Game Day, Game 60, Firebirds vs Spirit - 7 p.m.
March 5, 2025 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release
GAME 60 - Firebirds vs Spirit
Dort Financial Center
Flint, Michigan
7 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT: Jimmy Lombardi had two goals and an assist, Noah Bender made 30 saves on 33 shots and the Firebirds took out the Erie Otters, 6-3 on Saturday night at the Erie Insurance Arena.
ON A ROLL: Flint's win on Saturday night in Erie was its fifth in a row, matching the longest winning streak of the season. The Firebirds previously won five straight from December 11-28. Flint has outscored its opposition, 24-13 during its current winning streak, which has featured four regulation wins and one shootout win.
THE PLAYOFF PICTURE: Flint enters Wednesday night's game sitting in sixth place in the Western Conference with nine games remaining in the regular season. The Firebirds trail the fifth-place Erie Otters by five points. They are seven points up on the seventh-place Soo Greyhounds and eight points ahead of the Sarnia Sting and Owen Sound Attack, who are tied for eighth. Flint's magic number to clinch a playoff spot is 11. Any combination of 11 points gained by the Firebirds or lost by the Attack would put Flint in the playoffs.
PENALTIES BEWARE: The Firebirds went 2-for-2 on the penalty kill during Saturday's 6-3 win in Erie and have now killed off 15 consecutive penalties without allowing a power play goal. The Birds are 22-for-23 on the penalty kill in their last seven games and have raised their season-long PK percentage from 75.3%, which was the 17th-best in the OHL, to 77.3%, which is the 13th-best.
PITRE HEATING UP: Kaden Pitre had a goal and an assist on Saturday in Erie, his third consecutive game with multiple points and the fourth in his past five games. He is second on the team in both goals (22) and is tied for the team lead in assists (30). Pitre leads the team with 52 points and has seven goals and 12 assists in his last 11 games.
ODDS AND ENDS: Saginaw's Igor Chernyshov made his season debut on January 30. Since that date, he leads the OHL with 38 points on 14 goals and 24 assists. Michael Misa and Zayne Parekh are second in the OHL with 37 points each during that same stretch...three of Flint's final nine games this season will come against Saginaw...Connor Clattenburg has four goals and three assists in five games against the Spirit.
UP NEXT: The Firebirds will stay on home ice on Friday night to take on the Brantford Bulldogs. Puck drop at the Dort Financial Center is set for 7 p.m.
Ontario Hockey League Stories from March 5, 2025
- Spend March Break with the Frontenacs - Kingston Frontenacs
- The Road Ahead: Western Run - Brantford Bulldogs
- Storm Set to Host Third Annual Captain's Cause Night Sponsored by BDO Canada - Guelph Storm
- Thibodeau Strikes Twice But Birds Fall to Spirit, 5-3 - Flint Firebirds
- Parekh Takes Franchise Assists Record as Spirit Beat Firebirds, 5-3 - Saginaw Spirit
- Dickinson & Cowan Star as Knights Race Past Bulldogs - Brantford Bulldogs
- Generals Shut out Steelheads with 4-0 Victory on the Road - Oshawa Generals
- Game Preview: Spirit at Flint Firebirds - Saginaw Spirit
- Game Day, Game 60, Firebirds vs Spirit - 7 p.m. - Flint Firebirds
- Gens Head to Brampton for Important Morning Clash - Oshawa Generals
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