Spirit set to host Firebirds in fifth meeting of this season's I-75 Divide Cup Series at the Dow Event Center tonight

Saginaw, MI: 

 

Winner's of their last two (an 8-4 rout of Oshawa Sat. night followed by a 5-3 victory over the Sarnia Sting on Sunday) the Saginaw Spirit (23-11-2-2) are sitting in second place in the Ontario Hockey League western conference standings (with 50-points) just a game behind the Guelph Storm (52-points) and are heading into the OHL trade deadline with a 3-1 lead in the (8-game) I-75 Divide Cup Series with a chance to secure at least a share of the series when the Flint Firebirds (20-15-1-0) pay a visit to the Dow Event Center in downtown Saginaw at 7:05 pm tonight. 

 

The Firebirds will feature recently acquired defenseman Tyler Tucker (a 7th round pick of the St. Louis Blues in the 2018 NHL draft) and forward Riley Piercey, who were sent to Flint in a trade with the Barrie Colts yesterday in exchange for second year Firebirds' forward Evan Vierling, along with a pair of future (2023 and 2024) second round draft picks.  

 

The Spirit got some redemption for an Oct 6, loss (4-3) to Oshawa with an 8-4 victory over the Gen's on Saturday night, where Saginaw's top line featuring Cole Coskey (1-goal, 2-assists), Damien Giroux (1-goal, 2-assist), and Cole Perfetti (1-goal, 4-assist) combined for 11-points, while Mason Millman (2-goals, 1-assist) scored twice in a 3-point night, followed by 2-points from Jake Goldowski (1-goal, 1-assist), along with single tallies from Camaryn Baber and Mitchell Smith to round out the Spirit scoring. Coskey hit a milestone, collecting his 200th career point Saturday, as goal tender Tristan Lennox stopped 36 of the 40 shots he faced in net for the Spirit. 

 

Sunday, Perfetti (1-goal, 1-assist) and Ethan Cardwell (1-goal, 1-assist) each led the scoring with 2-points apiece respectively; while Coskey, Dalton Duhart, and Smith each scored, as Millman added 2-assists against Sarnia. Marshall Frappier turned away 29 of the 32 shots he would face in between the pipes. 

 

Spirit GM Dave Drinkill is sure to be working the phones and emails in the next couple of days, as the Spirit are likely to be buyers heading into the Jan 9, (for over age players) and Jan 10, (for all others) OHL trade deadlines.