Spirit fall to IceDogs Thursday night
St. Catherines, Ont. – The Saginaw Spirit fell to the Niagara IceDogs on Thursday, January 9th by a score of 7-2. Michael Misa and Kristian Epperson each had a two-point night with a goal and an assist. Andrew Oke got the start in net for the Spirit, recording 23 saves on 30 shots. Owen Flores was the starting goaltender for Niagara, tallying 26 saves on 28 shots.
Midway through the first period, Sean Doherty went coast to coast and fired a shot into the back of the Spirit net. Callum Cheynowski got the assist as Niagara took a 1-0 lead.
With 2:37 left in the first period, the IceDogs added to their lead while on the powerplay. Andrei Loshko fired a one timer past Oke that gave Niagara a 2-0 lead. Braidy Wassilyn and Ethan Czata tallied the assists.
After 1: SAG 2 – 0 NIAG (Total Shots: 9 – 7)
Niagara opened the scoring 2:33 into the second as Andrei Loshko buried his second goal of the game on a shot from mid-range. Braidy Wassilyn recorded the assists giving the IceDogs a 3-0 lead.
The IceDogs capitalized on the powerplay once again as Braidy Wassilyn buried a one timer from Mathieu Paris. He and IceDogs captain Kevin He tallied the assists.
A minute later, Kristian Epperson buried Michael Misa’s rebound off the rush to get Saginaw on the board. Misa and James Guo picked up the assists as they cut the lead to 4-1.
Andrei Loshko completed the hat-trick as he beat Oke short side with a shot not long after. Braidy Wassilyn picked up an assist for his fifth point of the night while Mike Levin got the secondary assist giving the IceDogs a 5-1 lead.
After 2: SAG 1 – 5 NIAG (2nd Period Shots: 11 – 15 Totals Shots: 20 – 22)
The IceDogs got on the board first in the third period. Blake Arrowsmith deflected a shot from Blair Scott into the back of the net. Scott and Ethan Czata recorded the assists.
Kevin He added to Niagara’s lead 2:18 later as He sniped a shot over the shoulder of Oke. Alex Assadourian and Mathieu Paris tallied the assists as the IceDogs grew their lead to 7-1.
Saginaw was able to put another goal on the board as Michael Misa tapped in a rebound off a shot from Kristian Epperson. Epperson and PJ Forgione got the assists as the Spirit brought the score to 7-2.
FINAL: SAG 2 – 7 NIAG (3rd Period Shots: 8 – 8 Total Shots: 28 – 30)
Powerplays: SAG 0/2 NIAG 2/5
Goaltenders: SAG Andrew Oke (23 Saves / 30 Shots L) NIAG Owen Flores (26 Saves / 28 Shots W)
Saginaw travels to Erie to face the Otters on Friday, January 10th. Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM.
