Wednesday Highlights: Slavicek strikes in overtime as Firebirds edge Spirit

Flint Firebirds 3 vs. Saginaw Spirit 2 – OT

Flint blueliner Roberto Mancini buried a pair of goals against his former club, collecting first star honours
Simon Slavicek led the way in overtime, scoring the game-winner with 26 seconds remaining
Edmonton Oilers prospect Nathan Day made 41 saves in the victory
Anaheim Ducks prospect Rodwin Dionicio had a goal and an assist in the loss
Flint pulls eight points ahead of Sarnia for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, they sit two points back of seventh place Owen Sound
Despite the loss, the Spirit move into a tie for first place in the Western Conference with a record of 44-15-1-1

Soo Greyhounds 3 vs. Sudbury Wolves 2 – OT

Chicago Blackhawks prospect Gavin Hayes scored the overtime-winner with 33 seconds left
Justin Cloutier scored his 22nd goal of the season
Charlie Schenkel was solid between the pipes, making 31 stops in the victory
Zacharie Giroux scored in his first game back in the Sudbury lineup since Feb. 16th
St. Louis Blues prospect Dalibor Dvorsky notched his 35th of the season
The Greyhounds have points in six straight, improving to 40-16-3-1
Despite the loss, the Wolves move into a tie for second place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 34-19-4-3

Guelph Storm 5 vs. London Knights 4

Brayden Gillespie was excellent, making 43 saves as the Storm defeated the Knights for the first time this season
Brody Crane found the back of the net against his former team
Storm captain Braeden Bowman scored his 32nd goal of the season
Vancouver Canucks prospect Vilmer Alriksson opened the scoring, notching his 14th of the season while earning first star honours
The Knights outshot the Storm 47-21
Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Easton Cowan extended his point streak to 30 games, tallying a pair of markers
Guelph climbs to fifth in the Western Conference, improving to 28-25-5-1
London sits tied with Saginaw at 90 points apiece for first place in the OHL standings

Kitchener Rangers 5 vs. Owen Sound Attack 1

Seattle Kraken prospect Eduard Šalé had his best game since joining the Rangers, collecting a goal and two assists
Rangers forward Matthew Sop tallied a pair of markers
Montreal Canadiens prospect Filip Mešár and Calgary Flames prospect Hunter Brzustewicz each collected a pair of assists
Rangers rookie Cameron Reid scored his second goal of the season
Attack forward Ethan Burroughs scored his 30th of the season, reaching the 30-goal mark for the second time in his OHL career
Kitchener secures home ice in the first round of the OHL Playoffs with their third straight win
Owen Sound has lost four in a row, sitting just two points up on eighth place Flint

Mississauga Steelheads 5 vs. Brantford Bulldogs 1

2024 NHL Draft prospect Jack Van Volsen scored a pair of power play goals to earn first star honours
Marc Boudreau, Angus MacDonell and Mason Zebeski also scored for Mississauga
Rookie netminder Jack Van Volsen turned aside 28-of-29, carrying a shutout into the third period
Zakary Lavoie scored Brantford’s lone goal in front of 30 saves by Matteo Drobac
Montreal Canadiens prospect Florian Xhekaj was held off the scoresheet, seeing his 11-game point streak come to an end; he was ejected following a check from behind in the second period
Steelheads’ top goal-scorer Porter Martone was out of the lineup
The Steelheads have points in four straight, improving to 32-21-7-0 for fifth in the Eastern Conference
Brantford’s nine-game point streak is snapped as the Dogs fall to 33-17-8-2
The game was played before a school day crowd of 5,203 at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre