro Di Iorio scored his 11th of the season in a 4-1 loss on the road.
This Season:
The Spirit hosted the Sting for their first of six meetings this season on December 30th, with Jacob Cloutier leading the 4-1 Spirit victory with a goal and two assists. Brody Pepoy and Carson Harmer had a goal and an assist for the Spirit, and Beckham Edwards picked up his 13th of the season for the Sting.
Players to Watch:
Carson Harmer has exploded into the new year, sitting at 11 points (2G-9A) in 10 games to start 2026. Harmer had a goal and an assist against the Sting in their last matchup and has 31 (12G-19A) points in 44 games this season. Also starting the new year strong is captain Dima Zhilkin, who has 13 points (6G-7A) in nine games in 2026. Zhilkin set a career-high in points after picking up two assists on January 22nd, and he has 44 points (22G-22A) in 37 games this season.
Leading the Spirit in scoring this season is Nikita Klepov, who picked up his 60th point of the season against Kitchener on the 23rd. Klepov has 17 points (8G-9A) in his last games, and sits second in rookie scoring this season with 28 goals and 32 assists in 45 games played.
Saginaw’s NHL-Drafted players:
Jacob Cloutier (WPG)
Leading the scoring for the Sting is rookie center Easton Walos, who has 35 points (18G-17A) in 46 games this season. Walos sits at fourth overall in rookie scoring so far this season, and has ten points (7G-3A) in his last ten games.
Sitting behind Walos in scoring for Sarnia is Beckham Edwards, who has 31 points (14G-17A) in 46 games. Both Walos and Edwards picked up a point in their last meeting with the Spirit, with Walos assisting on Edwards’ 13th of the season. He was the #46 ranked North American skater by NHL Central Scouting at the midterm.
Clocking in at #19 on that midterm ranking is Sting forward Alessandro Di Iorio, who has 20 points (11G-9A) in 29 games this season. Di Iorio holds the second-best points per game average for the Sting after missing the first part of the season due to injury, and had 11 points (5G-6A) in 12 games in December.
