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OHL Flint Firebirds

Firebirds Falter in Third, Fall to Sarnia, 6-5

October 13, 2024 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Flint Firebirds face off with the Sarnia Sting
Flint Firebirds face off with the Sarnia Sting
(Flint Firebirds, Credit: Sarnia Sting)

SARNIA, Ont. - Jimmy Lombardi scored twice, Cole Zurawski and Max Anderson each tallied their first career OHL goals and the Firebirds jumped out to a 5-3 lead through two periods but the Sarnia Sting responded with three goals in the third and went on to beat the Flint Firebirds, 6-5, on Sunday afternoon at Progressive Auto Sales Arena.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Birds snagged an early lead thanks to a pair of first period goals. First, just under seven minutes into the game, Jimmy Lombardi grabbed a loose puck even with the goal line to the right of the net. He maneuvered it around Evan Maillet and tucked it home to give Flint the lead. Later, Chris Thibodeau sped down the right wing and hit the crashing Anderson at the back door. Anderson steered the puck past Maillet and his first OHL goal made the score 2-0.

Sarnia answered though and cut into the lead with an Easton Wainwright goal later in the first. Daylen Moses then beat Jacob Brown with a wrister from the left circle in the first minute of the second to tie the game at two.

Flint grabbed the lead back quickly as Lombardi and Nathan Aspinall were able to pop the puck loose on the forecheck. Lombardi grabbed the loose puck, spun and fired a shot high past Maillet's glove for his second goal which made it 3-2.

Three minutes later, Aspinall shook himself loose at the left circle. He snapped a wrist shot from a sharp angle that beat Maillet and Flint's lead was once again two, 4-2.

The Sting responded when Wainwright carried the puck to the front of the net and lifted a backhander past Brown's glove. Flint pushed its lead back to two though on Zurawski's first OHL tally. Alex Kostov flung a shot on net that Maillet stopped but Zurawski was camped in front of the crease. He corralled the loose puck and stuffed it into the net, giving the Firebirds a 5-3 edge.

From that point it was all Sarnia, however, as the Sting cut the lead to one early in the third period when Ryan Brown capitalized on chaos in front of the net and snuck a shot past Jacob Brown. Sarnia's Brown beat Flint's again two minutes later, evening the score at five just four and a half minutes into the third.

The Sting took the lead for good when a too many men on the ice penalty against the Firebirds sent Sarnia to the power play. Lukas Ficher fed Alessandro Di Iorio for a one timer at the left circle that he blasted past Brown and Sarnia took a 6-5 lead that it would not relinquish.

Brown made 21 saves on 27 shots while Maillet stopped 29 on 34 shots. The Firebirds fell to 4-3-0-0 in the loss while Sarnia improved to 3-2-1-2.

POSTGAME NOTES:

Jimmy Lombardi now has five points (2 G, 3 A) in his last two games...Sarnia had been 1-for-34 on the power play for the season before scoring the game-winning goal with a man advantage in the third...Cole Zurawski has points in back-to-back games for the first time in his OHL career...Max Anderson now has two points in three games this season. He did not record a point in 18 games with the Firebirds in 2023-24

UP NEXT:

The Firebirds will hit the road on Friday night for their first game of the season against the Soo Greyhounds. Puck drop at GFL Memorial Gardens is scheduled for 7:07 p.m.

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Images from this story

Flint Firebirds face off with the Sarnia Sting
Flint Firebirds face off with the Sarnia Sting
(Sarnia Sting)		   

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from October 13, 2024


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