Photo Credit: Freeze Frame Photos

In a battle of I-75 rivals, the Soo Greyhounds saw their three-game home stand spoiled as the visiting Saginaw Spirit skated to a 5–1 victory on Sunday, December 28th, at the Memorial Gardens in Ontario Hockey League West Division action.

Saginaw wasted little time taking control of the contest, striking three times in the opening period. Dimian Zhilkin opened the scoring at 12:30, finishing a play set up by Nikita Klepov and Egor Barabanov. The Spirit doubled their lead on the power play at 16:19 when Sebastien Gervais buried his 10th of the season, with Barabanov and Levi Harper drawing assists. Just 47 seconds later, Carson Harmer made it 3–0, capitalizing on a setup from Graydon Jones and Jacob Cloutier.

The Spirit continued to press in the second period and extended their lead to four late in the frame. With just 1:09 remaining, Egor Barabanov capped off a strong night by scoring his 16th goal of the season, assisted by Cloutier and Jones, giving Saginaw a commanding 4–0 edge heading into the third.

The Greyhounds showed some pushback late in the game, finally getting on the board at 17:15 of the third period on a power-play marker from Christopher Brown. Brown’s 13th of the season came with assists from Jordan Charron and Quinn McKenzie. However, any momentum was short-lived, as Gervais sealed the outcome with an empty-net goal at 17:49, his second of the night and 11th of the season, with assists from Nic Sima and Klepov.

Between the pipes, Spirit goaltender Stepan Shurygin was solid, stopping 25 of 26 shots to earn the win. Soo netminder Landon Miller faced heavy pressure, turning aside 26 of 32 shots in the loss.

The Spirit will next face the Sarnia Sting on the road Tuesday, December 30, with a 7:05 p.m puck drop, while the Greyhounds return to action on Wednesday, December 31, hosting the Flint Firebirds at the Memorial Gardens in a 4:07 p.m start.