Sadowy's Hat Trick Leads Saginaw in 4-1 Win Over Plymouth

Photos by Rena Laverty - (1) Sonny Milano scores for Plymouth; (2) Jesse Barwell scores the game-winning goal for Saginaw; (3) Dylan Sadowy scores on his three goals for Saginaw.

PLYMOUTH - More and more, it appears the three-team race between the Plymouth Whalers, Saginaw Spirit and Windsor Spitfires for the final playoff spot in the Ontario Hockey League’s Western Conference will go down to the final days of the season.

On a night when all three teams were in action, the Saginaw Spirit grabbed hold of the eighth and final playoff spot with a 4-1 victory over the Plymouth Whalers on Thursday at Compuware Arena.

SCORESHEET

Windsor lost, 6-4, at home to Sault Ste. Marie on Thursday. Saginaw has 53 points in 61 games (25-33-2-1); Windsor has 51 points in 60 games (24-33-2-1); Plymouth has 51 points in 61 games (23-33-3-2).

Veteran Dylan Sadowy led the Saginaw attack with a hat trick (team-leading 37-38-and-39th of the year) as the game’s first star, his third career second hat trick and second this season at Compuware Arena. Sadowy also had the hat trick on January 2 in a 7-2 Saginaw victory over the Whalers.

Jesse Barwell (9th) scored the game-winning goal for the Spirit, his ninth of the year, breaking a 1-1 tie at 8:03 of the second period.

Sonny Milano scored the lone Plymouth goal, his 20th of the season. The goal came eight seconds after Sadowy opened the scoring at 16:01 of the first period to tie the game at 1-1.

Plymouth had the edge in the play in the first period. Saginaw goaltender Evan Cormier and his best friend, the goal post, stopped Plymouth’s Will Bitten on a penalty shot at 0:46 of the first period. Although Saginaw outshot Plymouth, 14-10, in the first period, the Whalers had the edge in play.

But the game turned around in the second period to Saginaw’s favor. Barwell found a loose puck in the high slot and scored, top-shelf, to give the Spirit a 2-1 lead at 8:03 of the second period, a period in which the Spirit regrouped to take a 14-5 shots-on-goal advantage.

Saginaw pulled away in the third period on a couple of Sadowy goals; the first at 9:52, after his first shot bounced off the post and caromed off Plymouth goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic and the second at 13:01 scoring shorthanded and five-hole.

Saginaw outshot Plymouth, 39-23.

Plymouth is back in action on Saturday at 7:05 pm against the top ranked Oshawa Generals at Compuware Arena (7 pm, 88.1FM WSDP).

Saginaw hits the road on this weekend, playing in Owen Sound on Saturday and Kitchener on Sunday afternoon. Windsor plays in Kitchener on Friday and hosts Oshawa on Sunday.