Firebirds Strike for Three in the Third, Come Back to Beat Spitfires, 4-2
WINDSOR, Ont. – The Flint Firebirds scored three times in the third period as they came from behind to beat the Windsor Spitfires, 4-2, on Friday night at the WFCU Centre. Alex Kostov had two goals and an assist and Mason Vaccari made 26 saves to backstop Flint’s win.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
With Flint trailing, 2-1 in the third period, Darian Anderson shot the puck off the end boards and the rebound caromed to Ihnat Pazii. Pazii fed the puck to the back side where Kostov slammed it home to even the score at two.
The game remained tied until the final minutes of the third period as the Spitfires were on the power play. Windsor though mishandled the puck in the neutral zone which led to a breakaway for Kostov. He steamed in and took a wrist shot that Joey Costanzo stopped but the rebound bounced back to Kostov who fired it into the net to give the Firebirds a 3-2 lead.
Flint then added one more as Jimmy Lombardi threw the puck into the attacking zone where Anderson ran it down. He slung a shot into the empty net as the Firebirds extended the lead to 4-2.
The Birds got the scoring started early in the first period. After Windsor won a defensive zone faceoff the Firebirds forced a turnover and Kostov found Pazii alone in front of the net. Pazii flipped a shot high past the blocker of Costanzo to make the score 1-0.
Windsor tied things up late in the opening period when Nathan Villeneuve won a faceoff to himself and forced the puck to Anthony Cristoforo along the right wing. Cristoforo sent a shot past Vaccari, evening the score at one. The Spits then took the lead on a power play goal from Ethan Belchetz with less than two minutes to play in the second period.
Flint improved to 31-11-2-2 with the win while Windsor fell to 29-10-5-1 in the loss.
POSTGAME NOTES:
The Firebirds won a game they trailed after two periods of play for the first time this season. Flint is now 1-10-0-0 when it trails entering the third…Alex Kostov scored twice, the fifth time this season he has scored multiple goals in a game…Mason Vaccari earned his league-leading 25th win of the season. He is two wins shy of his career high of 27, set during the 2023-24 season with the Kingston Frontenacs.
UP NEXT:
The Firebirds will continue their home-and-home with the Spitfires on Saturday night at home. Puck drop for Flint Coneydogs Night at the Dort Financial Center is set for 7 p.m.
Photo: Isabella Ruccolo, Windsor Spitfires
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