Firebirds Falter in Erie, 7-2
January 13, 2024 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release
ERIE, Pa. - Simon Slavicek scored for the third consecutive game and Blake Smith netted his second of the season, but the Erie Otters were too much as they beat the Flint Firebirds, 7-2, on Saturday night at the Erie Insurance Arena. Dylan Edwards logged his first career hat trick to lead the offensive charge for the Otters.
Erie scored the game's first goal less than two minutes into the first. Carey Terrance knocked a puck loose from a scrum behind Jacob Brown's net and it slid toward the left-wing circle. Malcolm Spence gathered it, stickhandled across the slot with a defender in tow, and backhanded it beyond the reach of the of Jacob Brown's outstretched pad to make the score 1-0.
The Birds would tie things up in the final minutes of the opening frame. Nolan Dann carried the puck up the right-wing side and stickhandled behind Erie's net with a pair of Otters in hot pursuit. He found a seam to hit Slavicek who was centered in the left circle. Slavicek dropped to one knee and blistered a one-timer off the inside of the post and in past Ben Gaudreau to tie the game at one.
The Otters struck again 1:30 into period two. Brown made a pair of beautiful saves on back-to-back shots from the top of the right circle by Pano Fimis and Nicholas Holomego but second rebound went to his right, where Edwards had just curled around from behind the cage. He grabbed it and lifted a short snapper over Brown's right pad for his first of the game.
Flint's deficit increased to two minutes later when Alexis Daviault wristed a puck into traffic from the right point. As Brown slid to protect the far side of his net, Brett Bressette found a way to redirect the shot back to the near side, extending the Otters lead to 3-1.
The Firebirds got back on the board when Smith snagged a puck off the left wall on an Erie clearing attempt and quickly flicked it toward the goal. The shot deflected off a defender and beat Gaudreau low past his blocker to pull the Birds within a goal.
The Otters extended their lead to two again less than four minutes later. Owain Johnston sent a cross-ice pass from the right faceoff dot to Edwards in the opposite circle. Edwards one-timed the pass just inside the near post for his second of the night to put the Birds in a 4-2 hole. They then added to it in the final second of the period while skating four on four. Johnston skated to the point, wound back, and lasered a slap shot through traffic and past Brown's glove to give the home squad a 5-2 advantage
In the third, Edwards completed the hat trick when Fimis won a faceoff back to him and he sent a wrist shot high though Brown's glove side. Erie then extended its lead to 7-2 after Terrance was left alone for a back-door tap-in.
Brown made 22 saves on 29 shots and Dann extended his point streak to 11 games with an assist on the first Firebirds goal. The Otters improved to 18-16-4-0 with the win while Flint dropped to 17-21-2-1 for the season after the defeat.
Flint is back on the road on Friday night in Guelph for a meeting with the Storm. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Sleeman Centre.
Ontario Hockey League Stories from January 13, 2024
- Spitfires Win Wild Game 11-7 Over Sudbury - Windsor Spitfires
- Three Power Play Goals Give Saginaw 5-2 Victory Over Guelph - Saginaw Spirit
- Firebirds Falter in Erie, 7-2 - Flint Firebirds
- Vanacker & Xhekaj Close The Stables As Dogs Down Colts 4-3 - Brantford Bulldogs
- Pagé Scores Third in Three Games as Petes Fall to Generals - Peterborough Petes
- Firebirds Eye Road Trip Sweep on Saturday in Erie - Flint Firebirds
- Liam Greentree Named 59th Spitfires Captain in Team History - Windsor Spitfires
- Spirit Host Storm on Corteva Agriscience Family Night - Saginaw Spirit
- It Was an Offensive Showcase in 6-2 Win over Erie - Kitchener Rangers
- Lavoie & Sobolev Score In Dogs Debut To Earn Point - Brantford Bulldogs
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