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OHL Flint Firebirds

Hayes' Hat Trick Propels Firebirds To First Road Win Over Petes 7-4

December 1, 2022 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Flint, Mich. - The Firebirds invaded Peterborough, Ont. Thursday evening with one goal in mind: earn their first victory at the Peterborough Memorial Centre on the Petes' Teddy Bear Toss night. Despite surrendering four goals, two of which were scored by former Firebirds' skaters, a strong showing on both ends of the ice led to a 7-4 triumph. Gavin Hayes (Chicago Blackhawks) led the charge with three goals and Amadeus Lombardi (Detroit Red Wings) scored twice plus picked up an assist. Peterborough native Tyler Deline also had a three-point night with three assists. It was Flint's other player from Peterborough, goaltender Will Cranley (St. Louis Blues) earning his ninth victory with a rock-solid 43-save performance. Michael Simpson got the nod across the rink and posted 31 saves on 37 shots.

Peterborough came out with a frenzy of activity in the Flint end but was unable to get one past Cranley. Momentum tilted the other way a couple of minutes later, resulting in two Flint goals. First, Coulson Pitre carried up the right-wing wall into the offensive zone before feeding Amadeus Lombardi between the circles. With a defender draped all over him, Lombardi managed to lift a backhander from the low slot up and over goaltender Michael Simpson's left shoulder for his tenth of the campaign at 5:49. One minute later, Peterborough native Tyler Deline launched a shot from the left point into traffic. Gavin Hayes deflected the shot between the circles and past Simpson for goal number ten at 6:50.

Past the midway point of the first period, the Petes went on the game's first power play. It was Flint, however, that maintained possession for the majority of the time before eventually netting a shorthanded marker at 13:30. Ethan Hay carried up the right side before hitting Deline on his left. Deline completed the tic-tac-goal with a quick feed to Dmitry Kuzmin (Winnipeg Jets) for a one-timer from the right of the goal crease for his fifth of the season.

It was Peterborough's second power-play opportunity that finally brought the teddy bears flying from the seats. Samuel Mayer carried a Flint defender up the right-wing side and attempted a late shot from Cranley's left. The kick save was made, but it went directly to Jack Van Volsen for his fifth of the year at 19:05. Connor Lockhart (Vancouver Canucks) picked up the second helper on the tally. The teams went to the locker rooms early as the arena crew gathered up the teddy bears tossed.

First-period shots ended at 19-10 in Peterborough's favor despite the Firebirds leading the contest 3-1. Faceoffs ended at 9-8 to the Petes' advantage as well. Flint skated 20 minutes without a power-play chance and Peterborough scored one goal on two opportunities.

The second period technically started with 54 seconds remaining on the first-period clock. When that time expired, the teams switched ends and immediately began a fresh 20 minutes. The Firebirds brought a more physical brand of hockey and generated several odd-man rushes in the opening minutes. That ended quickly when Van Volsen buried his second of the night at 4:39, assisted by Jax Dubois and Donovan McCoy.

From there, the floodgates opened. Ethan Hay deflected another Tyler Deline slapper from the point that beat Simpson at 9:58 for Hay's seventh. Zacharie Giroux had the second helper. At 13:10, Flint's lead was extended to 5-2 on Lombardi's second of the night scored off a wraparound as he was falling to the left of the netminder, which was named the OHL Play of the Night.

At 16:55 former Firebirds' forward Sahil Panwar lifted an innocent-looking shot from the right corner that found its way off Cranley's equipment and across the goal line. Panwar's sixth of the year was assisted by Tommy Purdeller and McCoy. The Birds answered right back scoring their sixth of the game 13 seconds when Lombardi centered the puck from the right corner and it deflected in the net off Gavin Hayes' equipment. The goal was reviewed and allowed to stand, and Zachary Giroux was credited with the second assist.

In the final two minutes of the frame, another familiar face scored for the Petes as Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers) lit the lamp off a rebound from close range. It was his 13th of the season logged at 18:20, assisted by J.R. Avon (Philadelphia Flyers) and Chase Stillman (New Jersey Devils).

Peterborough outshot the Firebirds 15-13 and outdrew them 16-9. Flint was scoreless in two power-play chances and the Petes were 0-for-1.

The third period featured plenty of scoring chances on both ends of the ice, but the score remained the same until Hayes completed his hat trick on the empty net at 19:13 off an unselfish pass from Owen Pitters. Kuzmin also assisted on the final marker, giving the Firebirds the 7-4 victory, which was their first win ever in Peterborough as a franchise.

Final shots were 47-38 in the Petes' favor. Faceoffs also went their way, ending at 43-22. On special teams, the Birds were scoreless with three chances on the man advantage, while Peterborough finished 1-for-5.

Next Up: After tonight's game, the Firebirds still have three games remaining in their longest road trip of the season so far. They'll make their next stop in Ottawa on Friday to battle the first-place 67's. After that, they'll have stops in Kingston on Sunday afternoon. Finally, they'll hit Sarnia for game one of a home-and-and-away series with the Sting next Friday. Flint's next home game will be against Sarnia again on Saturday, December 10.

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