Saginaw builds 3-0 lead en route to 3-2 victory
SAGINAW -- The Saginaw Spirit bested the London Knights by a score of 3-2 Saturday night at The Dow Event Center of Saginaw. Defenseman Ryan O’Connor earned the game’s first star honors with two assists in the effort. The Spirit lead the OHL Western Conference with 54 points and a 25-8-3-1 record.
The Spirit kicked off the game with three consecutive goals, the first coming on the power play from winger Jordan Szwarz at 12:35 in the first from defenseman Brad Walch. Center Vincent Trocheck posted a goal at 13:10 in the period from winger Brandon Saad and defenseman Ryan O’Connor to make it 2-0 Saginaw. The second period saw center Ivan Telegin move the score to 3-0 Saginaw with a goal at the 10:00 minute mark, assisted by winger Michael Kantor and O’Connor.
The Knights would challenge late in the third period, pushing within one goal of the Spirit. Winger Vladislav Namestnikov would tally two goals, the first at 9:49 from center Dane Fox and the second at 19:00 from center Danny Elser. Depsite the push, the Spirit retained the one goal lead to secure the win and the two points.
Spirit goalie Mavric Parks tallied 23 saves on 25 shots, while Knights netminder Igor Bobkov posted 25 saves on 28 shots.
