Sudbury, Ont. – The Saginaw Spirit (19-8-2-0) scored four unanswered goals in the third period to claim a 4-2 win over the Sudbury Wolves (8-14-3-0) at the Sudbury Community Arena.
Saginaw scored four goals in the third period, started by Luke McNamara early in the third period. With the win tonight, the Spirit have swept the two-game season series against the Wolves.
New York Islanders prospect Tristan Lennox made 29 saves on 31 shots in his 13th win of the season. Joe Ranger minded the crease for Sudbury, stopping 18 of 22 in the loss.
The game opened with a fight between Cam Gauvreau and Nathan Villeneuve at 4:23. Both players sat, and the tone was set for the night.
Saginaw went down a skater after Matyas Sapovaliv took a tripping at 11:31 in the opening period. The Spirit killed off the penalty despite facing several shots.
Quentin Musty was called for hooking at 15:43 in the first frame, giving Saginaw a man-advantage. Sudbury successfully killed off the chance.
At the end of the first period, neither team scored despite the Wolves outshooting the Spirit, 13-6.
The second period started with Sudbury’s first goal of the game at 6:09. Landon McCallum tossed the puck forward to Ethan Larmand to start the play. Larmand then skated in front of Lennox and found the back of the net for his fifth goal of the season. Matthew Mania earned an assist on the play.
The Wolves struck again at 8:08 in the middle frame. Jacob Holmes skated into the zone and dropped the puck off to Quentin Musty. The winger then passed into the right-wing circle, where David Goyette ripped a shot over Lennox’s glove for his 18th goal of the season.
Sudbury got a man-advantage after Dean Loukus took a high sticking penalty at 13:32 in the second frame. The Spirit were able to successfully deny the Wolves from adding to their lead.
After 40 minutes of play, Sudbury controlled the game with a 2-0 lead and a 25-15 lead in shots.
The third period opened with Saginaw scoring their first goal of the contest at 2:47. Joey Willis and Nic Sima teamed up to win a puck battle in the left-wing corner. From there, Sima passed found Luke McNamara in front of the net where he potted his fifth goal of the season.
The Spirit tied the game at 8:05 in the final period. PJ Forgione deflected a Mitchell Smith point shot from the right point. Luke McNamara earned an assist on the play.
Saginaw took the lead at 8:32 in the third frame. Minnesota Wild prospect Hunter Haight extended his point streak by passing to behind the net where Michael Misa received the puck. Overager Theo Hill scored his seventh goal of the season on a point-blank shot after getting the puck from Misa.
Calem Mangone extended the Spirit’s lead at 11:51 in the final frame. Zayne Parekh gave the puck to Dean Loukus who ripped a shot at Ranger. The puck bounced off him and Mangone scooped it up for his eighth goal of the season.
Roberto Mancini took an interference penalty at 15:50 in the third frame, resulting in a Sudbury powerplay. The Spirit stopped the Wolves from making a comeback on the chance.
With time running out, the Wolves pulled Ranger with just two minutes remaining. Matyas Sapovaliv was committed a delay of game penalty at 18:42, but the Spirit were able to hold off the Wolves and claim a 4-2 win despite a 31-22 shot deficit.
With the win, Saginaw improves to 19-8-2-0 on the season.
The Spirit’s next game is against the North Bay Battalion Sunday, December 11, at the North Bay Memorial Gardens. Puck drop is at 2:00 p.m.
By Matthew Wesolowski
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