Birds Fall to Colts in Barrie, 5-2
BARRIE, Ont. – Urban Podrekar scored his first goal as a Firebird and Chris Thibodeau netted a goal in his return from a three-game absence but the Barrie Colts scored three times in the second period and went on to beat the Flint Firebirds, 5-2, on Thursday night at Sadlon Arena.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Flint opened the scoring late in the first period. Connor Clattenburg dug the puck free at the right wing boards and kicked it to Alex Kostov. Kostov drew the defense and found the trailing Podrekar for a snap shot. That shot got through traffic and past Ben Hrebik, giving the Birds a 1-0 lead.
The Colts answered in the final minutes of the first with a power play goal. Beau Jelsma carried the puck from the left circle toward the high slot. He flicked a wrister that beat Nathan Day high on the blocker side and the score was tied at one.
Barrie struck for three goals in the second to take control of the game. First, Kashawn Aitcheson fed Bode Stewart for a back-door one timer off an odd-man rush that put the Colts on top. Later, with Barrie on a power play, Emil Hemming poked the puck to Tristan Bertucci at the bottom of the right circle. Bertucci swept it past Day to extend the lead to two. Finally, with the Firebirds on a power play, the Colts broke out with a three-on-one rush. Day made a pair of saves but Dalyn Wakely eventually poked home the third chance, and the Colts took a 4-1 lead.
Flint got itself back within two early in the third period. The Firebirds cycled the puck in the attacking zone and eventually found Thibodeau at the bottom of the left circle. He sent a shot through the legs of Hrebik to cut the deficit to 4-2.
Despite continued pressure from the Firebirds throughout the third, it was the Colts who cashed in for one more. With Day pulled for an extra attacked, Barrie got the puck to Wakely who sent it into the empty net, pushing the lead to its 5-2 final. The Firebirds fell to 11-14-0-1 with the loss while Barrie improved to 18-8-0-0.
POSTGAME NOTES:
The Firebirds finished their season series with Barrie at 0-2-0-0…Flint put 42 shots on goal, the second most it has had in a single game this season…the Firebirds set a new season-high for shots in a single period with 18 in the third…Urban Podrekar’s goal was his first of the season and his first as a Firebird…Jeremy Martin has points in three in a row and in five of his last six games.
UP NEXT:
The Firebirds continue their road swing on Saturday night with their lone scheduled trip to Sudbury. Puck drop at Sudbury Community Arena is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
Photo: Sam Hossack
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