The Saginaw Spirit won their first game on home ice in the Western Conference Finals, as they beat London 6-2 in Game 3.
The Saginaw Spirit flew back home to Michigan for Monday night's game down 2-0 in the series against the London Knights. To even the series, the Spirit would have to win both games at home.
In game three, Saginaw was able to do just that with a dominant 6-2 win. Saginaw's key factor? Being able to outscore the opposition.
Through the first two games in this series, there were only eight goals scored, each game finishing in a 3-1 final. Game three held a different story, where Saginaw was able to score six against Michael Simpson and the Knights.
Saginaw has been identified as the "more skilled" team in this series, but through the first two games London battled harder. Saginaw was able to put that skill to the test in game three, as they had goals from five different forwards.
Hunter Haight (x2), Calem Mangone, Alex Christopoulos, Owen Beck, and Michael Misa all found the back of the net for Saginaw in game three, while defender Rodwin Dionicio tallied three assists.
Saginaw has a plethora of options offensively, as they have high-end goal scorers on all four lines. From Josh Bloom, Hunter Haight, and Owen Beck on the first line, Michael Misa & Matyas Sapovaliv on the second line, Calem Mangone on the third line, and finally Aiden Castle and Nic Sima on the fourth — the Spirit have no shortage of options.
Another big factor in this game was Saginaw's ability to limit London's offence, as they limited them to only 20 shots on goal, resulting in only two goals.
Suddenly, the Western Conference Finals are wide open — as we expected them to be. Saginaw and London have been the OHL's two best teams for a better part of the 2023-2024 season, and now we have the privilege of seeing the two squads battle it out in a seven-game series.
The teams will remain in Saginaw for game four, where the Spirit will look to even it up and get that offensive firepower going as they did in game three.