Haight’s 3rd period powerplay goal gives Spirit 3-2 win in Kitchener

Kitchener, Ont. – The Saginaw Spirit (23-10-0-1) traveled to the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium to defeat the Kitchener Rangers (26-10-2-0), 3-2, on Thursday, January 4th. Calem Mangone, Hunter Haight, and Dean Loukus were the three goal scorers for Saginaw. Andrew Oke started in net for the Spirit and made 11 saves on 13 shots while Jackson Parson started for the Rangers and made 30 saves on 33 shots on goal.

 

After an early Sebastien Gervais goal that was ultimately called off, the Kitchener Rangers were the first to officially get on the board with 16:57 left in the first period. Hunter Brzustewicz made a long pass to Antonino Pugliese who was behind Saginaw’s goal. He wrapped around and passed to Max Dirracolo whose shot from the right circle went over Andrew Oke’s shoulder and into the net. This was Max Dirracolo first OHL goal to make the game 1-0 in favor of the Rangers.

 

With 14:56 left in the first period, the Rangers struck again. After receiving a shot pass from Hunter Brzustewicz, Matthew Andonovski then passed the puck to Tanner Lam who then went on a partial breakaway. Andrew Oke attempted to dive for the puck, but Lam shifted right and sent the puck between his legs for the 2-0 lead.

 

With only 19 seconds left in the first, Kitchener suffered another penalty with Hunter Brzustewicz being called for holding. The penalty would carry into period two.

 

The first period ended with Saginaw down 2-0 to Kitchener, but outshot the Rangers, 8-5.

 

Just 58 seconds into the second period, the Saginaw Spirit finally got on the scoreboard. Hunter Haight made a cross ice pass to Michael Misa who took a shot on goal just in front of the right faceoff dot. Parsons made the save, but couldn’t find the loose puck. Calem Mangone quickly poked it into the net, making the score 2-1 on the powerplay. 

 

With 9:22 left in the second period, the Spirit managed to tie the game up at 2-2. Joey Willis found Sebastien Gervais down the wing for a shot on goal. The puck bounced off Jackson Parsons’ pads to Dean Loukus who quickly backhanded it behind the sprawling goaltender.

 

The second period ended tied 2-2 with Saginaw outshooting Kitchener 20-9 (12-4 in the second period).

 

At 10:27 of the 3rd period, Kitchener’s Luke Ellinas received a major penalty for slew footing.

 

The Saginaw Spirit capitalized on the opportunity when Hunter Haight rifled a shot from the right faceoff dot past Parson’s glove. The power play goal gave Saginaw their first lead of the night, 3-2, over Kitchener. Calem Mangone and Michael Misa were credited with the assists on Saginaw’s third unanswered goal.

 

With 1:55 left in the game, Zayne Parekh would be sent to the penalty box for hooking to give Kitchener another power play opportunity. The Rangers also pulled Jackson Parsons, making it six on four. With a shot block from Braden Haché and saves from Andrew Oke, the Spirit weathered the storm and held on for the 3-2 win.

 

The Saginaw Spirit will return to the Dow Event Center on Saturday, January 6th to take on the Peterborough Petes. Puck drop is at 7:05 pm.