Misa Scores Twice in Debut; Spirit Set Franchise Mark with 10 Goals in Home-Opening Win
October 1, 2022 – Ontario Hockey League (OHL) – Saginaw Spirit News Release
Saginaw Spirit’s Michael Misa in action
(Saginaw Spirit, Credit: Eric Young)
Sagainaw, Mich. – The Saginaw Spirit opened their 2022-23 regular season against the Guelph Storm with a 10-6 win in front of 4,359 fans at The Dow Event Center in Riverfront Saginaw, Michigan.
Nine Spirit players scored multi-point efforts, including Anaheim Ducks prospect Pavel Mintyukov, who led the way with a goal and four assists.
2025 NHL draft eligible Michael Misa scored twice for the Spirit in his OHL debut.
Guelph started the first period strong, leading seven to four in shots in the first half of play. Tristan Lennox made two quick stops back-to-back a minute into the period to keep the game scoreless.
Saginaw’s special teams shined by killing off two penalties in rapid succession. However, they were unable to convert on two power play opportunities, rendering both teams at two for two on the penalty kill in the first period.
Guelph got on the board first at 14:34 in the period. Winnipeg Jets prospect Danny Zhilkin scored his first of the season with the help of Jake Karabela. Michael Buchinger got the puck to Karabela to set-up a one-time shot to Zhilkin.
Saginaw struck back quickly at 14:52 in the first period. Calem Mangone scored the first goal of the season after Sebastien Gervais stole the puck from the Guelph players. The winger passed to Pavel Mintyukov who got the puck to Mangone for the wrist shot goal.
The Spirit took the lead of the game at 18:31 in the first period. Sebastien Gervais put the puck in the top of the net over the goaltender. Brayden Hislop started the opportunity by giving the puck to Joey Willis and worked his way to Gervais.
Saginaw extended their lead to three just before the end of the first. Calem Mangone got his second off a long pass from Mitchell Smith at 19:00 in the period. Mangone found himself all alone on goalie Jacob Oster and came out on top.
At the end of the first period, Saginaw came back and lead 3-1 in goals and 13-9 in shots. Both Saginaw and Guelph were 100% on their penalty kills through 20 minutes of play.
The second period opened with both teams trying to score but to no avail. Each team made successful defensive plays and long periods of play made up the first half of the middle frame. Saginaw took several shots with eight minutes gone yet Oster kept it a 3-1 game. The Storm closed the gap at 11:03 in the second period with a goal from Jett Luchanko. Valetin Zhugin skated in with Luchanko on a two on one play. Zhugin passed from the left side to the right where Luchanko potted the goal.
The answer Saginaw was looking for came from 2022 First Round pick Michael Misa at 17:18 in the second period. Misa showed his patience by waiting for the opportunity to get his first OHL goal on a one-timer shot in front of the goalie.
Guelph scored a minute later at 18:18 on a one timer shot from Cedricson Okitundu. Jake Karabela took a chance and got the puck behind the net through traffic to Cooper Walker. Okitundu was fed the puck from behind the net for a quick one-timer goal.
Guelph kept the pressure on for most of the period and retook the lead in shots 22-18. The Spirit still lead the game at 4-3.
Saginaw started the final frame with a goal less than a minute in at 53 seconds. Pavel Mintyukov skated into the offensive zone and got the puck to Josh Bloom. The puck made it to Roberto Mancini, who waited for the right time to strike.
The Spirit added to their lead courtesy of 2022 first overall pick Michael Misa at 5:53 in the third period. The goal was a backhander set up by Dean Loukus who was gifted the biscuit from Calem Mangone. Misa skated in from the right side of the offensive zone and put the goal past the netminder.
Guelph got another goal at 7:05 in the third period from Braeden Bowman. The goal was a quick shot to the left and was set up by Matthew Poitras who was gifted the puck from Sasha Pastujov. Bowman went in alone on Tristan Lennox and beat him on his left side.
Tristan Lennox played the entire game for Saginaw, making 28 saves on 34 shots. Jacob Oster would play the first two periods and a bit of the third before being replaced by Ethan Kowatsch. Oster made 17 saves on 23 shots, and Kowatsch would make one save on five shots.
Saginaw scored the game winning goal at 7:32 in the third courtesy of overager Theo Hill. Pavel Mintyukov got his third assist of the night after starting the play and getting the puck to T-Bone Codd for the goal. Mintyukov passed the puck backhanded to Hill, who beat Kowatsch on his right side for the goal.
The Spirit potted an additional goal from Pavel Mintyukov on the powerplay at 7:57 in the third. Dean Loukus got his third assist as he and T-Bone Codd helped Mintyukov score.
The Storm answered back later in the final frame with a goal from Cooper Walker at 10:38 in the third. Ben Mcfarlane got the puck to Cam Allen who set up Walker for his first of the season.
The Storm got their final goal of the game from Matthew Poitras at 14:54 in the third period. Niko Minkkinen and Cam Allen were credited with the assists.
Saginaw responded to the two Guelph goals with one of their own at 17:12 in the third. Sebastien Gervais and Pavel Mintyukov would add to their points on the score.
The Spirit closed out the game with a powerplay goal courtesy of Josh Bloom on a breakaway. Mitchell Smith and T-Bone Codd were credited for assists.
The Spirit held on through the final minutes to secure their first win of the season 10-6. The Spirit are now 1-0-0-0 on the season. The final shots on goal favored Guelph, 34-28.
The opening weekend continues tomorrow against the Niagara IceDogs. Puck drop is at 5:30 p.m. and tickets are available from the Saginaw Spirit Store, saginawspirit.com, Dow Event Center Box Office, and at (989) 497-7747.
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