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OHL Flint Firebirds

Three Straight Goals Not Enough as Attack Get Third Win over Flint

December 11, 2021 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Flint, Mich. - The Firebirds hosted the Owen Sound Attack Saturday in game two of a back-to-back weekend series. Flint scored three straight goals before allowing two late and falling by a 4-3 final score. Zacharie Giroux was named the game's 'First Star' after scoring once and picking up two assists for the three-point night. Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers) and Riley Piercey also lit the lamp, and defenseman Tyler Deline added two assists to his impressive stats from the blue line. Ethan Burroughs led the Attack with a goal and an assist. Between the pipes, Ian Michelone made 23 saves on 27 shots across from Nick Chenard, who stopped 26 of 29 for his sixth victory of the season.

Owen Sound scored twice in the opening frame to jump to an early 2-0 lead. First, it was Logan LeSage potting his third of the season. Andrew Perrot made the breakout pass from his defensive end to Gavin Bryant in front of the players' benches. Bryant carried across the blue line on a three-on-three rush and passed behind his centerman to LeSage on the right side. The sophomore southpaw backhanded the puck over Michelone's outstretched left pad at 9:32. Then Ethan Burroughs lifted a wrist shot up high at 11:57 from the inner edge of the right-wing circle. Burroughs 11th of the season was assisted by Perrot and Sam Sedley.

After 20 minutes of play, the Firebirds trailed in shots 13-10. Flint won more faceoffs by the narrow margin of 10-8. The first penalty of the period was called on Owen Sound at the final buzzer and would carry over to period two.

During the carryover power play early in the middle frame, Tyler Deline fired a slap shot from just inside the blue line, centered directly in front of the Owen Sound cage. Riley Piercey was perched on the doorstep to deflect the low shot up high and over Chenard's glove for his tenth of the season at 0:28. Zacharie Giroux earned the second assist on the tally.

The Attack celebrated a goal after the puck went into the net two minutes later, but the on-ice officials waved the goal off due to contact with the goaltender. After a brief review of the play, the call on the ice was confirmed, and the score remained 2-1 with the Attack in the lead.

On their third power play of the second period, Deline fired into traffic the same way he did on Flint's first goal. This time, it was Giroux in the high slot able to get a stick on it and deflect it past Chenard for his eighth of the campaign, assisted by Deline and Gavin Hayes at 13:03.

Second-period shots were knotted at eight per side. Flint won nine of 12 faceoffs in the frame. The Birds went 2-of-3 with the man advantage while staying out of the penalty for the second-consecutive period.

Flint only needed 10 seconds of third-period action to claim their first lead of the night. Zacharie Giroux carried the puck up the right-wing side with Brennan Othmann pacing him up the left. Giroux held until the last possible second and slid the puck across the front edge of the goal crease, where Othmann was able to redirect it behind Chenard on the back door play for his 19th of the season, assisted by Giroux and Piercey.

The Attack fought back and tied the game at three at the 7:41 mark while on the power play. Sedley blasted the initial shot into traffic from just inside the offensive blue line. The puck made its way through bodies, but Michelone made the save. Colby Barlow passed the rebound around a diving Flint defender, where William Portokalis shot from his knees behind the netminder, lighting the lamp for the sixth time this season.

Goal number four for the visitors was the result of a board battle along the left-wing half-boards. Burroughs was tied up with a Firebirds' defender but found a way to send the puck away from the wall and into the near circle. Cedrick Guindon picked up the loose puck and sniped the top corner, far-side for his seventh of the season at 16:30.

Still trailing by a goal, Flint pulled Michelone to the bench for the extra attacker with 90 seconds left in regulation. The Birds created several scoring opportunities but were unable to get one past Chenard. Flint outshot the Attack 11-6 in the final frame and finished with a 29-27 advantage. Faceoffs ended in Flint's favor 31-19. On special teams, the Birds scored twice on three power-play chances and the Attack scored once on two opportunities with the extra man.

Next Home Game: The Firebirds complete their four-game homestand with another installment of the I-75 Divide Cup, presented by Coors Light. The Saginaw Spirit are in town for Buy One, Get One Wednesday, where fans can purchase one ticket and get a second ticket of equal value for free courtesy of Mott Community College. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. (ET) at the Dort Financial Center. Tickets are available here: ETIX.

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from December 11, 2021


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