Firebirds Weekly Roundup, February 16-22
OHL Flint Firebirds

Firebirds Weekly Roundup, February 16-22

Published on February 24, 2026 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


FLINT - The Firebirds began the day on Monday tied with the Windsor Spitfires for second place in the Western Conference, two points back of the Kitchener Rangers. All three of the West's leaders played a matinee game on Monday, which is Family Day in Ontario. By 4:30 p.m., the Spits and Birds had both won, and Kitchener was in overtime with the Petes. At the end of the day, Windsor and Flint sat just one point behind the Rangers.

Inhat Pazii kicked things off in Oshawa with his second goal in as many games, and extended his point streak to four games (2 G, 2 A). Jacob Battaglia continued to heat up, scoring his 22nd and 23rd goals of the season. His first of the night was his 100th career OHL tally. Darian Anderson (17) also found the back of the net in period two, as the Firebirds' advantage stretched to 4-0. Red-hot Kevin He scored the fifth and final marker of the contest, extending his goal-scoring streak to a league-best nine games. Between the pipes, Mason Vaccari stopped all 19 shots faced for his fourth shutout of the season, and second in as many games against the Generals.

The Birds hosted the Sudbury Wolves on Saturday and had to erase an early four-goal deficit. Just past the midway point of the game, Flint's offense chimed in. First, rookie Charlie Murata buried his fifth of the season, followed by back-to-back goals from Chris Thibodeau (15) and Brady Smith (7). The Wolves led 4-3 heading into the third before Jimmy Lombardi got the equalizer, his 30th of the year and 50th of his OHL career. Kevin He lit the lamp shorthanded with his club-leading 34th, extending his goal-scoring streak to a new franchise record of ten games (15 G, 5 A). Sudbury tied the game in the final minutes and secured a 6-5 victory in overtime. In what's on pace to be one of their best seasons ever, Flint finished the season series at 0-1-1-0 versus the Wolves and holds a count of 4-4-2-0 against the Central Division for the year. Thibodeau recorded his fourth-straight multi-point contest (1 G, 1 A). The Central Division remains a thorn in the Firebirds' side, as it's the division they have the lowest win percentage (44.3%) against as a franchise.

Flint travelled to Windsor on Sunday for a battle for the West Division's top spot. Aspinall chipped in his 100th career assist, setting up Jacob Battaglia (24) on the power play to break the scoreless tie near the 15-minute mark of the first period. With the secondary helper, Urban Podrekar extended his points streak to six games (2 G, 7 A). The Spits tied the game near the midway point of period two, but then Vaccari shut them down for the balance of the contest. The Birds scored once more while shorthanded, which stood as the game-winning tally. Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Rylan Fellinger and Lombardi broke away on a two-on-one against the OHL's goaltender with the lowest goals-against average (2.11), Joey Costanzo. Fellinger shot far pad, and the rebound went directly to Lombardi for his 31st of the season inside the final four minutes of the middle frame. Lombardi's game-winning tally was his eighth of the season, setting a new franchise record. The two goaltenders combined for 11 saves through the scoreless final 20 minutes. With the victory, the Firebirds season record improved to 38-14-4-2. They sit three points above the Spitfires and just two points behind Kitchener for the Western Conference's top spot.

The Firebirds earned five of the six available points in the standings this week, outscoring opponents by a combined total of 12-7. They also outshot the trio of challengers 86-76. They trailed in faceoffs by a margin of 92-73. The power play scored at a 30% clip, converting on three of ten chances. Nine of 11 penalties taken were killed successfully for an 81.1% efficiency.

LEADERBOARD

Aspinall leads the Firebirds in points (79) and assists (51). His 28 goals rank third for Flint. Red-hot Kevin He is tied for the fourth-most goals in the league with 34, and has 31 helpers for 65 total points. Jimmy Lombardi is third with 63 points, stemming from 31 tallies and 32 assists. Podrekar remains atop the blue-line unit, now with ten goals and 35 assists.

COMING UP

The Birds have nearly an entire week off before returning to home ice for a pair of weekend contests against high-ranked teams from the East. First up is a Saturday evening matchup with the third-place team from the Eastern Conference, the Ottawa 67's. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. for Saturday's contest, which is the annual Hurley Children's Hospital Night, sponsored by Financial Plus Credit Union. On Sunday, it's the fourth-place Peterborough Petes in town for a 4:00 p.m. battle, and it's Kids Takeover / Family FUNday Sunday.

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from February 24, 2026


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