Series HQ: Saginaw vs. Sault Ste. Marie

Game 7: Mangone scores third period winner as Spirit advance
Saginaw 3 vs. Sault Ste. Marie 1 – Saginaw wins series 4-3

• Calem Mangone broke a 1-1 tie midway through the third to send the Spirit to their second Western Conference Final appearance in team history
• Mangone scored the game winning goal in three of Saginaw’s four wins the series
• Nashville Predators prospect Joey Willis opened the scoring for the Spirit ten minutes into the first
• Gavin Hayes buried the lone Soo goal, capitalizing on a rebound from an Arttu Karki shot with 4:50 remaining in the second period
• Matyas Sapovaliv iced the game for Saginaw with an empty netter with only one minute remaining
• Nolan Lalonde made 16 saves to earn the win, as well as an assist on Sapovaliv’s empty net goal
• Charlie Schenkel kept the Soo in the game, stopping 31-of-33 shots
• Both Soo’s Owen Allard and Saginaw’s Zayne Parekh were out of the lineup due to injury
• Spirit captain Braden Hache returned to the lineup after serving a two-game suspension, recording an assist
• Greyhound overagers Jack Beck, Jacob Frasca and Jordan D’Intino made their final OHL appearances
• A series-high 5,064 fans packed the Dow Event Center for the Tuesday night matchup

Game Centre & Highlights | Saginaw Post-Game | Soo Post-Game

See you in the Western Conference Finals 🫡 pic.twitter.com/KNBWjNPfX0

— Saginaw Spirit (@SpiritHockey) April 24, 2024

Game 6: Another Schenkel shutout sends series to Game 7
Sault Ste. Marie 5 vs. Saginaw 0 – Series tied 3-3

• Charlie Schenkel earns his second shutout of the series, stopping all 24 Saginaw shots; he becomes the first Hounds goaltender to have two shutouts in a single series since Ray Emery vs. Erie in 2000
• Chicago Blackhawks prospect Gavin Hayes scored two goals for the Soo
• Jack Back tallied a goal and two assists
• Jacob Frasca and Marco Mignosa rounded out the scoring with goals in the final 20 seconds of the first and second periods respectively
• The Hounds went 2-for-6 on the power play to Saginaw’s 0-for-5; the Spirit are 3-for-27 in the series
• Nolan Lalonde made 29 saves in the Saginaw effort
• Saginaw defenceman Zayne Parekh left the game with an injury in the second period and did not return
• James Guo was assessed a five-minute major for slashing with only 5:24 remaining in the third
• Spirit blueliner Josh Glavin made his 2024 playoff debut
• A sold-out Sunday night crowd of 4,918 packed the GFL Memorial Gardens for this matchup

Game Centre & Highlights | Soo Post-Game | Saginaw Post-Game

GAME 6✅ pic.twitter.com/BD2yaEjPie

— Soo Greyhounds (@OHLHoundPower) April 22, 2024

Game 5: Mangone scores pivotal OT winner as Spirit pull ahead
Saginaw 3 vs. Sault Ste. Marie 2 (OT) – Saginaw leads series 3-2

• Calem Mangone buried a loose puck off a scramble in front of Hounds goaltender Charlie Schenkel to give the Spirit a 3-2 series lead
• Mangone, along with teammate Matyas Sapovaliv each had a goal and an assist in the game
• Minnesota Wild prospect Hunter Haight tied the game for Saginaw on the power play midway through the third
• Jack Beck scored his first goal of the playoffs for the Soo, returning to the lineup following a seven-game absence
• New York Rangers prospect Bryce McConnell-Barker scored the other Hounds goal
• Owen Allard took a penalty shot with 6:48 remaining in the third, but was stopped by the glove of Nolan Lalonde
• Ethan Hay won 11-of-12 faceoffs that he took for Saginaw
• Lalonde earned third star honours, making 32 saves to earn the win
• Charlie Schenkel stopped 37-of-40 in the Greyhounds effort
• Saginaw registered 11 of the first 12 shots on goal in the game
• 4,807 fans showed up to the Dow Event Center for the Friday night matchup

Game Centre & Highlights | Saginaw Post-Game | Soo Post-Game

One of the biggest goals in @SpiritHockey history, courtesy Calem Mangone 📸#OHLPlayoffs | #SAGvsSOO pic.twitter.com/dpfzeIt8jI

