The Drummondville Voltigeurs did not enter tonight in an ideal position after having defeated by the London Knights in emphatic fashion, 4-0, just the day before, while being faced with a strong OHL opponent yet again. The opening phases of their game against the Saginaw Spirit, however, was much more like what the end of their QMJHL championship run looked like. The first half of the first period was looking pretty low event, with very few shots on net being registered. That would change nine minutes in, as phenomenal puck movement in the offensive zone yielded a goal by C Luke Woodworth, with assists going to forwards Ethan Gauthier (Tampa Bay Lightning) and Justin Cote. This was a scene they had grown accustomed to during the QMJHL finals, as they did not trail once against the Baie-Comeau Drakkar. The Knights had provided them with a vastly different experience, so getting on the board first was crucial. They would follow this up with a power play goal by C Peter Repcik (2024 Draft eligible) after D Vsevolod Komarov (Buffalo Sabres) have his shot strike the end boards quite hard and land in a perfect spot for Repcik to poke it past Saginaw G Andrew Oke, marking the first power play goal of the tournament. From here, Drummondville were largely able to play with their usual pace and, for the most part, controlled possession. However, Saginaw would sustain a significant amount of pressure to end the first period and record seven of the game’s shots on goal in a row, but G Riley Mercer would bail the Voltigeurs out. The first period concluded with Drummondville up 2-0 on the scoreboard and 12-10 in SOGs.

The second period had plenty of excitement, as well. Saginaw looked like they might continue what they had begun to build upon but Drummondville was able to resist. This would change 12:04 into the middle frame, when RW Alex Christopoulos beat Mercer with a beautiful and powerful release from the high slot, with an assist from D Rodwin Dionicio (Anaheim Ducks) to get Saginaw on the board. Sure enough, Saginaw would erase the worse lead in hockey a few minutes later as C/RW Hunter Haight (Minnesota Wild) was in the perfect spot in front of the net to finish a feed from LW/C Michael Misa (2025 Draft eligible) to beat Mercer and tie the game. There would be plenty of intrigue inside the final minute of the second stanza, as Cote was able to get one through Oke on assists from Komarov and C Mikael Huchette on the power play in a period that was lacking in discipline by Saginaw. The period also featured some play and incidents that is the kind to drum up controversy and intrigue (including a Dionicio high-stick that was called but overturned upon review, having been determined to be a follow through, and Christopolous and Saginaw RW Calem Mangone getting banged up at different times). In fact, just six second after the goal by Cote, Komarov would go off for a slash while Saginaw LW Josh Bloom (Vancouver Canucks) sold it with a dive in the official’s eyes and got called for it, with the period therefore ending in a 4v4 and some tension in the air. Shots on goal were 12-7 in favor of Saginaw in the second period.

In the third, the Spirit seemed to be the team that benefited from the open space more and applied pressure during the remaining 4v4 time. However, it did not yield a goal for either side, and Saginaw did not get off as many SOGs as they probably should have. Just under six minutes into the third period, however, Misa would get a pass to D Zayne Parekh (2024 Draft eligible) that yielded a hard shot that was stopped by Mercer but left open a juicy rebound that RW Nic Sima was in the perfect place to put past the netminder to tie the game at 3-3. Ensuing sequences would include some collisions, one of which would be broken up by Sima as his clutch gene seemed to still be working hard. However, it seemed to come at a cost, as an ensuing two collision play would have him and Haight hurt. However, this would effectively be an on the floor, off the board moment, as Haight would score a goal on the first power play that Saginaw received the whole game, beating Mercer, who had aggressively challenged the shot, five-hole. This power play had stemmed from Komarov having been called for roughing shortly after Dionicio had stopped a breakaway from behind the play on a clutch defensive play of his own. The goal notably accounted for Misa’s third assist of the game, with him having delivered a terrific pass to make it happen and C Joey Willis (Nashville Predators) getting credited for the secondary helper. While Drummondville threatened a bit with Mercer pulled for the extra attacker, the score ultimately would not change, and Saginaw clinched a win that guaranteed a spot in the semifinals, at worst. Misa was awarded Player of the Game for his three apples and +2, in a fantastic showing that people will likely remember well and point to as an indicator of his potential as evaluation of him continues prior to his D0 year next season. Meanwhile, Drummondville must win their remaining game against the Moose Jaw Warriors to avoid outright elimination.

Speaking of Moose Jaw, they play the London Knights tomorrow night at 7:30 PM. If they fall, they likewise will be in a must-win, 0-2 hole. The final steps in this round robin could get very high stakes and exciting to watch.