Firebirds Settle for a Point in 5-4 OT Loss to Brampton
BRAMPTON, Ont. – Kaden Pitre had a goal and an assist and Matthew Wang scored his 12th goal of the season but the Brampton Steelheads tied the game in the final minute of regulation and went on to beat the Firebirds in overtime, 5-4, on Saturday afternoon at the CAA Centre.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
With Flint leading, 3-2, in the third period, the Steelheads evened the score after Lucas Karmiris forced a turnover in the attacking zone. He fed Gabriel Chiarot at the top of the crease who slammed a shot past Nathan Day and the game was tied at three.
The Firebirds answered though less than a minute later when Cole Zurawski fed Wang in the high slot. Wang gathered the puck and slung it top shelf in one fluid motion, past Jack Ivankovic and in to give the Birds a 4-3 edge.
With Flint still ahead in the final minute of the third, Brampton pulled Ivankovic for an extra attacker. The Steelheads controlled the puck in the attacking zone and Angus MacDonell took a shot from the point that Vilmer Arliksson deflected from the top of the crease. The puck bounced through Day’s pads to tie the game and force overtime.
Brampton won the opening faceoff in OT, Porter Martone carried the puck in and fed Finn Harding at the right wing circle. Harding charged the net, deked and flipped a backhander past Day for the game-winning goal.
Flint got a pair of goals in the first period; first Evan Konyen cleaned up a rebound and later Pitre danced through the defense and beat Ivankovic with a backhander. MacDonell and Carson Rehkopf both scored for Brampton in the opening period. The Firebirds took their 3-2 lead thanks to an Urban Podrekar wrist shot from the high slot in the second period. Flint moved to 17-17-2-1 with the overtime loss while Brampton improved to 16-15-5-0.
POSTGAME NOTES:
Connor Clattenburg assisted on the game’s first goal and extended his point streak to eight games in the process…Kaden Pitre and Clattenburg are now tied for the team lead with 13 goals each…Flint is now 4-3 in games that require overtime or a shootout. The Firebirds are 2-2 in games decided during OT.
UP NEXT:
Flint concludes its stretch of three games in three days in three different cities on Sunday afternoon in Oshawa against the Generals. Puck drop at the Tribute Communities Centre is scheduled for 2:05 p.m.
Photo Courtesy of Brampton Steelheads
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