This matchup between the high-octane offense of the Saginaw Spirit and the winless Brampton Steelheads had the potential to be quite lopsided. However, Saginaw entered the game without a pair of draft-eligible defensemen: leading point scorer on the back end Levi Harper and 6-foot-7 shutdown defenseman Drew Roscoe.
From the moment the puck dropped, Dima Zhilkin was all over Brampton, whether it was dancing around a defender in the offensive zone or running someone over with a massive hit in the neutral zone. Brampton was having a hard time getting set up at even strength, but then Saginaw took a penalty. On the ensuing power play, Keaton Ardagh slapped home a one-timer off a pass from Nathan Amidovski down low at the goal line, beating the goaltender far side to give Brampton the lead.
The second period was much of the same, with Saginaw controlling possession. Halfway through the period, Zhilkin and Braidy Wassilyn got a 2-on-1 rush and, as the duo has done so well to start the season, made no mistake. They threaded passes back and forth before Wassilyn finished the play to tie the game.
The Saginaw dynamic duo was not done there. Shortly after, on the power play, Wassilyn sent a pass through the slot to Zhilkin, who scored with a perfectly placed one-timer to give Saginaw the lead.
With the clock winding down in the third period, Brampton pulled its goaltender. With a minute remaining in the game, Geno Carcone corralled a rebound and tied it, sending the game to overtime.
Zhilkin continued creating scoring chance after scoring chance and eventually, with 30 seconds left in overtime, he scored. Once again, the goal came off a pass from Wassilyn, giving both players three points on the night. On the highlight-reel overtime winner, Zhilkin received the puck at the left faceoff dot, skated high into open ice, froze the defender with a head fake and scored from the high slot.
The Standouts
Saginaw’s Top Line
The first line of the Saginaw Spirit completely dominated the game. The chemistry between Dima Zhilkin and Braidy Wassilyn has been incredible to watch early in the season, and that continued against Brampton.
Zhilkin had a great game, affecting play in all three zones. Apart from scoring, he was very aggressive on the forecheck and relentless with his stick lifts, giving Brampton players all kinds of trouble. He also landed three or four massive hits in the neutral zone. His motor is one of the first things you notice when watching him. He is never standing still and is always attacking.
In this game in particular, his edges stood out. Multiple times, Zhilkin would be against the boards with a defender on him, and the next thing you knew, he would spin off, leave the defender behind and have open ice in front of him as he barreled toward the opposing net looking to score.
By the end of the game, Zhilkin had 12 points in six games, while Wassilyn had a staggering 13 points in six games. While the pair has received plenty of attention for their incredible start to the season, the third member of Saginaw’s top line, Dmitry Savin, deserves some recognition as well.
Savin is an underrated part of Saginaw’s top line. He is always firing shots on net through traffic to create rebounds and has the vision to find the high-end players he plays with in stride. It might seem easy to play with such dynamic players, but Savin has been a stabilizing force on the line. If his season keeps going this way, he should hear his name called in the 2027 NHL Draft.
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