Firebirds Weekly Roundup, October 6 - 12
Published on October 13, 2025 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release
FLINT - The Firebirds began the third week of the season with the announcement of this year's leadership group. New York Rangers prospect Nathan Aspinall was named the eighth captain in franchise history. Jimmy Lombardi, a fourth-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in the 2025 NHL Draft, joins Alex Kostov and Urrban Podrekar as the alternate captains. The new leaders of the club were quickly put to the test with a home game on Wednesday evening against the visiting Kitchener Rangers.
The first 40 minutes of Wednesday's game remained a scoreless tie. That's when the Firebirds kicked it into a higher gear and took control of the contest. Aspinall sent a pass that put Chris Thibodeau on an all-out breakaway to give Flint the 1-0 lead, scoring his first of the campaign in just his second game. Kostov scored the second thanks to a setup pass from Dryden Allen. With the tally, Kostov logged his sixth point in five games. The third and final goal of the contest belonged to Kaden Pitre, who deflected a shot from Darels Uljanskis. Mason Vaccari was stellar between the pipes, turning aside all 20 shots faced for the second shutout of his career and first since joining the Firebirds.
The Oshawa Generals visited on Saturday, and the result was the same. Once again, Vaccari stole the show, this time stopping 26 shots to earn back-to-back shutouts. He's tied with Windsor's Joey Costanzo as the only two netminders with a pair of shutouts this season. Aspinall scored twice, with Lombardi earning an assist on both markers. Aspinall now has five goals on the season, and Lombardi has six assists. Newly signed forward Darian Anderson scored his first goal as a Firebird in his first game on his very first shift. Ryland Cunningham picked up his first point of the season with the helper. With their second victory of the week, the Birds improved their record to 3-3-1-0.
After being outshot 83 - 59 across two games in the previous week, Flint had the upper hand this week with a 64-46 advantage. The Birds were badly outdrawn by a 75 - 36 margin two weeks ago, but improved to a slight advantage of 65-62 across this week's two-game span. The penalty kill was successful on all five shorthanded situations (100%). The lone statistic that didn't improve was the power play, which went scoreless on ten total chances this week.
LEADERBOARD
Matthew Wang remains at the top of the points list with seven (3 G, 4 A) through five games played. There's now a four-way tie for second place with six total points. Aspinall has five goals, the most on the team, and he's picked up one helper. Lombardi's six assists lead the club, Kostov has two goals and four assists, and Charlie Murata has a single tally with five helpers. Dryden Allen leads the defense with four points (4A). Vaccari earned OHL Goaltender of the Week honors and is now ninth in the OHL in save percentage (.914) as well as 10th in GAA (2.75)
COMING UP
The Birds will now play games two and three in the annual eight-game rivalry series with the Saginaw Spirit, known as the I-75 Divide Cup, presented by Coors Light. Flint won the first meeting 6-5 in overtime in their first contest of the season. Now the two Michigan OHL teams will play a home-and-away series next weekend. Saturday's game is at the Dort Financial Center with puck drop set for 7:00 p.m. Sunday's tilt will take place at the Dow Event Center in Saginaw with a 5:30 p.m. start time.
Ontario Hockey League Stories from October 13, 2025
- Hounds Add O'Brien to Blueline - Soo Greyhounds
- Attack Sweep Home and Home Weekend with Battalion - Owen Sound Attack
- Firebirds Weekly Roundup, October 6 - 12 - Flint Firebirds
- OHL Announces Top Performers of the Week for October 6-12, 2025 - OHL
- Mason Vaccari Named OHL Goaltender of the Week - Flint Firebirds
- Generals Wrap-Up Thanksgiving Long Weekend in Windsor - Oshawa Generals
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