Firebirds Erupt in Second Period to Secure 4-2 Win Over Spitfires
WINDSOR, Ontario – The Flint Firebirds were propelled by a three-goal second period to defeat the Windsor Spitfires, 4-2, on Friday night at the WFCU Centre. Goaltender Mason Courville posted 27 saves in the Flint victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
After a scoreless first period, Windsor opened the scoring 21 seconds into the second period. Michal Svrcek fought along the boards for the loose puck; he eventually scooped it up and slid a pass to Ethan Garden, who was wide open on the right faceoff dot in Flint’s zone. Garden controlled the puck and ripped it past Mason Courville to put Windsor up 1-0.
Josh Bonnyman responded by netting his first of the season two minutes later. James Paul intercepted the puck from a failed zone-clear by Windsor; he quickly rocketed a shot towards the goal. The puck went wide, but came out the far side, and Bonnyman tracked the rebound and found the back of the net to knot the game at one.
Late in the second period, Jimmy Lombardi put the Birds ahead for the first time of the night. Cole Guizzetti flew into the attacking zone down the wall and carried the puck behind the net. He located Jimmy Lombardi towards the front of the goal, who snapped the puck past Jake Windbiel to put Flint up 2-1.
With time winding down in the second period, the Spits attempted to clear their zone, hitting alongside the left wing boards. Paul kicked the puck over to Darian Anderson, who skated toward the center of Windsor’s zone, and rifled the puck over Windbiel’s shoulder, extending the Firebirds’ lead to 3-1.
Windsor struck back early in the third period with a goal from Shawn Costello. He helped force a turnover below the Flint goal line and buried a wrap-around chance past the leg of Courville. In the final moments of the third, Martins Klaucans tracked down a clearance from Rylan Fellinger into the Windsor zone. Klaucans deposited the puck into the empty net to secure the 4-2 win.
The Firebirds improved to 2-0-0-0 with their win while the Spitfires dropped to 0-2-1-0.
POSTGAME NOTES:
Firebirds’ captain Jimmy Lombardi played his first game this season after returning from the Los Angeles Kings’ training camp, where he recorded his first goal of the season…Cole Guizzetti tallied an assist for his first OHL point in his OHL debut…James Paul recorded two assists for his first career multi-point game. Paul leads the Firebirds in assists with three in the team’s first two games this year.
UP NEXT:
The Firebirds will open the Dort Financial Center for the season on Saturday, Sept. 26, against the Niagara IceDogs. Puck drop in Flint is scheduled for 7 p.m. The first 2,500 fans will receive a free rally towel courtesy of Dort Financial Credit Union.
Photo: Windsor Spitfires
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