Owen Sound, Ont.- Amadeus Lombardi extended his points streak to ten games, recording a goal and an assist on the night. Braeden Kressler also added 2 points (1 G, 1 A). Rookie Carter George started between the pipes for the Attack, stopping 23 of 26 shots faced. Nathan Day got the nod in net for the Firebirds, stopping 30 of 32 shots faced and leading the Birds to their 24th win on the campaign.
After some lengthy stretches without whistles through the first 15 minutes of play, some unrelated minors piled up quickly near the end of the opening frame. With a 4-on-3 manpower advantage, the Birds set up shop and went to work in the Attack’s zone. Riley Piercey set up in the slot to create a screen, and it paid off in a big way. Braeden Kressler passed from the left to Tristan Bertucci centered up high. The sophomore defender set up Amadeus Lombardi in the right circle for a heavy one-timer on net that resulted in his 34th of the season at 19:02.The Attack led in shots 9-6 and faceoffs 13-10 in the first period. The Birds scored once on two power plays and held Owen Sound scoreless on one try.
Flint extended their lead at the 2:52 mark of the middle frame. Blake Smith’s slapper from the left point was saved, but Simon Slavicek pounced on the rebound and sent it home blocker side for his ninth of the season. Kaden Pitre picked up the second assist on the tally.
The Attack answered quickly with back-to-back goals only 34 seconds apart. First, Colby Barlow fired from a wide angle outside the right circle, and the puck found its way between the pads at 4:10. Nolan Seed and Madden Steen combined for the helpers on the strike, logged at 4:10. Then Jackson Stewart one-timed a rebound between the circles that went low blocker side for his seventh of the year at 4:44 to tie the game. Landon Hookey and Seed were credited with the assists.
Third-period action would begin with a lot of back-and-forth action between both squads with scoring opportunities at both ends of the ice. George and Day stood tall, making big save after big save.
It wasn’t until just over 16:30 into the frame that the tie would be broken. Lombardi went into the right-side offensive zone corner, along with two Attack defenseman. Lombardi made a gorgeous no-look, behind-the-back pass with his backhand right onto the stick of Gavin Hayes in the lower corner of the faceoff circle. Hayes made a beautiful move to his forehand and buried the shot on the glove side, giving the Birds the 3-2 lead with 3:24 to play.
The Attack pulled the goalie with just over a minute to play. Braeden Kressler had other plans, however, scoring an empty netter and sealing the deal for the Birds. His 25th goal of the year solidified a 4-2 win for Flint.
Final shots ended with Owen Sound on top 32-27. Faceoffs went the Attacks way by a margin of 36-26. On special teams, Flint ended with one goal on three power-play chances while the Attack went 0-for-5.
Up Next: The Firebirds have one more road game next week when they face the Spitfires in Windsor on Thursday. Flint’s next home game is Saturday, February 18 when the Kitchener Rangers are in town for a 7:00 p.m. (ET) start time. Tickets for the Birds’ next home game are available now from ETIX HERE.
Story: Brandon Mills / flintfirebirds.com
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