Peterborough, Ont. - The Saginaw Spirit fell to the Peterborough Petes 8-6 on Thursday, January 23rd.

Michael Misa tallied a goal and three assists while Hayden Barch scored his first career OHL goal. Kaleb Papineau got the start in net for Saginaw stopping 13 of the 17 shots he faced. Andrew Oke replaced him in net and recorded eight saves on 11 shots. Zach Bowen was the starting goaltender for the Petes, tallying 24 saves on 29 shots.

The Spirit opened the scoring while on a man advantage. Ethan Weir sent a pass across to Michael Misa, who found Kristian Epperson in front of the net for a tap-in. Misa and Weir got the assists as Saginaw took a 1-0 lead 2:12 into the game.

Saginaw quickly extended their lead as Michael Misa tapped a pass from Kristian Epperson into the back of the Petes net while shorthanded. Epperson recorded the assist as the Spirit made their lead 2-0 just 1:01 later.

Brody Najim extended the Spirit lead to three as he buried a shot from the right faceoff circle off of a diving pass from Michael Misa. He and Xander Velliaris tallied the assists as the Spirit went up 3-0.

The Petes got on the board while shorthanded with a turnover in the Saginaw zone. Brennan Faulkner found Aiden Young wide open in the slot who put the puck past Papineau. Faulkner got the assist as Peterborough cut the lead to 3-1.

Peterborough inched closer as Jonathan Melee fired a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle which found the back of the net with 26 seconds left in the first period. Brennan Faulkner picked up his second assist of the night.

After 1: SAG 3 - 2 PBO (Total Shots: 12 - 10)

At 6:40 of the second period, Peterborough tied the game as Brayden McCallum tapped the puck past Papineau. Caden Taylor tallied the assist.

Hayden Barch gave Saginaw the lead as he sniped the puck past Bowen for the first goal of his OHL career. Carson Harmer and Dima Zhilkin got the assists as the Spirit took a 4-3 lead.

Less than two minutes later the Petes tied the game as Martin Matejicek went coast to coast and buried a backhand shot. Braydon McCallum and Zach Bowen were credited with the assists.

Andrew Oke would then replace Kaleb Papineau in net.

The Petes took their first lead of the game as Genc Ula skated into the Saginaw zone and buried a shot from the top of the slot with just 40 seconds left in the period.

After 2: SAG 4 - 5 PBO (2nd Period Shots: 5 - 13 Totals Shots: 17 - 23)

Three minutes into the third period, Brennan Faulkner wrapped around the Spirit net and tucked the puck past Oke. Rio Kaiser got the assist as the Petes took a two goal lead.

Peterborough continued to pour it on as Martin Matejicek fired home his second goal of the night. Aiden Young and Colin Fiztgerald were credited with the assists as the Petes grew their lead to 7-4.

Saginaw added another while on the powerplay as Jacob Cloutier buried a rebound in front of the net. Zayne Parekh and Michael Misa got the assists.

Only 36 seconds later, Dima Zhilkin fired a shot from the slot into the back of the net. Kristian Epperson and Jacob Cloutier picked up the assists which got Saginaw within one.

Braydon McCallum answered right back for the Petes as he fired a shot into the empty Spirit from his own zone to give Peterborough an 8-6 lead.

FINAL: SAG 6 - 8 PBO (3rd Period Shots: 13 - 6 Total Shots: 30 - 29)

Powerplays: SAG 2/5 PBO 2/5

Goaltenders: SAG Kaleb Papineau (13 Saves / 17 Shots ) Andrew Oke (8 Saves / 11 Shots L) PBO Zach Bowen (24 Saves / 29 Shots W)

Saginaw travels to Kingston where they will face off against the Frontenacs on Friday, January 24th. Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM.

Copyright 2025 WNEM. All rights reserved.