Sports stats



OHL Flint Firebirds

Firebirds Push But Fall Short Against Guelph, 3-2

December 30, 2023 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


FLINT, Mich. - The Flint Firebirds fell in an early 2-0 hole but battled back with a pair of second period goals to tie the game. The Guelph Storm then took the lead back and eventually beat the Firebirds, 3-2, on Saturday night at the Dort Financial Center. Nathan Aspinall and Coulson Pitre both scored for Flint in the loss.

The Storm grabbed the early lead with a pair of power play markers that came less than a minute apart in the first period. First Jett Luchanko took a shot from the point that Jake Karabala redirected from between the faceoff circles. It caromed past Jacob Brown and Guelph was on the board. Then after another Flint player went to the box, Luchanko fed Braeden Bowman at the left circle. He stepped into a one-timer that beat Brown on the near side to make the score 2-0.

The Firebirds took over in the middle frame with their own pair of goals in quick succession. First, with the Birds on the power play, Marko Stojkov blasted a low shot into traffic from the left point. Aspinall was screening in front and tipped it up and over Brayden Gillespie's outstretched left pad to cut the deficit to 2-1. Then, 1:39 later, with the teams back at even strength, Nolan Dann's neutral zone pass sprung Pitre up the right-wing side with a step on his defender. From the right faceoff dot he lifted a wrister over Gillespie's left shoulder to tie the game.

Guelph would net its third power-play goal of the night with 17 seconds remaining in the middle frame. After setting up in the offensive zone, Luchanko sent a cross-ice to Bowman at the bottom of the left circle. Bowman ripped a sharp-angle one-timer high behind Brown for his second of the night, which gave the Storm a 3-2 lead.

Flint called Brown to the bench near the 18:30 mark and used their timeout at the next whistle. The Birds sent a flurry of shots toward Gillespie in the final minute, but a few key saves and several shots blocked by the defenders kept the score the same as time expired.

Brown recorded 21 saves on 24 shots in just his eighth OHL appearance, Pitre extended his point streak to six games and Aspinall's goal was his eighth of the season. Flint's power play went 1-for-2 but it was just 2-for-5 on the penalty kill.

Flint fell to 14-17-2-1 in the loss while Guelph improved to 21-12-1-1. The Firebirds will close out the calendar year on Sunday afternoon in London. Puck drop for the New Year's Eve road game is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Budweiser Gardens.

Story: Brandon Mills // flintfirebirds.com

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from December 30, 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