Firebirds Winners at Home Over Peterborough, 3-1
FLINT, Mich. – Markas Samenas scored his third goal of the season and both Nathan Aspinall and Kaden Pitre finished with a goal and an assist as the Flint Firebirds downed the Peterborough Petes, 3-1, on Friday night at the Dort Financial Center.
With the game still tied at one and north of ten minutes remaining in regulation, the Firebirds took their first lead of the night. Pitre won a battle on the left-wing wall and sent the puck to Nolan Dann deep in the near corner. Dann rifled a pass across the slot to Aspinall who was charging on the back side. Aspinall slammed a short-range one-timer between the legs of Liam Sztuska and Flint grabbed a 2-1 lead.
The Petes called Sztuska to the bench with two minutes to go, but Aspinall won a battle on the boards and sent the puck into neutral ice. Pitre was first on the scene and guided the rubber into the empty cage with one hand to make it 3-1.
Peterborough took an early 1-0 lead in the eighth minute of play when Samuel Mayer sent a pass around the end boards to Ryder McIntyre along the right wall in his defensive end. McIntyre chipped the puck off the near boards past Flint’s defense and connected with a speedy Chase Lefebvre at the offensive blue line. He carried up the right side and lifted a wrist shot from the bottom of the circle that slipped over Nathan Day’s blocker and in.
The Firebirds answered eight minutes later with a nice passing play inside their attacking zone. Blake Smith slid the puck to Matthew Jenken as they cycled along the left-wing half-boards. Jenken skated to the top of zone and passed across the points to Samenas, who launched a slapper into traffic that beat goaltender Liam Sztuska on the far side, tying the game at one.
Day made 21 saves on 22 shots for his 13th victory of the season and Flint outshot the visitors, 37-22. Aspinall’s goal was his tenth of the season and the Birds improved to 15-19-2-1 in the win. Peterborough dropped to 15-17-3-1 in its loss.
The Firebirds are back in action against the Oshawa Generals on Saturday night at the Dort Financial Center. It’s Firebirds Fight Hunger Weekend, sponsored by Dort Financial Credit Union, and fans who donate five or more nonperishable food items can receive a free ticket. Saturday’s puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Story: Brandon Mills // flintfirebirds.com
Photo: Todd Boone
