Saturday Highlights: Kostov scores pair as Firebirds stay hot on the road

Flint Firebirds 3 vs. Brantford Bulldogs 1

Alex Kostov netted two goals for the Firebirds as they won in their first trip to Brantford
Nolan Dann earned first star honours by scoring his 20th of the season and adding a helper
Montreal Canadiens prospect Florian Xhekaj scored the lone Bulldogs goal with a slick backhander
Brantford outshot Flint 24-15 as Jacob Brown made 23 saves for the win
Flint collects a fourth straight road win and improves to 21-25-3-1 on the season
Brantford remains atop the East Division at 26-16-6-2

Ottawa 67’s 3 vs. Kitchener Rangers 2

Bradley Horner scored the deciding goal with 1:29 remaining as the 67’s overcame a 2-1 deficit to beat Kitchener on home ice
Captain Luca Pinelli tied the score at two with his 35th goal of the season
Jack Dever also scored for Ottawa while Frankie Marrelli collected a pair of assists
Kitchener’s Carson Rehkopf scored his 40th goal of the season, joining Adrian Misaljevic in the goal-scoring department
Ottawa outshot Kitchener 35-25, with Ian Michelone making 23 saves for the win
Jackson Parsons made 32 saves for the Rangers
The 67’s extend their point streak to nine games, improving to 26-17-5-1
Kitchener has lost three in a row, falling to 31-19-2-0

Sarnia Sting 3 vs. Guelph Storm 2 – OT

Easton Wainwright scored 22 seconds into overtime to complete the comeback for the Sting, who tied up the game off a Ryan Brown goal with 46 seconds remaining in regulation
2024 NHL Draft prospect Lukas Fischer had two assists for Sarnia
Sting captain Cooper Way went 14-for-16 in the faceoff circle
Charlie Paquette had a hand in both Storm goals, scoring one and adding a helper on Ryan McGuire’s first period tally
Sarnia keeps one point ahead of Flint for eight place in the Western Conference by improving to 22-27-3-0
Guelph drops their sixth straight game

Barrie Colts 4 vs. Kingston Frontenacs 3

The Colts scored three goals in just over two and a half minutes early in the second period to go up 4-0, with two from Beau Jelsma and one from Blair Scott
2024 NHL Draft prospect Cole Beaudoin recorded an assist, extending his point streak to 12 games
Overage centreman Jax Dubois would add two goals for Kingston
Nathan Poole made it a one-goal game late in the third for the Frontenacs
Barrie goalkeeper Ben West earned the win by stopping 43-of-46 shots
Mason Vaccari stopped all 15 shots he faced in relief of starter Kyle Downey
The Colts improve to 21-25-3-0, drawing within four points of the seventh-place Frontenacs in the Eastern Conference
Kingston’s three game winning streak comes to an end

Saginaw Spirit 5 vs. Erie Otters 2

Anaheim Ducks prospect Rodwin Dionicio scored two goals, leading the Spirit over the Otters
Montreal Canadiens prospect Owen Beck added a goal and two assists, giving him six points in his last two games
Rookie defenceman Matthew Schaefer scored his third of the season off an end-to-end rush
Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Nolan Lalonde wins his 14th consecutive start and picks up his 50th career OHL win
Goaltender Boe Piroski, currently of the PJCHL Lakeshore Canadiens, made his Erie Otters debut, stopping 25 shots in the loss
Saginaw wins their fourth straight and have won 10 of their last 11
Erie drops their fourth consecutive game

Windsor Spitfires 7 vs. Owen Sound Attack 4

Three-point nights from Noah Morneau (2-1-3) and Colton Smith (1-2-3) would lead the offence for the Spitfires
AJ Spellacy scored the game winner for Windsor on a penalty shot with just over six minutes remaining
Rookie Jack Nesbitt recorded his first career multi-point game, chipping in with a goal and an assist
Winnipeg Jets prospect Colby Barlow scored two goals for the Attack, while teammate Deni Goure added three assists
Attack overager Ethan Burroughs scored his 25th goal of the season
Windsor’s Joey Costanzo made 29 saves for the win
The Spits improve to 16-29-3-2
Owen Sound has their six game point streak snapped

Soo Greyhounds 2 vs. Niagara IceDogs 1

Jacob Frasca’s second period goal would stand as the game winner as the Hounds snap a two-game losing skid
New York Rangers prospect Bryce McConnell-Barker opened up the scoring for the Soo less than five minutes into the first
2024 NHL Draft prospect Kevin He showed off his speed by rushing to the opposite end of the ice for a shorthanded goal
Goaltender Owen Flores kept the game close by stopping 47-of-49 shots that he faced to earn first star honours
After giving up the a goal on the first shot he faced, Soo goaltender Landon Miller stopped the following 16 shots to earn the win
The Greyhounds improve to 33-14-2-1 on the season
Niagara drops their third straight, falling to 14-30-6-1