Firebirds batter Battalion
FLINT, Mich. — Alex Kostov scored four goals, powering the Flint Firebirds to a 9-3 rout of the North Bay Battalion in an Ontario Hockey League game Friday night.
Kaden Pitre provided two goals and Nathan Aspinall, Rylan Fellinger and Jimmy Lombardi each had one goal and two assists for the Firebirds, while Brady Smith registered five assists.
Goaltender Mason Vaccari made 20 saves before 2,656 at the Dort Financial Center as Flint improved its won-lost-extended record to 10-6-1 for 21 points, third in the West Division.
Nick Wellenreiter, Jonathan Kapageridis and Jax Pereira scored for the Battalion, which opened a three-game road trip. Starting goaltender Mike McIvor allowed five goals on 19 shots before being relieved by Jack Lisson, who gave up four goals on 10 shots.
North Bay is 8-9-0 for 16 points, third in the Central Division.
After the teams tied 1-1 through 20 minutes, Pitre sparked a seven-goal second-period explosion at 1:34 when he deflected a heavily screened Fellinger shot from the blue line, and Kostov connected on a wraparound 1:20 later immediately after a left-wing faceoff.
Pitre netted his third goal of the season at 10:02, taking a Smith pass from the end boards and cashing his third goal from the left hash marks.
Kostov, a third-round pick by the Soo Greyhounds in the 2022 OHL Priority Selection from the Markham Majors U16s, capitalized on the power play at 11:57, snapping home a Lombardi pass and ending the night for McIvor.
Defenceman Fellinger, with his first goal, beat Lisson on a breakaway, the shot the first faced by the reliever, at 13;48, and Lombardi scored his seventh goal from behind the goal line at 16:01.
Rearguard Kapageridis was credited with his second goal at 18:11, assisted by Adrian Manzo and Evgeny Dubrovtsev, before Kostov struck at 19:31 off a deep two-on-one break-in.
Pereira collected his second goal at 7:27 of the third period, redirecting a Manzo shot, with the other assist going to Shamar Moses, before Kostov cashed his team-leading 11th goal at 16:07 on a three-man sortie with Chase Hull and Smith.
Aspinall opened the scoring at 7:14 of the first period. Lombardi fed Aspinall on the left wing on an odd-man rush, and he beat McIvor from the faceoff circle.
Wellenreiter countered with his second goal at 11:00, taking a pass from the right boards from Nolan Laird and redirecting the puck between Vaccari’s legs from the goalmouth.
The Battalion faces the Saginaw Spirit at 7:05 p.m. Saturday. The game can be seen live in North Bay on YourTV Channels 12 and 700.
BATTALION BULLETS: The teams complete their two-game season series Jan. 18 at North Bay … Battalion assistant coach Bill Houlder didn’t make the trip, attending a family wedding … Aaron Enright and Flint’s Ryland Cunningham tangled at 10:17 of the middle period, with each receiving a fighting major … North Bay went 0-for-3 on the power play. Flint was 1-for-4 … Opening lines were Ethan Procyszyn centring left winger Laird and right winger Wellenreiter, Ihnat Pazii centring left winger Lirim Amidovski and right winger Parker Vaughan and Dubrovtsev pivoting left winger Arseny Pronin and right winger Ryder Carey. Centre Pereira and right winger Moses had rotating linemates … Defence pairs had Bronson Ride with Brandt Harper, Enright with Kent Greer and Kapageridis with Manzo. Carter Kunopaski also saw action … The Battalion was without Briir Long, Declan Gallivan, Cam Warren and Ryder Cali … The Battalion has returned Lincoln Edwards, who debuted Sunday in a 6-2 victory over the visiting Niagara IceDogs, to the junior A Cobourg Cougars … Among the missing for Flint was Charlie Murata. The first-round pick in 2025, eighth overall, from the Don Mills Flyers U16s is a teammate of Warren with Canada Red at the U17 World Challenge at Truro, N.S. … In nine games since a trade from the Greyhounds, Smith has one goal and six assists for seven points. A first-rounder, 17th overall, to the Oshawa Generals in 2024, Smith is with his third team in two seasons.
