Saginaw, Mich. – The Saginaw Spirit (24-10-2-0) rebounded after a loss on Wednesday with a 3-0 win over the Kitchener Rangers (15-16-2-0) Friday, January 6, at the Dow Event Center.
New York Islanders prospect Tristan Lennox earned his third career shutout and second this season with a 21-save performance. Anaheim Ducks prospect Pavel Mintyukov scored two goals and an assist, including the game winner.
The game opened with Saginaw on the offensive, outshooting the Rangers 6-1 through the first eight minutes.
The Spirit got found their powerplay first after Reid Valade took a roughing penalty at 8:45 in the first period, but the Rangers held Saginaw scoreless during the chance.
Saginaw found the back of the net first at 13:27 in the opening period. 2022 OHL first overall pick Michael Misa started the play by giving Roberto Mancini the puck. The defenseman rushed into the zone and shot at Vandenburg for a rebound. Pavel Mintyukov grabbed the puck and potted his 15th goal of the season to make it 1-0 Spirit.
Antonino Pugliese ended up in the penalty box after he tripped Lennox at 14:39 in the first frame. Saginaw was unable to add to their lead on the powerplay.
With 29 seconds remaining in the first period, Theo Hill committed a high sticking double minor penalty, which gave Kitchener their first man-advantage of the game. The penalty spanned the end of the first and beginning of the second periods.
At the end of the first period, Saginaw held a 1-0 lead and heavily outshot the Rangers, 12-4.
The second period started with Saginaw on a penalty kill from the previous period. With several shorthanded chances, the Spirit successfully killed off the penalty.
Shortly after the pervious penalty, Dean Loukus took a slashing penalty at 4:29 in the second frame. The Rangers were unsuccessful on the opportunity.
Cameron Mercer was called for delay of game at 6:55 in the middle period giving Saginaw a man-advantage. Right before the penalty expired, Mitchell Smith received a slashing penalty at 8:48. Filip Mesar then committed a tripping penalty at 9:30, which gave Saginaw a short powerplay. Neither team scored during the penalties.
The latter half of the second period saw Kitchener catch up in shots, but Lennox was able to stand strong and hold them scoreless for the rest of the period.
With 40 minutes played, Saginaw had command of the game with a 1-0 lead and a 17-10 shot advantage.
The third period opened with pressure and shots coming from the Rangers. With 12 minutes left, Kitchener had closed the shot gap to just two.
Saginaw extended their lead to two at 11:47 in the final period. Nic Sima started the play by getting the puck to Pavel Mintyukov. From there, the defensemen passed to Roberto Mancini, who picked up his own blocked shot and ripped another past Vandenberg’s blocker for his ninth goal of the season.
With time dwindling down, Vandenburg skated to the bench to get an extra attacker with two minutes left in the game. An empty net goal from Pavel Mintyukov, assisted by Hunter Haight and Matyas Sapovaliv secured the 3-0 Spirit win over the Rangers with a 27-21 shot advantage to boot.
Saginaw stays at home as they host the London Knights on Saturday night for ‘Love Shouldn’t Hurt’ night in conjunction with the Bay Area Women’s Center. Puck drop is at 7:05 p.m. and tickets are available at Ticketmaster, the Saginaw Spirit Store (6321 State Street), Dow Event Center Box Office, and by phone at (989) 497-7747.
By Matthew Wesolowski
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