Spirit close season series in Erie Saturday night
Erie, Penn. — The Saginaw Spirit (47-15-1-1) travel south to face the Erie Otters (29-28-5-2) at the Erie Insurance Center on Saturday, March 16th.
Tonight’s Game:
Puck drop is at 7:00 PM
Broadcast:
Television: CHL TV, CHL App, OHL Action Pak Ch. 467
Radio: 100.5 FM WSGW, WSGW.com
Last Time:
The Saginaw Spirit took on the Guelph Storm in a rematch on Friday, March 15th, at the Sleeman Centre. Brody Crane scored first but Alex Christopoulos soon followed him to score his 100th career OHL goal, tying the game at one apiece. Jake Karabela and Braeden Bowman scored the only two goals in the second period, giving the Guelph Storm a 3-1 lead. Vilmer Alriksson scored the fourth and final Guelph goal in the third but it wasn’t enough to stop the Spirit. A goal from Calem Mangone, a career 50th from Michael Misa, and a game tying goal from Matyas Sapovaliv sent the game into overtime tied 4-4. With only a few seconds left, Josh Bloom scored the game winner to beat the Guelph Storm, 5-4. Andrew Oke started between the pipes for Saginaw, saving 23 of 27 shots.
The Erie Otters faced off against the Niagara IceDogs at the Meridian Centre on Thursday, March 14th. Dylan Edwards scored two goals in the first for Erie but three goals coming from Kevin He, Gavin Bryant, and Ivan Galiyanov gave Niagara a 3-2 lead going into the second. Bryant scored another goal for the IceDogs but the Otters soon went on a five-goal streak to end the game. Two goals from Sam Alfano and the rest coming from Pano Fimis, Brett Hammond, and Martin Misiak gave the Erie Otters a 7-4 victory over the Niagara IceDogs. Ethan Fraser started for the Otters, saving 31 of 35 shots on goal.
This Season:
The Saginaw Spirit are 2-1-0-0 so far this season against the Erie Otters and 18-6-2-0 in the last five years. The last time Saginaw and Erie met was on February 10th at the Dow Event Center. Rodwin Dionicio and Josh Bloom scored the first two goals of the game but an Otter goal from Matthew Schaefer made the score 2-1 going into the second. Goals from Owen Beck, Joey Willis, and another from Rodwin Dionicio gave Saginaw a 5-2 victory over Erie. Boe Piroski saved 25 of 30 shots on goal for the Otters while Nolan Lalonde saved 26 of 28 shots on goal to defeat his former team.
Players to Watch:
Zayne Parekh continues to lead the Spirit in points with 88 (first among all OHL defensemen) and assists with 57 (tied for fifth in the OHL). Owen Beck leads Saginaw in goals with 33 and currently rides a 16-game scoring streak (12G-14A-26P) into Erie. Josh Bloom is currently on a eight game point streak collecting a total of five goals and seven assists. After last night’s game against the Guelph Storm, Michael Misa scored his 50th career goal, becoming the third fastest Exceptional Status OHLer to achieve this feat, playing in 108 games. Misa sits behind John Tavares (50 goals in 72 games) and Shane Wright (50 goals in 80 games). Andrew Oke leads the team in all major goaltending categories, including a 2.95 goals against average (GAA) (fourth in the OHL), a .890 save percentage (SV%), 27 wins (tied for third in the OHL), and two shutouts.
Pano Fimis leads the Erie Otters in points with 71 and assists with 48. Carey Terrance leads the team in goals with 29 with five being short handed goals (tied for second in the OHL). Ben Gaudreau leads the Otters in all major goaltending categories, including a 3.31 GAA, a .889 SV%, and 21 wins.
Saginaw currently has ten (10) players tied to the National Hockey League (NHL), including Joey Willis (Nashville), Josh Bloom (Vancouver), Matyas Sapovaliv (Vegas), Hunter Haight (Minnesota), Owen Back (Montreal), Ethan Hay (Tampa Bay), Braden Haché (Florida), Jorian Donovan (Ottawa), Rodwin Dionicio (Anaheim) and Nolan Lalonde (Columbus, FA).
Erie has three (3) players tied to the National Hockey League (NHL), including Carey Terrance (Anaheim), Martin Misiak (Chicago), and Ben Gaudreau (San Jose).
