Seven goals and three fights later, the visiting Sudbury Wolves just couldn’t find the back of the net enough times to prevail over the Saginaw Spirit.
In a game that could be described as “chippy,” Saginaw scored early and held on, ultimately beating the Wolves 5-2, thanks to an empty-net insurance marker.
A little over a minute into the game, Saginaw’s Cole Coskey beat Pack goaltender Jake McGrath to give the Spirit an early lead. A short time later, Sudbury’s Drake Pilon took a pass from Shane Bulitka and, as he was falling, managed to score a pretty nice goal.
The tie wouldn’t last the period though. Saginaw scored twice more before the buzzer, sending the Wolves to the dressing room down 3-1. A goal that would’ve kept the game closer was disallowed after the officials deemed the play offside.
The second period proved to be a penalty-ridden affair, with players from both teams spending 36 minutes in the box over the period. Fights broke out between the Pack’s Shane Bulitka and Max Grondin, Wolves’ Dawson Baker and Aidan Prueter, and Sudbury’s Darian Pilon and Caleb Everett.
When they weren’t fighting or chipping at each other, both teams managed to score once each. Sudbury’s Drake Pilon picked up his second of the night (and his fifth in three games), but the period still ended 4-2 for the Spirit.
The Pack came out hungry for the third period, out-shooting Saginaw as the Wolves looked for a tying goal. McGrath made several big saves to keep the game tight. Unfortunately, Sudbury wasn’t able to score. Saginaw’s Coskey scored an empty-netter at the end to solidify the Spirit’s win at 5-2.
Final shots on net were 36-32 in favour of the Spirit.
The Wolves end a seven-game road swing on Thursday night in North Bay, when they take on the Battalion at 7 p.m.
