Bloom scores two, Beck and Parekh add 3 assists each in Game 1 win
Photo: Steven Frank
Saginaw, Mich. — The Saginaw Spirit defeated the Owen Sound Attack in Game 1of the OHL playoffs, 6-4 at the Dow Event Center. Josh Bloom and Hunter Haight both netted two goals, Zayne Parekh and Owen Beck both collected three assists, and Owen Sound had four different goal scorers. Carter George started for the Attack, stopping 40 of 45 while Andrew Oke completed his first OHL playoff win by stopping 24 of 28.
Saginaw opened the scoring just 52 seconds into the game with a goal from Josh Bloom. After Owen Beck won an offensive zone faceoff in the right circle, Bloom rushed in from the wall and fired a puck past Carter George’s blocker for his first of the playoffs and a 1-0 lead.
At 4:08 into the first, Landon Hookey scooped up a loose puck below the goal line proceeding to move the puck to the other side of the net. Still behind the net, Servac Petrovsky skated down from the slot to collect the pass and look into the center. After spotting Cedrick Guindon skating into the slot, Petrovsky fed him with a pass for the equalizer.
Late into the first period, Zayne Parekh moved the puck from his point possession at the blue line to Owen Beck who was standing atop the right faceoff circle. A quick pass from Beck into the high slot found Josh Bloom who looked to take a shot. Bloom’s quick wrister flew past the blocker of goaltender Carter George for a 2-1 lead that the Spirit would take into the second period.
AFTER 1: SAG 1 – 1 OS (Total Shots: 16 – 12)
Owen Sound did not stay down long, scoring just 45 seconds into the second period. Declan Waddick caught a pass from below the goal line by Sam McCue and beat Oke wide to tie the game.
Minutes later, Deni Goure added his first of the playoffs with assists from Colby Barlow and Taos Jordan. The Attack grabbed their first lead of the night, 3-2.
At 7:12, Nic Sima gained control of the puck and looked to Ethan Hay. The Tampa Bay prospect knocked down the hot pass from Sima and brushed the puck off to Rodwin Dionicio. His shot glanced off the shoulder of Carter George and into the net to tie the game just 34 seconds later.
After killing off a long 5-on-3 penalty kill, Joey Willis attempted to stuff home a puck laying atop the blue paint. The rebound was sent by Zayne Parekh to the side of the net, where Michael Misa jammed it home for the 4-3 lead
AFTER 2: SAG 4 – 3 OS (2nd Period Shots: 15 – 12 Total Shots: 31 – 24)
At 17:28 into the third, Zayne Parekh controlled the puck near the blue line and played the puck to the left circle finding Owen Beck. The Montreal prospect ripped a shot on goal that was knocked aside by Carter George right into the path of Hunter Haight. He quickly slammed the puck into the open net to extend the Saginaw lead to two.
Just 30 seconds later, and with Owen Sound pulling their goaltender, Matyas Sapovaliv intercepted a pass and knocked the puck over to Braden Haché who played the puck up the boards looking for Hunter Haight, who guided home the empty netter for the 6-3 lead.
After picking the puck up in the neutral zone, Konnor Smith entered the zone with seconds to go and let a shot go from the blueline that caught goaltender Andrew Oke off guard. It snuck into the net, setting a 6-4 finish.
FINAL: SAG 6 – 4 OS (3rd Period Shots: 15 – 4 Total Shots: 46 – 28)
Powerlay: SAG 0/1 – OS 0/3
Goaltenders: SAG Andrew Oke (24 saves / 28 shots, W) – OS Carter George (40 saves / 45 shots, L)
Game 2 will take place at the Dow Event Center on Saturday March 30th with puck drop set for 7:05 PM. Tickets are on sale now.
