Saginaw returns home to host Battalion Friday night

SAGINAW, Mich. (WNEM) - The Saginaw Spirit (30-21-2-1) return home from a four-game road trip to host the North Bay Battalion (36-15-2-1) Friday, February 24, at the Dow Event Center.

Tonight’s Game:

Puck drop is at 7:05 p.m.

Tonight is Covenant Kids Night and the first game of Ice Blast weekend. Numerous inflatable bounce houses will be set up in the Budweiser Red Room, and the Zooperstars will be performing during the second intermission.

Tickets:

Ticketmaster

Phone: (989) 497-7747

In-Person: Saginaw Spirit Store (6321 State St.), Dow Event Center Box Office

Broadcast:

Television: CHL TV, CHL App, Cable 14 (Ontario), OHL Action Pak Ch. 463

Radio: 100.5 FM WSGW, WSGW.com

Last Time:

Saginaw defeated the Mississauga Steelheads 3-1 Monday, February 20, at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre. Andrew Oke started for Saginaw, stopping 31 of 32 shots faced. Matyas Sapovaliv potted two goals while Dean Loukus earned two assists for the Spirit.

Box Score & Highlights

North Bay fell 3-2 to the Ottawa 67′s Monday, February 20, at TD Place in Ottawa, Ontario. Matvey Petrov and Anthony Romani each scored a goal for the Battalion.

Box Score & Highlights

This Season:

This is the second of two meetings between these two teams this season, with North Bay winning the first contest, 4-2, on December 11, 2022. Kyle Jackson netted a goal and an assist for the Battalion while Dom DiVincentiis let in two goals on 38 shots. Saginaw’s Liam Storch scored his first OHL goal and goaltender Tristan Lennox made 16 saves on 20 shots.

Players to Watch:

Saginaw’s Calem Mangone has been a model of consistency as of late, earning six points in seven games. In that span, the forward has two goals and four assists. Dean Loukus leads his team in assists with 33. Matyas Sapovaliv and Michael Misa are tied for the team lead in goals (21). Misa has the sole lead in points (50) for Saginaw. Tristan Lennox holds the best goals against average (GAA) for his club, posting a 3.24. Andrew Oke has the best save percentage (SV%), at .891.

This marks the return of Josh Bloom and Brayden Hislop to Saginaw after they were traded to North Bay on November 16. Bloom had 16 points (7G, 9A) in 19 games with the Spirit and has 39 points (18G, 21A) in 37 games with the Battalion. Hislop had seven points (2G, 5A) at the time of the trade and eight points (1G, 7A) for North Bay.

Matvey Petrov is fifth in the OHL points race (77) and third in assists (53). The Edmonton Oilers prospect leads the Battalion in the same categories. Kyle Jackson’s 28 goals are the most for a North Bay skater. Dom DiVincentiis is first in the OHL for GAA (2.45) and second in SV% (.914).

Saginaw has three (3) players drafted into the National Hockey League (NHL), including Matyas Sapovaliv (Vegas), Tristan Lennox (New York Islanders), and Hunter Haight (Minnesota).

North Bay has the most players of any OHL team drafted by NHL franchises (9), including Justin Ertel (Dallas), Liam Arnsby (Florida), Josh Bloom (Buffalo), Matvey Petrov (Edmonton), Kyle Jackson (Seattle), Pasquale Zito (Detroit), Tnias Mathurin (Detroit), Ty Nelson (Seattle), and Dom DiVincentiis (Winnipeg).