Firebirds Lose in London, 4-1
LONDON, Ont. – Nathan Day made 33 saves on 36 shots and Kaden Pitre scored to give the Firebirds a lead in the second, but Flint was beaten by the London Knights, 4-1, on Monday afternoon at Canada Life Place.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The game remained scoreless until just past the halfway point of the first period. Karlis Flugins carried the puck below the net and snapped a pass to Pitre at the top of the left circle. He sent a snap shot through traffic that hit off the inside of the left post and bounced past Austin Elliot, giving the Firebirds a 1-0 edge.
That edge held through the conclusion of two periods thanks in large part to the performance of Day. He faced 12 shots in the first period and 15 in the second, none of which got through as Flint held the one-goal lead through 40 minutes. But in the first minute of the third, with the Firebirds on a power play, London broke up a play in the neutral zone and sped off with Sam O’Reilly and Denver Barkey. O’Reilly snapped a pass to Barkey who crashed the net to the back post for a one-timer that he slammed in, evening the score at one.
London then took the lead five minutes later off a won offensive zone faceoff. Evan Van Gorp bumped the puck to Kasper Halttunen who sent a shot through traffic and past a screened Day, making the score 2-1. Later in the third, Day made a sprawling save on Blake Montgomery but slid out of his net in the process. Montgomery jammed to puck through the crease where William Nicholl poked it home, extending the lead to 3-1.
The Firebirds pulled Day for an extra attacker while they had a power play in the waning minutes, but it was London who would convert. Barkey sent a shot into the empty net from the neutral zone for his second of the game to make it 4-1. Flint dropped to 22-26-2-3 with the loss while London improved to 43-8-1-0.
POSTGAME NOTES:
Kaden Pitre extended his point streak to five games with his goal. He has two goals and seven assists during his streak, his second five-game point streak of the season…the Firebirds went 3-for-3 on the penalty kill…London won the season series with Flint, 3-1-0-0.
UP NEXT:
The Firebirds return home on Friday night to take on the North Bay Battalion. Puck drop at the Dort Financial Center is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Photo: Wild Ave Photography
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