Sarnia, Ont. – The Firebirds continued their red-hot play, defeating the Sting in Sarnia by a final score of 6-0, backstopped by Luke Cavallin. Rearguard Dmitry Kuzmin (Winnipeg Jets) scored his seventh and eighth goals of the season and fellow defenseman Tyler Deline netted his fifth and finished with two points (1 G, 1 A). Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers) picked up his 100th point in the OHL with two helpers on the night. Forwards Riley Piercey (22) and Zacharie Giroux (12) also lit the lamp for the visitors and each added an assist for two points in the tilt. Between the pipes, Luke Cavallin recorded his 24th win, stopping all 34 shots faced. Benjamin Gaudreau (San Jose Sharks) once again got the start in net for his Sting and ended with 17 saves on 21 shots before he was relieved by Anson Thornton (Arizona Coyotes), who turned aside 12 of 14.
The opening 14 minutes of the game were played scoreless, despite Flint having the best scoring opportunity during that time. With Sarnia on the game’s first power play, a high bouncing puck made its way from a boards battle in the neutral zone to a breaking Brennan Othmann in his offensive zone. He took a shot unchallenged, but Gaudreau blockered it aside and play continued. With nearly five minutes remaining in the first, a couple of players stayed tied up in a scrum in the Sarnia zone. Tag Bertuzzi gathered a loose puck in the neutral zone and backhanded a pass to a streaking Tyler Deline. It was defensemen leading the rush, as Deline carried up the left side and hit Dmitry Kuzmin in stride on the right. Kuzmin lifted the puck short side for his seventh of the season and sixth in his past nine games, logged at 14:55.
Kuzmin’s goal held as the lone marker of the opening frame, despite Sarnia gaining the edge in shots 13-9, and in faceoffs 13-11. The Firebirds killed their lone penalty and played without a power-play chance through the first 20 minutes.
After the first half of the middle frame went scoreless, the Birds scored three straight to carry a four-goal lead into the second intermission. First, Flint found themselves on a 5-on-3 power play for more than a minute. It only took 24 seconds with the two-man advantage before Othmann set his team up and initiated the play with a pass from the right point to Gavin Hayes below the right circle. Hayes wasted no time feeding Riley Piercey in the high slot who buried his 22nd of the season at 10:18. During four-on-four play moments later, Ethan Hay won an offensive faceoff back to Zack Terry. Terry sent the cross-ice pass to Tyler Deline on the right side of the zone, and Deline’s slapper struck twine at 11:56 to put the Birds up 3-0. Finally, while shorthanded, Keppen carried up the left-wing side with one defender in tow. He slipped the puck past the rearguard to Zacharie Giroux skating up the right. Giroux slapped the bouncing puck over Gaudreau’s left pad for his 12th of the campaign with three seconds to play in period two.
Second-period shots were even at 12 per side. The Bees outdrew the Birds 16-10. Flint finished 1-for-2 with the man-advantage and held Sarnia scoreless with three man-up opportunities.
Anson Thorton started the third in net for Sarnia. Riley Piercey launched a short-range shot at him just past the midway point of the frame, which Thornton kicked aside. Kuzmin was there for the rebound and he struck paydirt with his second attempt at burying the loose puck behind the Sarnia goaltender with the teams at even strength. Finally, with just under four minutes remaining and Flint on another power play, Sahil Panwar won an offensive-zone faceoff back to Zacharie Giroux. Giroux sent the puck from along the left-wing half boards back to Panwar on the far side of the slot for a back-door one-timer that was his 13th of the season, recorded at 16:14.
Final shots on goal were even at 35 per side. Sarnia outdrew Flint 41-34 through the 60 minutes. The Firebirds finished two-for-five on the power play while holding the Sting scoreless through six chances.
Story: Brandon Mills / flintfirebirds.com
Photography: Todd Boone / flintfirebirds.com