Firebirds Hold Off Sting, 6-4
FLINT – The Flint Firebirds powered their way to a 6-4 victory over the Sarnia Sting on Saturday night at the Dort Financial Center. Brady Smith led the offensive effort with two goals, and goaltender Mason Courville turned aside 34 shots to help the Firebirds earn the victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Flint wasted little time getting on the board, opening the scoring in the first 60 seconds of play. In the offensive zone, Darian Anderson fed the puck to Jimmy Lombardi, who connected with Cooper Williams for a one-timer that beat the Sarnia goaltender Ivan Tkach-Tkachenko and gave the Firebirds an early lead.
The Firebirds extended their advantage on the power play when Luka Graziano fired the puck through traffic, off a Sarnia defender, and into the net, putting Flint ahead by two. Sarnia responded with two goals from Easton Walos to even the score at 2-2.
Flint regained the lead before the end of the period with another power-play goal. After Cooper Williams’ initial attempt, Brady Smith collected the rebound in front of the net and buried it to restore the Firebirds’ advantage.
The Firebirds added to their lead in the middle frame. Nick Bogas moved the puck to Ryland Cunningham, who connected with Xavier Tessier in the offensive zone. Sarnia defenseman Wyatt Herres dove to break up the play, but the puck slipped beneath his stick and reached Tessier, who finished the opportunity to extend Flint’s lead to 4-2.
Smith added his second goal of the night after receiving a pass from Bryson Morgan and firing a shot on goal. Tkach-Tkachenko made the initial pad save, but Smith stayed with the play and buried his own rebound to give the Firebirds another goal.
In the third, Parker Holmes cut into the deficit for the Sting with a goal at the 11-minute mark. The Sting continued to apply pressure into the final minute, with Lammers charging toward the net and battling for a rebound. Although he initially celebrated what appeared to be a goal, officials ruled the play a no-goal, keeping Flint’s lead to two.
Sarnia eventually found the back of the net on the power play through Tyler Challenger, narrowing the gap to 5-4. With just 15 seconds remaining, Anderson battled for possession and moved the puck to Lombardi. He maneuvered around Sarnia’s Chase Caughan before burying an empty-net goal to seal the Firebirds’ 6-4 victory. Flint jumped to 5-2-0-0 with the win, and Sarnia fell to 5-3-1-0.
POSTGAME NOTES
Brady Smith recorded two goals for the first multi-goal game of his OHL career…Darian Anderson extended his point streak to seven games with two assists, and Jimmy Lombardi extended his point streak to six games with a goal and an assist. Both Anderson and Lombardi have points in every game they’ve appeared in this year…Six Firebirds posted multi-point performances…Mason Courville made a season-high 34 saves…
UP NEXT:
The Flint Firebirds will hit the road to take on the Guelph Storm on Friday, Oct. 16. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. at the Sleeman Centre.
Photo: Todd Boone
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