Strathroy, Ont.’s Hunter Haight recorded a hat trick to help the Saginaw Spirit stay alive in the Western Conference Championship series with a 4-2 win over the London Knights at Budweiser Gardens on May 3.
Rodwin Dionicio had four assists in the game for the Spirit.
Haight started the scoring in the game as he snapped a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle into the London net at 14:56 of the first period and the Spirit led 1-0 after 20 minutes.
Saginaw started the second period on a man advantage and cashed in with six seconds remaining in it as Josh Bloom buried a rebound after a save by Michael Simpson to make it 2-0.
London cut the lead in half at 14:15 of the second period as Oliver Bonk’s shot from the right point deflected past Nolan Lalonde for Bonk’s fourth goal of the post-season, but Haight’s second of the game and eighth of the playoffs restored Saginaw’s two-goal lead with 2:31 remaining in the middle frame.
The Knights got that goal back just 29 seconds later as Max McCue won a race to a puck in the Spirit end and got a puck to Sam O’Reilly who fed Easton Cowan on the left side of the Spirit zone and he fired a shot high and in to get London back within a goal heading into the final 20 minutes.
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Cowan had a goal and an assist and was named the game’s third star.
Haight completed his hat trick in the third period with a power play blast from the left side of the ice at 5:44 to finish the scoring.
The last 11:18 of the game was marred by penalty calls that left London short-handed on and off until the final buzzer.
Kaleb Lawrence of the Knights was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for cross-checking at 13:24 of the third period for a hit on Matyas Sapovaliv.
London forward Landon Sim was ejected in the second period after being given a game misconduct following a scrum in the Spirit zone.
Both plays will be reviewed by the OHL.
Saginaw outshot the Knights 35-28.
The Spirit were 2-for-8 on the power play.
London was 1-for-3.
Easton Cowan wins Red Tilson Trophy
On May 2, Easton Cowan of the Knights was named the Ontario Hockey League’s Red Tilson Trophy winner as the league’s Most Outstanding Player.
The winger from Mt. Brydges, Ont., recorded at least one point in every game between Nov. 25, 2023 and March 24, 2024, putting together a 36-game point streak and ended the year with the second-best points per game total in the OHL with 34 goals and 96 points in 54 games. He also represented Canada at the 2024 World Junior Hockey Championship in Sweden.
The Red Tilson Trophy is voted on by the OHL’s writers and broadcasters.
Up next
The Knights and Spirit will play Game 6 of the Western Conference Championship series on Sunday, May 5 at 2 p.m. at the Dow Event Center in Saginaw, Michigan.
Coverage will begin at 1:30 on 980 CFPL, at www.980cfpl.ca and on the Radioplayer Canada app.
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