Firebirds Weekly Roundup, January 27 – February 2
FLINT — The Firebirds played three games in three days over the past week taking on the Windsor Spitfires on the road before heading home to host the Kitchener Rangers and the Kingston Frontenacs, three teams vying for positioning at the top of their respective conferences.
Flint’s week began on Thursday at the WFCU Centre in Windsor. The Spitfires broke a scoreless tie in the seventh minute of play, but it was all Flint from there. Red-hot winger Sam McCue tied the tilt just shy of the first intermission and scored twice more to earn the first hat trick of his OHL career. Defenseman Rylan Fellinger scored in his 100th OHL game, and Nathan Aspinall also found twine as the Birds skated to a decisive 5-1 road victory. Nathan Day turned aside 30 of 31 shots faced to earn his 62nd career win as a Firebird, tying him with Luke Cavallin for the most wins by any Flint goaltender.
The Birds returned home on Friday to host the Kitchener Rangers, with whom they held a 1-1-0-1 record for the season. A single goal settled all three previous games, and Friday’s meeting would be no different. The Rangers claimed a 2-0 lead through 20 minutes, outshooting the Firebirds 13-6 in that span and appearing to be in the driver’s seat for the night. Fellinger put Flint on the board and breathed some life into the squad midway into the middle frame with his second marker in as many nights. McCue kept his hot streak alive, tying the game in the third and forcing overtime with his eighth goal in nine contests since becoming a Firebird. Neither team could light the lamp in the five-minute extra frame, forcing a shootout for the second time in four games with the Rangers. Kaden pitre was successful on his shootout attempt but the Rangers answered with shootout goals from Trent Swick and Jack Pridham, sealing the extra point for the visitors and delaying Day from becoming Flint’s all-time winningest netminder. Connor Clattenburg skated in his 150th OHL game Friday.
Saturday was a high-scoring affair versus the Kingston Frontenacs. Noah Bender got the nod in goal, and defenseman Paul James made his OHL debut while wearing number seven for Flint. The Frontenacs, however, would strike early and often. They took a 3-0 lead into the first intermission and cruised to a 7-4 win. McCue extended his point streak to seven games with an assist, bringing him just one game shy of the season record for longest point streak by a Firebird this season. Evan Konyen and Jimmy Lombardi scored on power plays, matching the most goals recorded with the extra man in one game this season. Matthew Wang and Alex Kostov also found pay dirt for the Firebirds.
The Birds finished the three-game week with an even goal differential of 11-11. They trailed in shots on goal 97-92. Faceoffs were also a slight shortcoming of 91-82. They scored four power play goals on 12 opportunities (33.3%) but allowed seven goals against through 11 (63.6%) penalty-kill situations. Flint now has a record of 20-23-2-3, ranking them third in the West Division and sixth in the ten-team Western Conference.
LEADERBOARD
McCue remains the leader in both goals (26) and points (44) for the season. He has eight goals and five assists in nine games with the Firebirds. Thibodeau ranks second with 37 points, stemming from 15 goals and 22 assists. Kaden Pitre ranks third with 33 points, combining 15 goals with 18 helpers. Matthew Mania leads Flint’s rearguards with 30 points, including 25 assists, to lead the entire roster in that category.
COMING UP
Flint will again play three games this week, all on the road and across four days. The action begins Thursday night in Peterborough with puck drop set for 7:05 p.m. Then the Firebirds will get a rematch opportunity with the Frontenacs on Friday starting at 7:00 p.m. Finally, they’ll travel to Ottawa to face the 67’s in Canada’s capital for a 2:00 p.m. matinee battle on Sunday. Fans can follow all the action on 103.1 FM through Flint and mid-Michigan or online via the US 103.1 app.
Story: Brandon Mills
