Spirit ride Harmer’s first hat trick to victory over IceDogs
Photo: Steven Frank
Saginaw, Mich. – The Saginaw Spirit defeated the Niagara IceDogs by a score of 6-3 on Sunday, December 29th. Calem Mangone scored two goals and Carson Harmer netted his first career hat-trick. Kaleb Papineau got the start in goal for Saginaw stopping 32 of the 35 shots he faced. Charlie Robertson was the starting goaltender for Niagara tallying 50 saves on 55 shots.
Saginaw opened the scoring 5:12 into the game as Ethan Hay buried a rebound in front of the net. Sebastien Gervais and Nic Sima picked up the assists as the Spirit took an early 1-0 lead.
After 1: SAG 1 – 0 NIAG (Total Shots: 22 – 11)
After some back and forth passes, Calem Mangone fired a one-timer into the back of the net extending Saginaw’s lead. Zayne Parekh and James Guo recorded the assists just 1:12 into the second period.
Niagara got on the board as Ryan Rooboreck fired a shot past the glove of Papineau and into the back of the net. Jack Brauti and Blake Arrowsmith were credited with the assists.
Just 1:30 later the IceDogs tied the game as Mike Levin scored while on a breakaway. Mathieau Paris recorded the assist as the visitors tied the game at 2-2.
The Spirit answered right back as Jacob Cloutier skated behind the IceDogs’ net and found Carson Harmer who buried a one-timer from the slot. Cloutier and Zayne Parekh got the assists as Saginaw took a 3-2 lead with 12:50 left to play in the second.
Seven seconds into an IceDogs’ powerplay, Andrei Loshko sent a rebound into the back of the Spirit net. Mathieu Paris and Kevin He tallied the assists as they tied the game at 3-3.
After 2: SAG 3 – 3 NIAG (2nd Period Shots: 15 – 14 Totals Shots: 37 – 25)
Saginaw capitalized while on a man advantage as Zayne Parekh found Calem Mangone crashing the net, slapping the puck into the back of the net. Parekh and Michael Misa picked the assists as the Spirit took a 4-3 lead.
After a turnover in the neutral zone, Carson Harmer carried the puck into the offensive zone and fired a shot through the five-hole of Robertson. Harmer’s 13th of the season gave the Spirit a 5-3 lead with 7:45 left in the period.
With some dazzling moves in the neutral zone, Carson Harmer got back into the Niagara zone and sent the puck into the empty IceDogs net to complete the hat-trick. Dima Zhilkin got the assist as Saginaw took a 6-3 lead.
FINAL: SAG 6 – 3 NIAG (3rd Period Shots: 19 – 10 Total Shots: 56 – 35)
Powerplays: SAG 1/3 NIAG 1/2
Goaltenders: SAG Kaleb Papineau (32 Saves / 35 Shots W) NIAG Charlie Robertson (50 Saves / 55 Shots L)
Saginaw hosts the Ottawa 67s on Thursday, January 2nd to start the new year. Puck drop is set for 7:05 PM.
