Saginaw Spirit’s five-game win streak ends in a 2-1 loss to Owen Sound, as Dima Zhilkin scores in a seventh straight game

SAGINAW, Mich. — The Saginaw Spirit’s five-game winning streak ended Sunday night, Oct. 18, when the Owen Sound Attack beat them 2-1 at the Dow Event Center behind 33 saves from goaltender Ryerson Leenders.

Dima Zhilkin scored Saginaw’s only goal, a power-play one-timer late in the first period. It extended his goal streak to seven games, and he has at least one point in all 11 of the Spirit’s games this season, the team said. The Owen Sound Sun-Times reported it was his 12th goal, the most in the Ontario Hockey League.

Saginaw outshot Owen Sound 34-23 and pulled goaltender Brady Knowling for an extra skater with about three minutes left, but Leenders kept the Spirit off the board the rest of the way, Bayshore Broadcasting of Owen Sound reported. Knowling stopped 21 of 23 shots.

Both goals that decided the game came in the first 10 minutes. Harry Nansi gave the Attack the lead on a power play at 6:52 of the first period, and Alex Lisi made it 2-0 at 9:50 with his first OHL goal, according to the Spirit’s game report. Zhilkin answered at 16:06 during a two-man advantage, with assists from Braidy Wassilyn and Jacob Cloutier.

It was the third game in three days for both teams. Saginaw had beaten the Sarnia Sting 9-2 in Sarnia on Friday and 7-4 at home on Saturday, the team’s website shows. Owen Sound came to Saginaw on a four-game losing streak and left at 3-8.

“Battled some adversity today, guys sacrificed their bodies, made the right decisions at the right times, and Ryerson was rock solid in net,” Attack coach Keenan Reynolds told Bayshore Broadcasting.

The Spirit are back on home ice Friday, Oct. 23, when the Flint Firebirds visit the Dow Event Center for a 7:05 p.m. puck drop, the team and the arena said. The teams play again Saturday, Oct. 24, in Flint, according to the Spirit’s schedule on OurSports Central. The games are part of the eight-game I-75 Divide Cup series between the two Michigan rivals this season, according to the Spirit’s schedule announcement. Saginaw’s next home dates after that weekend are Oct. 30 against the Barrie Colts and Oct. 31 against the Guelph Storm.

Sources:
Saginaw Spirit, “Spirit Win Streak Ends in Close Game to Owen Sound, 2-1 Sunday,” via OurSports Central, Oct. 18, 2026, https://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/spirit-win-streak-ends-in-close-game-to-owen-sound-2-1-sunday/n-6422736
Bayshore Broadcasting, “Attack End Skid With 2-1 Win In Saginaw,” Oct. 18, 2026, https://www.bayshorebroadcasting.ca/2026/10/18/attack-end-skid-with-2-1-win-in-saginaw/
Owen Sound Sun-Times, “Owen Sound Attack snap skid in Saginaw,” Oct. 18, 2026, https://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/sports/owen-sound-attack-snap-skid-in-saginaw/
Sarnia News Today, “Sting take another tough loss to Saginaw,” Oct. 18, 2026, https://sarnianewstoday.ca/sarnia/news/2026/10/18/sting-take-another-tough-loss-to-saginaw
Saginaw Spirit, team news page, https://chl.ca/ohl-spirit/
Saginaw Spirit, “Spirit announce 2026-2027 schedule of games,” https://chl.ca/ohl-spirit/article/spirit-announce-2026-2027-schedule-of-games/
Dow Event Center, events calendar, https://www.doweventcenter.com/events/
OurSports Central, “Saginaw Spirit Schedule,” https://www.oursportscentral.com/services/schedule/saginaw-spirit/t-1314
Photo: Jfvoll, “Dow Event Center - Interior.JPG,” Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), cropped and color-adjusted; derivative under the same ShareAlike license, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dow_Event_Center_-_Interior.JPG

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