Firebirds Soar Past Spirit, 5-4
SAGINAW, Mich. – The Flint Firebirds opened the 2026-27 season with an exciting 5-4 win over their rivals, the Saginaw Spirit, on Saturday night at the Dow Event Center. Xavier Tessier led the charge with a hat trick in a game where neither team led by more than a goal.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Off the opening faceoff, Brady Smith dumped the puck into the Saginaw zone. The puck took a friendly hop towards the front of the net and Xavier Tessier popped it past Egor Sokolov to give Flint an immediate 1-0 lead.
Soon after, the Spirit struck back on the power play. Braidy Wassilyn and Dima Zhilkin played catch in Flint’s zone. Wassilyn set up Zhilkin for a one-timer, which Mason Courville initially stopped. The Spirit’s Brody Pepoy found the loose puck and stuffed it into the back of the net to tie the game at one. The Spirit didn’t stop there; after a broken play, Zhilkin skated past Fellinger, picked up the loose puck and ripped a shot between Courville’s legs to put the Spirit up 2-1. Midway through the first period, Tessier netted another goal. He intercepted the puck from Levi Harper, skated in on Sokolov, and sniped it over his shoulder to make it 2-2.
The Birds took the lead after capitalizing on the power play. Off a faceoff win, Luka Graziano quickly passed it over to Nick Bogas for a one-timer from the blue line. Darian Anderson was there to pick up the rebound and stuff the puck into the net, putting Flint up 3-2.
Saginaw bounced back with two power play goals less than a minute apart. Drew Bate and Wassilyn both tallied goals to give the Spirit an extra push going into the second period 4-3.
Early in the second frame, Tessier responded with his third of the night. James Paul dispensed the puck to Tessier, who skated around Saginaw’s zone; he weaved through several Spirit players, pulled the puck back and zipped it past Sokolov, tying the game at four apiece.
Halfway through the second, Paul handed the puck off to Bryson Morgan; he skated alongside the left wing boards and found Williams, who quickly flung the puck at Sokolov. The Spirit goaltender made a sprawling pad save, but Brady Smith was waiting for the rebound and netted his first of the season to put the Firebirds ahead 5-4.
The final period remained scoreless as Courville made 9 saves in the frame to finish the game at a final of 5-4. The Firebirds improved to 1-0-0-0 with their win while the Spirit dropped to 0-1-1-0.
POSTGAME NOTES:
Xavier Tessier scored his first OHL hat trick. His opening goal was eight seconds into the game, setting a new Firebirds’ record for fastest goal to start a game… Cooper Williams recorded two assists for a multi-point performance in his OHL debut… Brady Smith had a multi-point game with the game-winning goal and an assist. He had one multi-point game last season.
UP NEXT:
The Firebirds are set to take on the Windsor Spitfires Friday, Sept. 25, at the WFCU Centre. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Photo: Natalie Shaver, OHL Images
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