Saginaw seeks to extend season in Game 4

SAGINAW, Mich. (WNEM) - The Saginaw Spirit (4-6) face the Sarnia Sting (7-2) in Game 4 of their second round series Thursday, April 20, at the Dow Event Center. Trailing the Sting 3-0, the Spirit need a win to keep the series going.

Tonight’s Game:

Puck drop is at 7:05 p.m.

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, OHL Action Pak Ch. 467

Radio: 100.5 FM WSGW, WSGW.com

The Series So Far:

After taking both games at home, Sarnia took a firm grip on the series with a 5-3 win on April 18. While the game was a back-and-forth, the latter half of the third period is when the scoring picked up. Zayne Parekh had tied the game at 2-2 just after the 11-minute mark, but Sarnia’s Sandis Vilmanis retook the lead just a few minutes later. The Spirit called Tristan Lennox to the bench numerous times in the final minutes, seeing a pair of empty netters against them along with another Zayne Parekh goal. Ben Gaudreau held off the Spirit in the final minutes of Game 3, stopping 30 of 33 shots and securing the 3-0 series lead.

Players to Watch:

Rookie defenseman Zayne Parekh has nearly a point-per-game performance in his first postseason, with six goals and three assists (nine points) in ten games. Matyas Sapovaliv’s eight goals and 17 points are each the most for any Spirit skater, as well as second in the OHL this postseason. The Vegas Golden Knights prospect shares the team assist lead with Dean Loukus with nine. Tristan Lennox has started every game in the playoffs, and has a 2.51 goals against average (GAA) and a .911 save percentage (SV%).

Ethan Del Mastro and Ty Voit both have eight assists, the most of any Sting skater. Nolan Burke and Luca Del Bel Belluz each found the back of the net in Game 3, giving them the co-lead of their team with five goals each. Burke is the leading scorer for the Sting with 12 points. Benjamin Gaudreau holds top goaltending marks for Sarnia, posting a 2.33 GAA and a .909 SV%.

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).

Sarnia has ten (10) players with NHL ties, including Sandis Vilmanis (Florida), Sasha Pastujov (Anaheim), Luca Del Bel Belluz (Columbus), Nolan Burke (Nashville, FA), Ty Voit (Toronto), Ryan Mast (Boston), Christian Kyrou (Dallas), Ethan Del Mastro (Chicago), Chandler Romeo (Ottawa), and Benjamin Gaudreau (San Jose).