Michigan’s two OHL teams meet in a weekend home-and-home, and the West Division standings give the I-75 rivalry a little extra weight. The Saginaw Spirit host the Flint Firebirds at 7:05 p.m. Friday at the Dow Event Center, and the teams switch buildings for a 7 p.m. rematch Saturday at the Dort Financial Center.

Only a point separates them. Saginaw sits second in the West with 14 points through 11 games, three behind the Soo Greyhounds. Flint is third at 6-2-1-0 for 13 points and has played two fewer games than both teams ahead of it.

Saginaw

The Spirit have been scoring in bunches. They put nine on Sarnia in a road win on Oct. 16, led by a hat trick from Pepoy and four points from Braidy Wassilyn, then beat the Sting again 7-4 the next night behind a four-point game from Harper. A four-game winning run ended Sunday in a 2-1 home loss to Owen Sound, when Dima Zhilkin, a top prospect for the 2027 NHL Draft, scored the only Saginaw goal on the power play and Brady Knowling made 21 saves. Friday is also the Spirit’s fifth annual Pride Night with Dow and Great Lakes Bay Pride.

Flint

Flint has done it with defense, allowing 27 goals, tied for the third-fewest in the league, and it carries a five-game point streak into the weekend. Jimmy Lombardi leads the team with 14 points, Darian Anderson has seven goals and 13 points, and three of Anderson’s goals have been game-winners. Mason Courville has five wins in his sophomore season, including a 19-save night in a 3-2 win over Owen Sound on Oct. 17.

The weekend is the Firebirds’ first three-games-in-three-days stretch of the season; they host the Greyhounds at 4 p.m. Sunday.

Around the games

Saturday’s game, billed as the I-75 Divide Cup matchup, is Flint’s annual First Responders Appreciation Night, with free tickets for police, fire, and EMS personnel who show proof of employment at the box office. Before it, Flint and Saginaw first responders face off in a Battle of the Badges charity game at 4:30 p.m. at the Dort Financial Center, and a Firebirds-Spirit ticket covers admission to both. Tickets are available through etix.com or the Dort Financial Center box office at (810) 744-0580.

Sources

• Flint Firebirds: Firebirds Weekly Roundup, October 12-18
• Flint Firebirds: Firebirds to Host Battle of the Badges Between Flint and Saginaw First Responders (Oct. 21)
• Saginaw Spirit: Spirit win streak ends in close game to Owen Sound, 2-1 Sunday (Oct. 18)
• Saginaw Spirit: Pepoy’s hat trick, four points from Wassilyn lead Spirit past Sting 9-2 in Sarnia (Oct. 16)
• Saginaw Spirit: Harper’s four-point game lifts Spirit to 7-4 win over Sarnia Saturday (Oct. 17)
• Saginaw Spirit: Fifth Annual Pride Night with Dow, Great Lakes Bay Pride, set for Friday, October 23rd
• OurSports Central: Ontario Hockey League schedule and results