Sports stats



OHL Flint Firebirds

Firebirds Post 5-4 Victory in Sarnia Wednesday

January 5, 2017 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Firebirds Post 5-4 Victory in Sarnia Wednesday
Firebirds Post 5-4 Victory in Sarnia Wednesday
(Flint Firebirds, Credit: Darren Metcalfe/Metcalfe Photography)

Sarnia, Ont. - Firebirds' captain Alex Peters had a three-point night, Everett Clark collected two points and Kole Sherwood notched two assists as Flint rallied for a 5-4 victory over the Sarnia Sting Wednesday night. The victory improved Flint's record to 4-0 against Sarnia this season.

Jake Durham started the scoring for the Firebirds with his second goal of the season at the 12:02 mark of the first frame when he fired a shot five-hole off the faceoff to beat Justin Fazio, earning Flint a 1-0 lead.

Sarnia tied the game less than three minutes later when Troy Lajeunesse scored his 10th goal of the season after Jordan Kyrou (St. Louis Blues) stole the puck in the neutral zone and dished a pass to Lajeunesse on a two-on-one. Lajeunesse backhanded the puck past Connor Hicks to even the score 1-1 after one period of play.

Peters collected his third goal of the season on the power-play at the 6:38 mark of the second period when he converted on Sherwood's (Columbus Blue Jackets) wrap-around rebound to earn Flint a 2-1 lead.

The Firebirds doubled their lead less than three minutes later after Everett Clark deflected Peters' wrist-shot from the point, beating Fazio five-hole to post his 10th goal of the season.

Kevin Spinozzi cut Sarnia's deficit to one goal after he scored his seventh goal of the season on the power-play. Spinozzi one-timed a sharp-angle shot from the bottom of the right-circle that beat Connor Hicks short-side, over his left-shoulder, to make the score 3-2.

The Sting tied the game with 2:51 remaining in the middle period and their second goal in 2:16 after Sean Josling scored his fourth goal of the season cleaning-up a rebound on the left-side of the goal to make the score 3-3 after two periods of play.

Lajeunesse earned the Sting their first lead of the game 5:37 into the third period after he scored his 11th goal of the season and second of the night. Brady Hinz chipped the puck past a Firebirds' defender before feeding a perfect pass to Lajeunesse for a two-on-one play. Lajeunesse beat Hicks blocker-side to earn Sarnia their only lead of the night.

Jalen Smereck (Arizona Coyotes) tied-up the game 45 seconds later for Flint when he scored his fifth goal of the season after he toe-dragged around a defender and fired a shot top-shelf, far-side, from the left circle to even the score 3-3.

Nicholas Caamano (Dallas Stars) re-gained the Firebirds lead when he scored his 16th goal of the season after he redirected a shot from Peters with his skate that floated over Fazio's blocker to earn Flint a 5-4 lead with 12:18 remaining in the final frame.

Hicks and the defense held up in the last 20 seconds of the game when the Sting had an extra attacker on the ice, winning the contest 5-4 and improving to 4-0 vs. Sarnia this season.

The Firebirds outshot the Sting 35-25. Flint was one-for-two on the power-play while Sarnia scored once on three chances. Alex Peters earned second star honors by scoring once and tallying two assists. Hicks made 21 saves on 25 shots.

Upcoming Home Game:

The Flint Firebirds return home to the Dort Federal Event Center Friday, Jan. 6 to host the Erie Otters and fans will be treated to a special guest appearance from Mickey Redmond, a former player and now TV Analyst on FOX Sports Detroit for the Detroit Red Wings.

NHL Hall of Famer, Redmond, a two-time 50-goal scorer for the Red Wings will be in attendance for an autograph session on the arena concourse from 6-7:30 p.m. The autograph session is available to all fans with a suggested $5 donation to the Firebirds Charitable Foundation. (More Information)

January is also "Firebirds Fight Hunger" month. The Firebirds are teaming up with the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan where fans can bring in at last three canned-goods or non-perishable food items to receive a complimentary ticket to any Flint Firebirds' home game in the month of January.

Single game tickets for the Flint Firebirds 2016-17 season are $12 for Bronze, $15 for Silver, $19 for Gold and $25 for VIP seating. Prices are unchanged from last season and all seats are reserved / assigned seating. Parking has been reduced to $5 dollars which is new this season. Fans can purchase tickets at the Dort Federal Event Center Box Office or online by clicking ticketmaster.com.

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics




Images from this story

Firebirds Post 5-4 Victory in Sarnia Wednesday
Firebirds Post 5-4 Victory in Sarnia Wednesday
(Darren Metcalfe/Metcalfe Photography)		   



Ontario Hockey League Stories from January 5, 2017


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