Sports stats



OHL Flint Firebirds

Firebirds Falter at Home to Saginaw, 7-1

December 9, 2023 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


FLINT, Mich. - Tristan Bertucci scored his third goal of the season in the first period to give the Firebirds an early lead but the Saginaw Spirit rattled off seven unanswered goals and went on to beat Flint, 7-1, on Saturday night at the Dort Financial Center

The Birds controlled play early and recorded the game's first eight shots on goal. They got on the board on their first power play chance of the game. Off a won faceoff, Braeden Kressler and Bertucci played a game of catch with the puck across the top of the offensive zone. Bertucci finally saw a shooting lane and blasted a slap from the point. It sailed through traffic and high past Nolan Lalonde for the 1-0 lead.

After that the Spirit took over, scoring the equalizer with under 90 seconds remaining in period one. With a scramble for a loose puck at the side of Nathan Day's net, Saginaw found a way to get the puck up high to Braden Hache atop the left circle. Hache's quick snapper found twine over Day's right shoulder, tying the game at one.

The visitors claimed the lead in the first minute of the middle frame. Matyas Sapovaliv carried through the left circle with Alex Christopoulos pacing to his right in a two-on-one. Sapovaliv snapped a pass to the trailer on the back side and Day slid across his crease to stop Christopoulos' one-timer attempt. The rebound slipped between the circles and before Day could recover, Hache knocked home his second of the night.

The Spirit scored twice more in the second period. First Hunter Haight rang a shot off the far post from the bottom of the left circle and redirected his own rebound behind Day. Then near the end of the frame, Day stopped a short-range backhand shot from Sebastien Gervais only to have Zayne Parekh tap the rebound behind him for Saginaw's fourth of the contest.

In the third period, the Spirit's league-leading power play put three more markers on the scoreboard. First, Sapovaliv shot from along the left-wing half-boards and Michael Misa was able to tip it past Day. Then, after a handful of penalties were handed out for a group disagreement in front of Saginaw's bench, Parekh launched one through traffic from the high slot that Christopoulos deflected past Day. In the final minute of the game, Gervais poked a loose puck under Day, pushing the lead to its 7-1 final.

The Firebirds fell to 13-12-2-1 in the loss while the Spirit improved to 17-9-0-1. Flint will complete its weekend on Sunday afternoon in Windsor for its first meeting of the season with the Spitfires. Puck drop at the WFCU Centre is scheduled for 4:05 p.m.

Story: Brandon Mills // flintfirebirds.com

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from December 9, 2023


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central