Paterson’s 44 saves lead Saginaw to win over Plymouth
By Matt Slovin –
PLYMOUTH – The last time the Saginaw Spirit and the Plymouth Whalers got together, a Nov. 14 contest at Dow Event Center, they combined for 15 goals and the Spirit escaped with a narrow 8-7 road win.
Friday night, the offenses cooled off as Saginaw came from behind with goals at the end of regulation and overtime to win the OHL in-state rivalry match-up by a score of 3-2.
The Whalers (14-8-4-3) were the first to strike at the 7:33 mark of the first period. Right winger Tom Wilson redirected a point shot from defenseman Alex Peters past Saginaw netminder and Detroit Red Wings’ 2012 draft pick Jake Paterson. Matthew Mistele received a secondary assist as Plymouth grabbed the early lead.
Paterson was tested all night, facing 46 Whaler shots, compared to 33 shots for Saginaw. But he held his own for the most part, flashing the leather early to prevent a deeper hole for his team to climb out of. Legendary Red Wings netminder Chris Osgood was in attendance to watch Paterson.
“It’s nice,” Paterson said of playing especially close to Detroit. “It doesn’t really change to much as far as hockey’s concerned. It doesn’t add any pressure, but it’s nice to be so close.”
But the Plymouth lead almost became 2-0 with about 2:30 remaining in the opening frame, but center Ryan Hartman whiffed on a sliding puck from point-blank range.
Just over a minute later, however, Saginaw (13-15-2-2) made the Whalers pay for the missed opportunity. Center Justin Kea scored his 9th goal of the season, receiving credit for the equalizer though the puck ricocheted off a Plymouth defenseman, catching goaltender Matt Mahalak off guard.
The teams exchanged chances at the beginning of the second period, but it wasn’t until midway through that the Spirit’s best chance presented itself — shorthanded, no less. Saginaw’s forwards bore down on a 2-on-1, but had a goal waved off after the puck was ruled to have been kicked in.
Plymouth, still on a power play, wasted no time in capitalizing on a big momentum shift of its own after Saginaw had done the same earlier in the game on Hartman’s miss. And Hartman made amends for his earlier play. The Whalers managed a shot on Paterson that he seemed to corral easily, but the Mississauga, Ont. native lost sight of the puck and Hartman was there to tap it in from the crease to give Plymouth a 2-1 lead.
Saginaw’s third period began on a promising note as it was sent to the power play in opening minute after Hartman took a penalty for checking from behind. But the Whaler penalty killers did a good job keeping the Spirit at bay, and they killed off the penalty.
Plymouth had just returned to full strength after a fighting penalty when Kea tied the game at the 18:03 mark of the third period. His shot split a pair of Whaler defensemen who seemed to be screening Mahalak. Regulation ended with the score knotted at two.
The Whalers drew a penalty with 3:25 to play in overtime, but it was the Spirit’s turn to kill a crucial man advantage.
Thriving off that momentum, right winger Nick Moutrey clanged one off the post and in with just eight seconds remaining in the extra frame to win the game for Saginaw.
“We were fortunate to get the two points tonight,” Paterson said. “I was happy to get the win. I don’t think anything changed (compared to the last game against the Whalers). Each game’s going to be different.”
Plymouth will host the Oshawa Generals on Saturday night at 7:05. The Spirit will welcome the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds to the Dow Event Center at the same time.