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) April 20, 2024

Game 4: Schenkel rebounds with shutout as Hounds even series
Sault Ste. Marie 4 vs. Saginaw 0 – Series tied 2-2

• Charlie Schenkel stopped all 27 shots he faced in Game 4, helping the Greyhounds knot the series at two in a 4-0 win
• New York Rangers prospect Bryce McConnell-Barker scored twice and added an assist
• Jordan D’Intino and Marco Mignosa added Soo markers while Gavin Hayes had two assists
• The Greyhounds went 2-for-6 on the power play while Saginaw was held to 0-for-4
• Nolan Lalonde made 24 saves in the Spirit crease
• The loss was Saginaw’s first road defeat of the playoffs, it was also their first time being shutout all season
• Saginaw captain Braden Haché was assessed a five-minute major for slew-footing and a game misconduct in the third period
• Jack Beck remained out of the Soo lineup while Saginaw was without star defenceman Zayne Parekh
• A Wednesday crowd of 4,720 took in Game 4 at GFL Memorial Gardens

Game Centre & Highlights

A 27-save shutout performance from Charlie Schenkel 🔥#OHLPlayoffs | #SAGvsSOO | @OHLHoundPower pic.twitter.com/tfcA5UIwlW

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) April 18, 2024

Game 3: Lalonde delivers, defence chips in as Spirit rebound on the road
Saginaw 7 at Sault Ste. Marie 2 – Saginaw leads series 2-1

• Tied at two midway through regulation, Saginaw struck for five unanswered, scoring four times in the third period
• Soo native Calem Mangone scored twice for the Spirit while defenders Jorian Donovan and Rodwin Dionicio each had a goal and an assist
• Alex Christopoulos, Braden Haché and Sebastien Gervais all found the back of the net for Saginaw
• Josh Bloom and Owen Beck each had a pair of assists
• Gavin Hayes and Jordan D’Intino scored Soo goals less than two minutes apart in the second period
•  With Andrew Oke injured, Nolan Lalonde got the start for Sault Ste. Marie in Game 3 and stopped 21-of-23, including a penalty shot attempt by Justin Cloutier
• The win was Lalonde’s first career OHL playoff victory
• Monday’s game was played before a crowd of 4,668 at GFL Memorial Gardens

Game Centre & Highlights | Saginaw Post-Game

🗣️ "WHAT A SAVE"

Nolan Lalonde (#CBJ) flashes the glove on the penalty shot!#OHLPlayoffs | #SAGvsSOO | @SpiritHockey pic.twitter.com/TVf3z71WXc

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) April 16, 2024

Game 2: D’Intino buries three as Hounds even series
Sault Ste. Marie 5 at Saginaw 2 – Series tied at 1-1

• Jordan D’Intino scored two goals in the third period to complete the hat-trick and even the series for the Soo; It’s the first Greyhounds postseason hat-trick since Morgan Frost scored three on April 12th, 2019, also in Saginaw
• Owen Allard scored the game-winner with just under five minutes remaining in the second period
• Julian Fantino opened the scoring with his first goal of the postseason
• 2024 NHL Draft prospect Zayne Parekh used his smooth shot to score a power play goal for the Spirit
• Nic Sima added the other Saginaw goal
• Charlie Schenkel made 25 saves to earn the win
• Greyhounds captain Bryce McConnell-Barker was assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct for checking to the head 8:32 into the second period
• Saginaw goaltender Andrew Oke was injured on the aforementioned infraction and left the game; Nolan Lalonde played the remainder of the game for the Spirit
• 4,929 fans packed the Dow Event Center for the Saturday night matchup

Game Centre & Highlights | Saginaw Post-Game

Have a night, Jordan D'Intino! 🤩

The @OHLHoundPower forward completes the hat-trick, closing the show to lead the Hounds to an impressive Game 2 victory 📽️#OHLPlayoffs | #SAGvsSOO pic.twitter.com/vU1PsQFdf7

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) April 14, 2024

Game 1: Oke flawless as Spirit start series strong
Saginaw 4 vs. Sault Ste. Marie 0 – Saginaw leads series 1-0

