Firebirds Weekly Roundup, February 3-9
FLINT – The Firebirds hit the road for Eastern Ontario last week and played three games in the span of four days. Flint was in Peterborough to take on the Petes on Thursday, hit Kingston for a matchup with the Frontenacs on Friday and finished their trip on Super Bowl Sunday in Ottawa against the 67’s.
First, on Thursday in Peterborough, Nathan Day broke the record for most wins by a goaltender in Firebirds franchise history with win number 63. He turned aside 31 of 33 shots faced as the club dominated the Petes, winning 7-2. Hayden Reid earned his first two-goal game in the OHL and Max McCue recorded the first Gordie Howe Hat Trick (goal, assist, and fighting major) of the season for Flint, pushing his point streak to eight games. Alex Kostov matched his career high with three points (1 G, 2 A), and both Evan Konyen and Urban Podrekar scored and earned an assist for a two-point game.
The Birds traveled to Kingston on Friday, where McCue’s eight-game point streak ended. Kaden Pitre was the only Firebird to solve Frontenacs netminder Charlie Schenkel, despite Flint outshooting Kingston 27-25 in the contest. The Fronts led 2-1 entering the final minute of regulation, but with Day on the bench for an extra attacker, it was former Firebird Ethan Hay sealing the 3-1 final score with an empty-netter.
The road trip concluded with a Sunday matinee game against the 67’s in Canada’s capital. The Firebirds handed Ottawa their third straight loss, 5-2. Pitre assisted on all five Flint goals, setting career highs in helpers and points in addition to earning the club high in both categories for this season. Defender Matthew Mania (1 G, 2 A) joined Connor Clattenburg (2 G, 1 A) in logging three points in the affair. Kostov finished with a goal and an assist and now has six points (3 G, 3 A) in his last four games. Day made 22 saves on 24 shots to win his 20th game of the campaign.
Over the three games last week, the Birds scored twice on ten power play opportunities (20.0%). McCue leads the team with seven tallies on the man advantage. The penalty kill allowed two goals against through 12 penalties (83.3%). Flint outshot the opposition 100-82 through the 180 minutes of play this week, in addition to finishing with a +6 (13-7) goal differential. The Firebirds rank third in the West Division and sixth in the ten-team Western Conference with a record of 22-24-2-3.
LEADERBOARD:
McCue continues to pace the team in goals (27) and total points (46). Pitre now ranks second in both categories with 16 goals and 40 points. Thibodeau is in third with 15 goals and 24 helpers. Mania leads the rearguards with a team-high 28 assists and 34 total points.
COMING UP:
The Firebirds play twice this week, both on home ice. Friday night they host the Sudbury Wolves for a special Valentine’s Day game, sponsored by Medawar’s. The last time these two clubs met, the Firebirds dropped a 5-4 overtime thriller on the road. The Guelph Storm comes to town Saturday for the third of four total meetings. In October, Flint pounded the Storm with a decisive 7-2 victory on the road. Then, on January 10 at the Dort Financial Center, Guelph evened the series with a 6-4 win. Both of this weekend’s games at the Dort Financial Center are slated for puck drop at 7:00 p.m.
Story: Brandon Mills / flintfirebirds.com
