Game Day Preview: Spirit face road test in Kitchener Friday
TV: Rogers TV 20 | OHL Action Pak Ch. 471 | WNEM TV 5+ (Sun. 1/5, 8 p.m.)
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Kitchener, ON – The West Division leading Saginaw Spirit (21-10-2-2 46 pts.) put their season-high six-game winning streak on the line Friday, January 3 when they hit the road to take on the Kitchener Rangers (20-11-2-2 44 pts.) for the third of four meetings this season. Puck drop from the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium in Kitchener, Ontario begins at 7:30 p.m.
Saginaw defeated Kitchener 5-3 on home ice in the last matchup earlier this season and the Spirit are 4-1-1-0 against the Rangers in the past two seasons. Saginaw was recognized with an honorable mention in the latest Kia CHL Top-10 ranking to start the year 2020.
Fans can catch all the action on the flagship WSGW Newsradio 100.5 FM and www.wsgw.com with the voice of Saginaw Spirit hockey Joey Battaino on the call. “Countdown to Face-off” begins at 7:15 with James Paxson.
Tonight’s watch party is at the Buffalo Wild Wings location at 2690 Tittabawassee Road in Saginaw. Admission is free of charge.
The Spirit are coming off a 3-1 victory over the West Division rival Soo Greyhounds on Monday evening to extend their winning streak to a season-high, six games.
Top 2020 NHL Draft prospect Cole Perfetti opened the scoring in the game against the Greyhounds to extend his point-streak to five games. The Saginaw Spirit leading scorer has five goals and five assists for 10 points during the five-game streak. In Perfetti’s 34 games played this season, the Saginaw center has been held scoreless in just seven contests this season.
Saginaw Spirit all-time games played leader Cole Coskey collected the assist on Perfetti’s first period goal against the Soo to extend his point-streak to six-games. With 198 career points, the New York Islanders prospect is just two points away from tying Saginaw Spirit alum Tom Pyatt (200) for sixth all-time as a Spirit player.
2020 NHL Draft prospect Ethan Cardwell found the back of the net twice in the game against the Soo Greyhounds Monday night. The Spirit rookie is fourth among Spirit players with 11 goals this season in 33 games.
Grand Blanc, Michigan native Dalton Duhart assisted on each of Cardwell’s third period goals in Monday night’s victory. With the multi-point effort, Duhart was honored with the game’s third star.
Saginaw Spirit captain Damien Giroux’s four-game goal-streak came to an end in the victory over the Soo Monday. Giroux, a 2018 fifth-round pick of the Minnesota Wild, leads the Spirit with 22 goals in just 34 games this season.
Saginaw goaltender Marshall Frappier has been victorious in his last six starts for the Spirit. During Saginaw’s current winning streak, the Spirit netminder has 2.67 goals against average along and a save percentage of .904.
The Spirit will face one of the hottest netminders in the OHL in Los Angeles Kings prospect Jacob Ingham Friday evening. The Kitchener Rangers goaltender is coming off a 35-save performance in Kitchener’s 6-1 victory over the Erie Otters on New Year’s Eve. Ingham is among the league leaders in wins (16), goals against average (2.61), and save percentage (.926) this season. Ingham was named OHL Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 16 and has won 10 of his last 11 starts.
Dallas Stars prospect Riley Damiani leads the Rangers offensively this season with 41 points in 34 games. The Mississauga, Ontario native Damiani contributed two assists in Tuesday’s victory over the Otters.
Overager Jonathan Yantsis leads the Rangers this season with 23 goals in 35 games. The Markham, Ontario native led the Kitchener Rangers last season with 50 goals and played in all 68 regular season games.
The Kitchener Rangers have four players with rights owned by NHL teams in forward Riley Damiani (Dallas Stars), defensemen Axel Bergkvist (Arizona Coyotes), Michael Vukojevic (New Jersey Devils), and goaltender Jacob Ingham (Los Angeles Kings).
The Rangers have two players listed in the 2020 NHL Central Scouting ‘Players to Watch’ list in ‘B’ prospects Donovan Sebrango, along with ‘C’ prospect Ville Ottavainen.
The Saginaw Spirit have a total of four players on their roster with NHL ties. Blade Jenkins (NY Islanders), Cole Coskey (NY Islanders), Mason Millman (Philadelphia), and Damien Giroux (Minnesota).
Saginaw has two players listed in the 2020 NHL Central Scouting ‘Players to Watch’ list, including ‘A’ prospect Cole Perfetti. Ilya Solovyov is listed as a ‘C’ prospect.
The NHL Central Scouting Service uses letter grades to classify their rankings. ‘A’ prospect is classified as a potential first round pick. A ‘B’ prospect is classified as a second or third round candidate. A ‘C’ prospect is classified as a potential fourth, fifth, or sixth round pick.
The Saginaw Spirit return home Saturday, January 4 when they host the Oshawa Generals for Ted Lindsay Night at The Dow Event Center at 7:05 p.m. The Ted Lindsay Trophy is making an appearance prior to the game in the Budweiser Red Room where patrons will have a photograph opportunity with the trophy.
To purchase tickets to any Saginaw Spirit home game call (989) 497-7747, visit www.saginawspirit.com, or visit the Saginaw Spirit Store at 5789 State Street, Saginaw MI.
