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OHL Flint Firebirds

Firebirds Cruise Past Sarnia, 5-2, for Fourth Straight Win

February 16, 2024 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


SARNIA, Ont. - Five different Firebirds scored and Nathan Day made 22 saves on 24 shots as Flint rolled to a 5-2 win over the Sarnia Sting on Friday night at Progressive Auto Sales Arena. The Firebirds extended their winning streak to a season-high four games and beat Sarnia for the second time in three games.

The Firebirds grabbed control late in the first period with a pair of goals. First, Nathan Aspinall stole the puck from a Sarnia defender in the offensive zone and curled back toward the goal. He slid a pass across the slot to Oliver Peer who was cutting toward the net from the left wing. The overage forward dragged from his forehand to his backhand and beat Nick Surzycia to make the score 1-0.

Inside the final two minutes of the first period, Matthew Wang burst out of his defensive zone down the right wing. A 3-on-2 developed through the neutral zone as Wang fed Connor Clattenburg racing up the middle. Clattenburg gained the zone with Jeremy Martin to his left as the three-man rush turned into a 2-on-1. Clattenburg backhand pass to Martin who one-timed a shot through Surzycia's five hole, pushing the lead to 2-0.

Flint extended that lead late in the second when Tristan Bertucci snapped a shot from the left point. It was headed wide of the net but Simon Slavicek reached out and redirected it. The puck caromed past Surzycia and the Firebirds' lead grew to 3-0.

Later, with Sarnia on a 4-on-3 power play, Zach Filak collected the puck in the neutral zone and fed Tyson Doucette at the blue line along the right-wing wall. Doucette skated across the line to the top of the right circle, where he returned the puck to Filak cutting between two defenders. Filak's skates got tangled with a Flint defender but he still managed to get a shot away as he was falling forward and slipped it through Day to cut the Firebirds' lead to 3-1 after 40 minutes.

The teams traded goals early in the third. First, the Firebirds scored on the power play off a backhand pass from Bertucci in the right offensive corner. He sent the puck past a pair of defenders to Nolan Dann at the far post. Dann flicked the puck to his backhand and finished to make the score 4-1.

Sarnia answered two minutes later when Sarnia gained the zone with an odd-man rush. Marko Sikic found Doucette on the back door and he fired a shot past the lunging Day, cutting the deficit to two.

Sarnia pulled Surzycia with just north of four minutes remaining in regulation while still trailing by a pair. It controlled the play in the attacking zone until the final minute when Clattenburg got loose behind the defense. He skated in and finished an empty-net goal, cementing a road victory.

Dann's goal extended his point streak to nine games and he has now logged points in 21 of his last 22 contests, Clattenburg had a goal and an assist in his 100th career OHL game and Bertucci finished with three assists.

The Firebirds improved to 23-25-3-1 with their wing while the Sting slid to 22-28-3-1. Flint will return home on Saturday night to host the Windsor Spitfires. It's Nickelodeon SpongeBob Squarepants night and the Firebirds will be wearing specialty jerseys that will be auctioned off postgame. Puck drop at the Dort Financial Center is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Story: Brandon Mills // flintfirebirds.com

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