Firebirds Bury Spirit, Clinch Six Seed in Western Conference
FLINT – Sam McCue scored twice, Nathan Aspinall had three assists and the Flint Firebirds rode five unanswered goals to a 6-3 win over the Saginaw Spirit on Saturday night at the Dort Financial Center. With the win, the Firebirds clinched the sixth seed in the Western Conference for the OHL playoffs and will now take on the Kitchener Rangers in the first round.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Saginaw struck first in the first period with a power play goal. Igor Chernyshov snapped a pass to the back post where Michael Misa redirected it past Nathan Day to make the score 1-0.
Flint then answered with a power play goal of its own. Jimmy Lombardi stepped into a one-timer that Kaleb Papineau blocked but the rebound bounced off his pad and then off McCue and in, evening the game at one.
The Spirit grabbed a pair of goals in the second period to take a 3-1 lead. First, Brody Najim deflected a James Guo shot that bounced past Day. Then, Jacob Cloutier deked to his backhand and flipped a shot over Day’s pads to give Saginaw a two-goal advantage.
The Firebirds got back within one late in the second period on McCue’s second goal. Aspinall flipped a shot on net as McCue snuck in from the back post. He stuck his stick out and deflected it past Papineau to cut the deficit to one. The Birds then tied the game in the third period when Aspinall found the cutting Urban Podrekar at the left circle. Podrekar slipped a wrist shot through Papineau and the game was tied at three.
Flint took the lead three minutes later as Aspinall carried the puck to the slot and handed off to Chris Thibodeau. He gathered and shot the puck in one motion, darting it past Papineau to give the Firebirds their first lead of the night, 4-3.
Saginaw then pulled Papineau for an extra attacker in the final minutes while on a power play. Blake Smith grabbed a loose puck and cleared it high and towards the attacking end. The puck rolled into the empty net to extend the lead to two. The Spirit would pull Papineau one more time and Flint again cashed in with a Thibodeau empty-net goal, pushing the score to its 6-3 final.
The Firebirds improved their record to 29-33-2-3 with the win while the Spirit fell to 37-27-2-1.
PLAYOFF SCHEDULE:
Flint clinched the sixth seed in the Western Conference for the OHL playoffs with their win on Saturday and will take on the number three seed Kitchener Rangers. Game 1 of the playoff series will take place on Friday, March 28 at 7 p.m. in Kitchener at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium. Flint’s first home game will be on Tuesday, April 1 at 7 p.m. at the Dort Financial Center.
The full playoff schedule is as follows:
GAME 1: Friday, March 28 – Flint at Kitchener, 7 p.m.
GAME 2: Sunday, March 30 – Flint at Kitchener, 2 p.m.
GAME 3: Tuesday, April 1 – Kitchener at Flint, 7 p.m.
GAME 4: Thursday, April 3 – Kitchener at Flint, 7 p.m.
GAME 5: Friday, April 4 – Flint at Kitchener, 7 p.m.*
GAME 6: Sunday, April 6 – Kitchener at Flint, 4 p.m. *
GAME 7: Tuesday, April 8 – Flint at Kitchener, 7 p.m.*
* – if necessary
Playoff tickets will be available beginning on Tuesday at 11 a.m. Tickets start at $17 and can be purchased at the Dort Financial Center box office or online at etix.com
POSTGAME NOTES:
Sam McCue scored twice and now has 18 goals in 20 games as a Firebird. He had 18 goals in 35 games for the Owen Sound Attack this season…Chris Thibodeau now has 22 goals on the season, surpassing his previous career-high of 21…Nathan Aspinall matched his single-game career-high with three assists.
UP NEXT:
The Firebirds will finish their regular season on Sunday evening in Saginaw against the Spirit. Puck drop at the Dow Event Center is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
Photo: Alex Martin
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