Owen Beck of the Saginaw Spirit. Photo by Natalie Shaver/OHL Images
To the Bayshore the Attack go, and a must-win Game 3 awaits them.
Owen Beck had a goal and two assists to help the Saginaw Spirit to a 5-2 win over the Attack in Game 2 of their Ontario Hockey League Western Conference quarterfinal Saturday evening at Dow Event Center.
Joey Willis, Josh Bloom, James Guo and Michael Misa also scored for Saginaw, which took a 2-0 lead in the series.
James Petrovski and Ethan Burroughs had the goals for the Attack.
Chances, chances and more chances for Owen Sound – but they mostly failed to capitalize on their opportunities. Especially on the power play.
The OHL’s second-best unit during the regular season went 0 for 4 in Game 2, and allowed a shorthanded goal against. The Attack are now 0 for 7 in the series with the man advantage.
Saginaw led 2-0 after the first period on goals by Willis and Bloom – one on the power play and the other shorthanded.
Beck made it 3-0 four minutes into the second, streaking into the offensive zone then pivoting onto his forehand and whipping a high shot by Carter George from the left faceoff dot. Another power play goal for Saginaw.
Then the Attack got on the board during some 4-on-4 play. Cedrick Guindon won an offensive zone faceoff back to Petrovski, who walked towards the middle of the blueline and hammered a hard shot to the net that found its way past Andrew Oke. Saginaw’s lead was cut to 3-1.
They were back up by three a few minutes later. Zayne Parekh made some nifty moves in the offensive zone then dished the puck to Guo at the left faceoff dot, and he snapped a shot over George blocker-side to make it 4-1.
That’s how things stood until late in the third. Burroughs scored on a scramble in front with 2:38 to go and the Attack playing 6-on-5 with George on the bench. But Misa would seal it with an empty-netter with 43 seconds remaining.
The Attack weren’t short of scoring chances in the game, but were unable to bury them. Colby Barlow had a breakaway in the first period that he tried to shoot blocker-side and missed the net. Sam McCue had a clean break in the second that he tried to put past Oke’s blocker as well, but the Saginaw goaltender turned it aside. Jackson Stewart danced around Parekh and created himself a semi-break in the third, but his low shot was stopped. There was a post clanged off a rush from the right-wing to the net by Ben Cormier as well.
The Spirit also hit a post and two crossbars during the game.
Oke made 35 saves in the win, while George stopped 32 taking the loss. Shots finished 37-37. The Attack finished 0 for 4 on the power play; Saginaw was 2 for 4.
The series now shifts back to Owen Sound, with the Attack down 2-0. Game 3 is Monday evening at 7 p.m., at the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre. Game 4 is Wednesday, same time, same place.