Flint Drops Erie for Fifth Straight Win, 6-3

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OHL Flint Firebirds

Flint Drops Erie for Fifth Straight Win, 6-3

March 1, 2025 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


ERIE, Pa. - Jimmy Lombardi had two goals and an assist, Noah Bender made 28 saves and the Flint Firebirds took down the Erie Otters, 6-3 on Saturday night at the Erie Insurance Arena. Flint's win was its fifth in a row, matching its longest winning streak of the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Firebirds opened the scoring in the first period when Kaden Pitre carried the pick in with Nathan Aspinall on his left wing. Pitre looked the defender off and blistered a wrist shot past Noah Erliden's glove to give the Birds a 1-0 lead.

Erie answered quickly though as Dylan Edwards carried the puck below the net, wrapped around and fired a shot under Bender's right pad to tie the game at one. The Otters then took the lead 30 seconds into the second period when Pano Fimis hit Quinn McCall for a back door tap in to make the score 2-1.

Flint then grabbed control late in the second period with three goals in the span of six minutes. First, Lombardi brought the puck towards the net, deked around an Erliden poke check and flipped a wrist shot in on the blocker side. Later, Hayden Reid fired a shot from the short side that Erliden stopped. He took the rebound below the goal line and banked a shot off Erliden's back and into the net. Finally, Chris Thibodeau shoved a shot on net that was stopped but Aspinall crashed the crease on the back side. He poked the puck in and the Firebirds' lead was 4-2.

The Birds added another goal early in the third period as Karlis Flugins deked to his forehand and fired a shot past Erliden's glove. Erie got one back with a goal from Malcolm Spence to bring itself back within two. The Otters pulled Erliden for an extra attacker late but Lombardi would cash in with the empty-netter, pushing the score to its 6-3 final.

Flint improved to 27-27-2-3 with its fifth consecutive win while Erie dropped to 28-24-4-2. The Firebirds now trail the Otters by three points for fifth place in the Western Conference.

POSTGAME NOTES:

Jimmy Lombardi has five goals and one assist in his last two games...Kaden Pitre recorded his third consecutive multi-point game and his fourth in the last five games. He leads the team with 52 points...Flint won the season series with Erie, 3-1-0-0...Noah Bender appeared for the first time since February 1. He made 28 saves on 31 shots.

UP NEXT:

Flint will head home for three games at the Dort Financial Center next week. It begins on Wednesday night against the Saginaw Spirit with the Coors Light I-75 Divide Cup. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from March 1, 2025


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