Newfoundland Regiment vs Saginaw Spirit

Saginaw struck late in the first period. Harper opened the scoring at 0:00 of P1 (recorded as the first-minute marker), finishing a play set up by Dmitri Zhilkin and Tyrus Martyniuk to give the Spirit a 1-0 lead at the first intermission.

The Spirit poured it on early in the second. Harper struck again at 2:00, this time with assists from Breckin Pepoy and Adamo Milojevic, doubling the lead. Zhilkin made it 3-0 at 8:00 on the power play, with Gensen Geldart and Ryan Hanrahan providing the helpers.

Trailing 3-0, the Regiment finally got on the board at 14:00. Benjamin Veitch fired home with assists from Ryan Dwyer and Tyler Goguen to cut the deficit to 3-1.

But Saginaw answered immediately. Just one minute later, at 15:00, Hanrahan restored the three-goal cushion, with Zhilkin and Harper picking up their second and third points of the night respectively — 4-1 Spirit.

Newfoundland refused to fold. Quinn Norman responded just seconds later at 15:00, assisted by Veitch and Louis-François Bélanger, making it 4-2. Then at 19:00, Matthew Marmulak pulled the Regiment to within one, scoring unassisted to cap a frantic five-goal period at 4-3.

The third period saw both sides tighten up defensively. Neither team could break through, and Saginaw held on for the one-goal win.

After Newfoundland's first goal at 14:00 of the second period cut the lead to 3-1, the Regiment had momentum for the first time all night. Hanrahan's immediate reply at 15:00 — just 60 seconds later — was the decisive blow. It restored the Spirit's three-goal advantage and forced Newfoundland to climb out of a 4-1 hole rather than a 3-2 deficit, a gap that proved one goal too many even after Marmulak's late strike.

Landon Harper (Saginaw Spirit) — Two goals (one in each of the first two periods) plus a primary assist on Hanrahan's crucial goal. Harper was involved in three of Saginaw's four tallies and was the most dangerous forward on the ice. Player of the Match.

Dmitri Zhilkin (Saginaw Spirit) — One power-play goal and two assists. His PP strike at 8:00 of the second period gave Saginaw a commanding 3-0 lead and he was central to the Spirit's transition game all night.

Benjamin Veitch (Newfoundland Regiment) — A goal and an assist in the comeback. The 2025 draft pick, identified as a foundational piece for the expansion franchise, sparked the Regiment's rally with his 14th-minute strike and then set up Norman's goal seconds later.

Matthew Marmulak (Newfoundland Regiment) — Scored the unassisted goal at 19:00 of the second period that pulled the Regiment to within one and gave the home side hope heading into the third.

The page-level stats show a game defined by the second period: all seven goals were scored in the middle frame. Saginaw's 3-0 start in P2 (two even-strength, one power-play) demonstrated their offensive depth against a QMJHL opponent. Newfoundland's three-goal response showed resilience from an expansion side that had only one power-play look of their own. The scoreless third period — after five goals in a six-minute span of the second — suggests both teams emptied their tanks in that wild stretch, with fatigue and tightened defensive structure taking over.

This was pre-season hockey, so no standings points were at stake. But the context matters: Saginaw Spirit (who posted a 38-22-3-1 record in the OHL last season) travelled to Newfoundland as part of a historic three-game series against the QMJHL's newest franchise. For the Regiment — playing their second season of existence after relocating from Acadie-Bathurst — going toe-to-toe with a strong OHL programme and nearly erasing a three-goal deficit is a credible pre-season showing.

The two teams meet again on Saturday 29 August at Windsor Stadium in Grand Falls-Windsor (4:00 PM local), followed by a third game later in the series.

A wildly entertaining pre-season affair that delivered seven goals, a near-comeback, and a snapshot of two teams at different stages of their development cycles. Saginaw's experience and depth told early, but Newfoundland's fightback — led by 2025 draft picks Veitch and Norman — offered hopeful signs for the season ahead. If the Regiment can tighten their defensive gaps in the neutral zone, they may well flip this result in the return fixtures.