Zayne Parekh of the Saginaw Spirit. Photo by Natalie Shaver/OHL Images
They managed a point, but the Attack came up short in overtime.
Zayne Parekh scored a power play goal with 28 seconds to go in the extra frame, as the Saginaw Spirit outlasted the Owen Sound Attack 5-4 in Ontario Hockey League action Friday night at Dow Event Center.
Parekh finished with two goals and an assist. Owen Beck also scored a pair, while Michael Misa added one for Saginaw (34-13-0-1), which won its third straight.
Cedrick Guindon scored twice for the Attack (24-20-3-2). Sam Sedley and Sam McCue also scored. McCue extended his goal-scoring streak to five games.
While they came up short, the Attack managed to extend their point streak to six games.
Saginaw led 1-0 after the first. Alex Christopolous, Hunter Haight and Michael Misa broke up ice on a 3-on-2 rush. Haight moved it to Christopolous, who found Misa on the right side in the offensive zone. He fired a wrist shot over the glove of Carter George to make it 1-0 at 7:45 of the first period.
There were two fights in the first period. And the Attack were assessed instigator penalties on both.
Landen Hookey dropped the gloves with Braden Hache, forcing the Spirit defenceman to answer for a hit he put on Attack rookie Jake Crawford.
Then Jackson Stewart and Ethan Hay went at it, following a hit Hay put on Ben Cormier.
The Spirit outshot the Attack 15-6 in the first period. George was stellar to keep it a one goal game.
Guindon tied it 3:58 into the second period, picking up a rebound in front of the Saginaw net and putting it low past Andrew Oke.
But Saginaw would retake the lead less than two minutes later with a power play goal. Beck moved off the right board towards the middle of the ice, then toe-dragged the puck into a shooting position and whipped one at the net. George caught a piece of it, but it squeaked through to put Saginaw in front 2-1.
The Attack tied it 55 seconds later, scoring on their first – and only – power play of the game. Sedley was handling the puck inside the blueline and found a lane to shoot, weaving a perfect shoot through traffic that found a way past Oke blocker-side.
Owen Sound took its first lead of the game at 14:37 of the second period. Guindon scored his second. It was a shot from well out that went through the bodies in front of the net and past Oke.
The Spirit tied it just over a minute later. They broke up ice with numbers and after the rush appeared to break down near the Attack net, the puck slid off Rodwin Dionicio’s stick right to Parekh, who was parked a step outside the crease. He put a soft backhand into the open net to tie the game 3-3.
Another fight before the second period was up. And another instigator penalty for the Attack. It was the captain this time. Colby Barlow dropped the gloves with Dionicio, moments after the Spirit defender caught Cormier with a big open ice hit just outside Saginaw’s zone.
The Attack took their second lead of the game at 9:30 of the third period. Ethan Burroughs got a shot through that Oke kicked away out front, but the rebound deflected off the skate of McCue and back through his legs into the net. 4-3 Owen Sound.
Two-and-a-half minutes later the game was tied again. Beck rushed the puck down the right wing and whipped a wrist shot that beat George glove side.
Sedley was called for tripping 3:30 into overtime, sending Saginaw to the power play that led to Parekh’s winner.
Oke made 24 saves in the win, while George stopped 47 taking the loss. Saginaw outshot Owen Sound 52-28 while going 2 for 8 on the power play; the Attack finished 1 for 1.
The Attack will hop back over the border for the tail end of back-to-back games against West Division opponents. Saturday, they visit the Windsor Spitfires (15-28-3-2) at the WFCU Centre. Game time is 7:05 p.m.
SAM-TINO SED-O-RAME
There’s two players now tied for the Owen Sound franchise record for most career points by a defenceman. Sedley had a goal and an assist in Friday’s game, moving him to 157 points in the OHL. That ties him with Santino Centorame, who also had 157 points during his time with the Attack. Sedley’s next point will establish him as the highest scoring defenceman in Owen Sound franchise history.
THE CLOCK!
There was an odd sequence in the third period. After McCue scored Owen Sound’s go-ahead goal-ahead at 9:30, the officials flubbed a faceoff and had the players reset to drop it again. Little did they notice, something happened on the scoreclock and it went from reading 10:30 remaining to 12:34. The play went on until the next whistle. Luckily, someone relayed the message to ice level and the Attack bench was able to alert the referees about the error – which would have added more than two minutes to the game if it continued unnoticed. They eventually settled on moving the clock down to 9:27 for the next draw.