Spirit Fall in Shootout to London 5-4
1/14/2012
Spirit Fall in Shootout to London 5-4
On Saturday night, the Spirit returned home from Sault St. Marie’s Essar Centre and were defeated by the London Knights by a score of 5-4 in a shootout. Scoring for Spirit was spread out amongst four players: Eric Locke, Brad Walch, Michael Fine and Josh Shalla.
In the first 27 seconds, center, Greg McKegg scored for the Knights. Right-wingers Seth Griffith and Vladislav Namestnikov assisted McKegg’s goal. At the 11:26 mark, McKegg would notch his second goal on a power play. Center, Austin Watson and Namestnikov assisted McKegg’s goal. Soon there after, left-winger Andreas Athanasiou would take a long shot and score for the Knights. Left-winger Matt Rupert would assist Athanasiou’s goal. The Spirit would remain scoreless heading into the second period.
4:41 in the second period, center, Eric Locke scored on a power play. Center, Vincent Trocheck and defensemen, Brandon Archibald assisted Locke’s goal. At the 10:50 mark, defensemen Brad Walch launched a shot and scored a power play goal. Left-winger Josh Shalla and defensemen Frank Schumacher assisted Walch’s goal. The Spirit would remain one goal down heading into the third period.
The beginning of the third period was an even battle between the two teams. At the 7:55 mark Michael Fine hung around the net and landed himself a rebound goal to tie the game 3-3. Shalla and defensemen Steven Strong assisted Fine’s goal. This would not be enough to stop the Knights. At the 10:55 mark, center, Austin Watson sniped a power play goal to one-up the Spirit. McKegg assisted Watson’s goal. The Spirit would tie the game late in the period, with a shorthanded goal by Josh Shalla to make the score 4-4. Trocheck assisted Shalla’s goal. Shalla’s goal would take the teams into overtime. Overtime was not enough time to claim a winner, so the teams headed into a shootout, in which London would score the only goal on a shot by Austin Watson. The final score would be 5-4.
For a complete game sheet, please visit www.ontariohockeyleague.com
Catch the Spirit! The Saginaw Spirit return home tomorrow Sunday January 15th 2012 to take on Mississauga. Puck drops at 4:00pm at The Dow Event Center. There will be a post-game skate with the players! For all ticket information, please contact the Spirit at 989-497-7747 or visit the Official Saginaw Spirit Ticket and Merchandise Store at 5789 State Street in Saginaw. Tickets can also be purchased at SaginawSpirit.com or any TicketMaster Outlet.
