Firebirds Double-up on Spitfires, 4-2
OHL Windsor Spitfires

Firebirds Double-up on Spitfires, 4-2

Published on January 23, 2026 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Windsor Spitfires News Release


The Flint Firebirds struck for three unanswered goals in the third period to rally past the Windsor Spitfires 4-2 on Friday night at the WFCU Centre. Goaltender Mason Vaccari turned aside 26 shots and second star Alex Kostov had a three-point night to power the visitors' comeback. ‚¬â€¹ ‚¬â€¹

Flint opened the scoring at 4:37 of the first when Ihnat Pazii finished a chance created by Kostov and Christopher Thibodeau to make it 1-0 Firebirds. Windsor answered just over ten minutes later off a set play, as defenceman Anthony Cristoforo jumped into the rush and buried a feed from Nathan Villeneuve at 15:29 to tie the game 1-1. The period also featured matching roughing minors to Nathan Gaymes and George Komadoski after a post-whistle scrum at 11:43, but neither side could capitalize on the ensuing four-on-four. ‚¬â€¹

The Spitfires grabbed their only lead late in the middle frame on the power play. With Pazii in the box for slashing, Ethan Belchetz wired home his 29th of the season from the slot at 18:12, set up by Cristoforo and captain Liam Greentree, giving Windsor a 2-1 advantage after forty minutes. Windsor outshot Flint 11-10 in the second and generated sustained zone time on several man-advantages, but Vaccari's steady work in goal kept the Firebirds within one. ‚¬â€¹

Flint flipped the game in the final twenty minutes. At 11:26, Kostov tied it 2-2, jamming home a loose puck after a point shot with Pazii and alternate captain Darian Anderson drawing the assists. Then, with Windsor on a late power play, Kostov struck again shorthanded at 18:29 to give Flint a 3-2 lead, capping a dominant third period from the Firebirds' second line. Anderson sealed it just 22 seconds later with an empty-net goal at 18:51 from Jimmy Lombardi, pushing the final to 4-2 and sending much of the crowd of 5,071 to the exits. ‚¬â€¹

Special teams, goaltending, and stars

Flint went 0-for-2 on the power play but scored the game-winning goal while killing a late Windsor man-advantage, underlining how their penalty kill swung the momentum. Windsor finished 1-for-5 on the power play and could not convert on a critical third-period opportunity that instead turned into the short-handed dagger. Vaccari earned first-star honours with 26 saves on 28 shots, while Kostov's two goals and one assist secured the second star; Cristoforo's goal and assist from the back end made him the lone Spitfire among the three stars. ‚¬â€¹

By the numbers

Final score: Flint 4, Windsor 2 (periods: 1-1, 0-1, 3-0). ‚¬â€¹

Shots: Windsor 28, Flint 24, with the Spitfires holding edges in the first two periods before being out-chanced late. ‚¬â€¹ ‚¬â€¹

Power plays: Flint 0/2, Windsor 1/5. ‚¬â€¹

Penalty minutes: Flint 14 (7 infractions), Windsor 8 (4 infractions). ‚¬â€¹

Goaltenders: Vaccari (FLNT) 26 saves in 60:00 for the win; Michael Newlove/Joey Costanzo combined for 22 saves in 60:00 for Windsor with Costanzo tagged with the loss.

The series continues Saturday night as the Spits visit the Firebirds in Flint. Catch us on AM800, FloSports or CogecoTV

By Remo Agostino

Check out the Windsor Spitfires Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from January 23, 2026


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