• Andrew Oke was the game’s first star, stopping all 39 shots he faced in a 4-0 win
• After a scoreless first, Saginaw had second period goals from Hunter Haight and Calem Mangone before Alex Christopoulos and Matyas Sapovaliv scored in the third
• Charlie Schenkel stopped 31-of-34 for the Greyhounds
• Travis Hayes returned to the Soo lineup while overage winger Jack Beck remained sidelined
• A crowd of 3,506 took in Game 1 at the Dow Event Center

Game Centre & Highlights | Saginaw Post-Game | Soo Post-Game

SHUT THAT NET, OKEY 🥅 pic.twitter.com/r2n5FXq4r4

— Saginaw Spirit (@SpiritHockey) April 12, 2024

(2) Saginaw Spirit (50-16-1-1) vs. (3) Soo Greyhounds (45-18-3-2)

Soo Series Preview

An eight-game season series where the home team didn’t manage to win a game – not even one!

The Saginaw Spirit and Soo Greyhounds will settle the score in the Western Conference Semi-Finals, with the Memorial Cup host Spirit looking to fulfill their destiny up against a Greyhounds group setting out to crash the party in mid-Michigan.

The Spirit come off a 4-0 series sweep of the Owen Sound Attack, outscoring the Bears 18-8. They look to hit the ice flying on home ice Thursday night after a lengthy break for both teams.

The Greyhounds enter play off a sweep of their own, eliminating the Guelph Storm in four first round contests. The series triumph came at a cost as Sault Ste. Marie lost overage veteran Jack Beck to injury in Game 1 and he didn’t return for the rest of the series. Hounds coach John Dean told Peter Ruicci that Beck, who was their leading scorer during the regular season, “could play in Saginaw.” He provided a similar outlook on rookie forward Travis Hayes, who has been out of the lineup with an upper body injury.

Ruicci described the series as “two speeding trains heading towards each other – on the same track,” and you can read his preview here.

Former exceptional status first overall OHL Priority Selection choice Michael Misa has been playing great hockey of late, recording five points (3-2–5) in four first round outings. Misa led all players in the eight-game season series between Saginaw and the Soo, recording 12 points (6-6–12) against the Greyhounds.

The series offers an intriguing goaltending matchup as two undrafted 19-year-olds in Saginaw’s Andrew Oke and Sault Ste. Marie’s Charlie Schenkel try and take their teams to the next level. Oke (89th) was selected just two picks before Schenkel (91st) in the 2020 OHL Priority Selection as the two veterans, who have each shown glimpses of being big game performers throughout their time in the league, look to be a positive factor in the series.

You’d think home ice advantage would play into Saginaw’s favour in a series between the two teams, but does it? Find out when the puck drops on Game 1 Thursday night at the Dow Event Center. See the entire series on OHL Live.

A highly anticipated clash of West Division powers is slated for Round 2!#OHLPlayoffs | #SAGvsSOO pic.twitter.com/KslJIBStUD

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) April 5, 2024

Series Schedule:
Game 1 – Thursday, April 11 at Saginaw, 7:05pm
Game 2 – Saturday, April 13 at Saginaw, 7:05pm
Game 3 – Monday, April 15 at Sault Ste. Marie, 7:07pm
Game 4 – Wednesday, April 17 at Sault Ste. Marie, 7:07pm
Game 5 – Friday, April 19 at Saginaw, 7:05pm*
Game 6 – Sunday, April 21 at Sault Ste. Marie, 7:07pm*
Game 7 – Tuesday, April 23 at Saginaw, 7:05pm*

*- if necessary

Season Series:
Each team won four games
Oct. 27 – SOO 5 at SAG 4 (SO)
Nov. 29 – SOO 4 at SAG 3
Dec. 1 – SAG 3 at SOO 1
Dec. 28 – SOO 5 at SAG 2
Dec. 31 – SAG 4 at SOO 3
Jan. 31 – SOO 5 at SAG 3
Feb. 11 – SAG 3 at SOO 0
Mar. 24 – SAG 9 at SOO 2

Playoff History:
This marks the sixth time that Saginaw and Sault Ste. Marie have met in the OHL Playoffs
– 2019 SAG def. SOO 4-2 – 2nd Round / 2018 SOO def. SAG 4-0 – 1st Round / 2015 SOO def. SAG 4-0 – 1st Round / 2008 SOO def. SAG 4-0 – 1st Round / 2007 SOO def. SAG 4-2 – 1st Round