The first fifteen games of the 2016-17 Ontario Hockey League season could not have started any worse for the Saginaw Spirit, averaging just 2.1 goals per game through those first 15 games with only two wins.
The Spirit (7-11-2-1) have definitely turned things around for the better, winning five of its last six games while scoring 30 goals, for a 5-goal per game average over those six games, which includes a 4-2 win over the Owen Sound Attack (12-11-1-0) at the Dow Event Center tonight.
The Spirit scored 3 goals in the third period to erase a 2-1 deficit on its way to the win tonight.
Owen Sound would strike first when Finnish super star Petrus Pelmu (16) beat Spirit goal tender Evan Cormier for his sixteenth goal of the season at 4:10 of the first period.
Spirit defenseman Filip Hronek (second round pick of the Detroit Red Wings 2016 NHL draft) tied the game at 1-goal apiece with his third of the season from Kirill Maksimov and Mitchell Stephens (second round pick Tampa Bay Lightning 2015 NHL draft) at 13:44 of the first period.
Spirit rookie Kyle Bollers was whistled for tripping at 15:01 of the second period and Owen Sound capitalized when Nick Suzuki (12) scored his twelfth goal of the season on the power play at 15:53 of the second period for a 2-1 lead.
The Spirit, however, would take over in the third period and answer with its own power play goal when Hayden Hodgson (7) scored his seventh of the season from Kris Bennett at 12:26 of the third period to tie the game at 2 goals apiece.
Defenseman Marcus Crawford (2) scored his second of the season, the eventual game winner from Maksimov at 14:43 of the third period.
Saginaw forward Matthew Kreis (3) would round out the scoring with an insurance goal, his third of the season from Cole Coskey and Stephens at 16:54 of the third.
Cormier stopped 31 of the 33 shots he faced in goal for the Spirit tonight, while his counterpart Emanuel Vella turned away 38 of the 42 shots he faced for Owen Sound.
The Spirit are off until the night before thanksgiving when they will travel down I-75 to play the Flint Firebirds (12-9-0-1) in the second leg of the 2016-17 I-75 Divide Cup Series at the Dort Federal Event Center Wed. night. Flint beat the Spirit with a 4-0 shutout in the season opener earlier this year.
info@review-mag.com
989-780-4162
Nov 20, 2016
Comments (0)