The Saginaw Spirit showed why they are contenders for the J. Ross Robertson Trophy on Sunday afternoon, controlling the game for long stretches and taking a 6-3 decision over the North Bay Battalion.
Captain Damien Giroux, who had a large and vocal contingent of fans from his native Sudbury up for the game, scored two goals and added two assists to pace the Spirit to a second straight win, following a 10-6 win against the Wolves on Friday. The Troops meanwhile had their season-high three-game winning streak snapped.
The highly-skilled and physically imposing Spirit were in control from the get-go, scoring three goals on its first four shots and building a 3-0 lead just seven minutes in. Saginaw’s big guns led the charge throughout the game, with overager D.J. Busdeker tallying four points (1+3) and Cole Perfetti, a projected top-five pick in the upcoming NHL Draft, adding a goal and assist of his own. Perfetti is second in league scoring with 35 goals and 67 assists for 102 points.
The Battalion showed some resilience and tenacity after the halfway point of the game, generating a number of chances that forced goaltender Tristan Lennox to make a number of difficult saves. Chad Denault, Shane Bulitka and Alex Christopoulos were the goal scorers for North Bay, turning what looked like could have been a blowout into a respectable result.
“They’re a very unique team the way they structure things.” coach Ryan Oulahen said of Saginaw. “They have a lot of motion, and I think we got caught. We would get the puck on our stick and just didn’t get that extra clear. They’re an elite hockey team and they’ve got some elite guys on their side. We would be going good and then a back door tap-in happens for them.”
“Saying that, we got down to 6-0 and didn’t quit. We kept with it, played physical, and for the most part our compete and effort was pretty good. If you go back maybe three or four weeks, I think if we go down like that our game would slip a little bit and it was hard for us to regain it. I’m confident that we’re going to be ready to go Wednesday because we didn’t have that slipping point in terms of losing our identity and the way we want to play.”
Cameron Lamour was the starter in goal for the Battalion, giving a rest to Joe Vrbetic, the starter in each game on the Troops’ recent hot streak. Lamour’s final stat line of six goals against on 21 shots was certainly undesirable but he was really not at fault on any of the Saginaw goals. The majority were a result of the wide skill gap between the contending Spirit and the young North Bay side, who didn’t have a Zamboni driver available to bail them out against one of the OHL’s top teams.
“Our mission going into the third period was to try and win the period” said Oulahen. “That’s going to be our positive. It’s a quick week, quick turnaround and we have to be ready for Wednesday.”
The short week for the Battalion begins with a Wednesday home game against Sudbury before heading on the road for games against Erie and Niagara on the weekend.
