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OHL Flint Firebirds

Firebirds Post 7-2 Victory in Kitchener Friday

January 26, 2019 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Kitchener, Ont. - The Firebirds scored the first seven goals of the game. It was 5-0 after the first period and 6-0 after the second. Flint has now won four of their last nine games and has earned points in five of the nine. Ethan Keppen extended his point-streak to 10 games, Jack Wismer recorded two goals for a three-point night, Evan Vierling scored two goals and Emanuel Vella made 51 saves en-route to a 7-2 victory in front of 6,639 fans at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Friday night.

On special teams, the Firebirds scored once on three opportunities with the man-advantage, while limiting the league's top-ranked power play to two goals on seven opportunities.

On the first goal of the night, Ethan Keppen made a board-pass around a defender to Cody Morgan in the left corner of the attacking zone. Morgan quickly found Jack Wismer between the hash marks for a quick snap-shot, farside into the top right corner of the net for his ninth of the season at 2:19.

Then, on their first man-advantage of the night, Ty Dellandrea (Dallas Stars) scored the Firebirds' second tally at 4:47. Riley McCourt fed Dennis Busby (Arizona Coyotes) centered high above the circles. Busby dished to Dellandrea on the right point, where the captain skated to the top of the circle before firing a shot off the far post and in for his 17th of the campaign.

On the ensuing neutral-zone face-off, the Rangers iced the puck, bringing the next draw to the left of their veteran netminder Luke Richardson. The faceoff went deep into the right corner, where Keppen won a battle along the boards. He backhanded the puck along the wall to Morgan, who redirected the pass toward the slot. Wismer tried to beat Richardson with patience, carrying across the mouth of the crease before a backhand attempt. Keppen pounced on the rebound in the crease and chipped it in for his 17th of the season at 5:04.

At 12:19, first-year forward Evan Vierling scored Flint's fourth goal on their 10th shot. Eric Uba and Kyle Harris skated out of the defensive zone on a two-on-two. The two forwards crisscrossed just inside the offensive blue line, where Uba made a drop pass to Harris. Harris attempted the first shot from inside the right circle, and Richardson made the pad save. The rebound trickled out between the circles, where Vierling put it back on net before Richardson cover. The tally was Vierling's third of the season, resulting in a goaltending change for the home team.

Wismer scored his second of the night on an all-out breakaway he earned with a simple poke check from a Rangers' defender. He stick-handled forehand to backhand, paused and then repeated the move again. He waited for netminder Lucas Pfeil to commit before scoring his 10th of the season with an ice-level backhand at 18:44, unassisted. First period shots were 20 - 15 in Kitchener's favor.

Vierling found paydirt again for the only goal of the middle frame at 16:24. Michael Bianconi sent a slap-pass from the left point to Vierling on the right side of the goal. Vierling one-timed the puck behind Pfeil for his fourth of the year, assisted by Bianconi and Hakon Nilsen. Second-period shots favored the Rangers 15 - 5 for a two-period lead advantage of 35 - 20.

Early in the third, Ty Dellandrea picked the pocket of a Kitchener player and carried across the offensive blue line. He fed a cross-ice pass to Hunter Holmes who scored on a wrister, five-hole, from the left circle at 1:23. The goal was Holmes' seventh of the season, scored on his 19th birthday.

Then, while Flint was leading 7-0, Kitchener's league-leading power play scored twice late in the game. Donovan Sebrango scored his third of the season in the slot to put the Rangers on the board at 8:51 of the final frame. His power-play goal was a third attempt from close range that slipped over the sprawling Emanuel Vella. Jonathan Yantsis and Greg Meireles were credited with the assists. At 15:13, Reid Valade picked up his second of the season, assisted by Alexey Lipanov (Tampa Bay Lightning).

Final shots-on-goal were 53 - 29, advantage Kitchener. In the face-off circle, the Rangers finished with a 39 - 34 edge. Vella was one save shy of the Firebirds' all-time record, held by Brent Moran on Dec. 29, 2015.

Next up for Flint, the Firebirds will wrap-up their five-game road trip in Owen Sound Saturday. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. (ET) at the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre. The game will be broadcast live on the radio throughout Flint & Mid-Michigan on US 103.1 FM, online at www.us103.com or by downloading the US 103 app here. Dominic Hennig will call the play-by-play action with pre-game coverage beginning at 7:00 p.m. The game will be televised live in Owen Sound on channel 53 / 510 (HD) for Rogers TV cable subscribers. It will also be televised live across the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pak on channel 448 for both Rogers TV and Cogeco TV cable subscribers.

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from January 26, 2019


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