The Sarnia Sting had an early lead during Friday night's game at Progressive Auto Sales Arena but Saginaw swooped in with a 2-1 overtime victory.
Jacob LeBanc scored Sarnia's first and only goal of the night in the first period, with assists from Marko Sikic and Sean Doherty.
The Sting maintained their lead until the third period when Saginaw scored its first goal of the evening. The Spirit then scored the game-winning goal in overtime.
During a post-game press conference, Sting Assistant Coach Micheal Haley said he couldn't have asked for a better effort.
"I think in that room right now, yes, obviously they're not feeling the joy of winning, but I think they feel that that was a hard-fought game," he said. "There's nobody in that room right now that isn't tired, isn't sore, and that's what you need to build a winning team down the road, tomorrow, whenever, next week. So kudo to them. They deserve more but we'll take the point against a good team."
Sarnia goalie Nick Surzycia saved 31 of the 33 shots on net.
"Without him in there tonight... we [would have had] a whole different hockey game," said Haley.
The Sting are back on the ice Saturday ahead of the Christmas break. Sarnia faces Flint at Dort Financial Center at 7 p.m.
As always, the game can be heard live on CHOK (103.9FM/1070AM).
