Firebirds Weekly Roundup, October 5-11
FLINT — The Firebirds entered week four of the season with a 3-2-0-0 record. There were a pair of home games on the docket, starting with a visit from the Kitchener Rangers on Wednesday. Nick Bogas, who hails from nearby Royal Oak, Michigan, netted his first OHL goal and pitched in a trio of helpers to lead the Birds to a commanding 5-2 victory. The win was Flint’s first on home ice for the season. Pinckney, Michigan’s Cooper Williams tallied his first career marker and followed it up with a second into the empty net late in the third period. Jimmy Lombardi (2 G, 7 A) extended his point streak to five games, while Brighton, Michigan’s Darian Anderson (5 G, 3 A) extended his to six. Mason Courville made 22 saves en route to the third win of his sophomore year.
The second and final game of the week was played Saturday at the Dort Financial Center versus the Sarnia Sting. Courville made 34 saves, a new high for this season, and Brady Smith scored twice for his first multi-goal game to propel the Birds to a 6-4 triumph. Lombardi had a goal and an assist, and Anderson collected two helpers to extend their point streaks to six and seven games, respectively. Williams notched a goal and two assists and now has five points in the last two contests. Bryson Morgan also had two points with a pair of assists.
Through the two games this week, the Firebirds outscored the opposition 11-6 while outshooting the two teams by a combined 68-62. They trailed in faceoff wins by a narrow margin of 55-51. The power play went four-for-nine (44.4%), including scoring on all three chances with the man advantage Saturday. Flint’s penalty kill was successful in six of nine (66.7%) opportunities.
LEADERBOARD
Lombardi remains atop the board for Flint with 12 points, combining three goals and nine assists. Anderson leads in goals (5) and ranks second overall with ten points. Williams, a free-agent signee with USHL experience, has now claimed the third spot with three tallies and five helpers for eight points. The blue-line unit is led by Nick Bogas with one goal and five assists. Courville has played six of Flint’s seven games to date, earning four wins and recording a 3.19 goals-against average with an .884 save percentage.
ALUMNI UPDATE
Amadeus Lombardi earned his first NHL point in his fourth game with the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. Netminder Alex Nedeljkovic is one-for-one with the San Jose Sharks this season, allowing only two goals on 26 shots in a 3-2 overtime victory against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.
COMING UP
The Firebirds travel to Guelph on Friday for a 7:07 p.m. faceoff at the Sleeman Centre. Fans can witness all the action throughout the season by downloading the FloHockey app or visiting their website HERE. Broadcaster Matt Merrifield will have the play-by-play audio broadcast for all 68 games this season on the MixIr app, which can be downloaded HERE. The pre-game show goes live 15 minutes before puck drop with a post-game show immediately following every contest.
Flint returns to the Dort Financial Center for a Saturday-night home game against the Owen Sound Attack. The Bears have scored the second-fewest goals while earning the most penalty minutes through their first eight games. Puck drop for Saturday’s contest is set for 7:00 p.m., and great seats are available through ETIX HERE.
Story: Brandon Mills
Photo: Todd Boone
