The Firebirds had their backs against the wall tonight in Saginaw and responded by defeating the Spirit 5-2. Tristan Bertucci and Gavin Hayes both had multi-point nights, both tallying two helpers. Zacharie Giroux also recorded multiple points (1 G, 1 A). Matyas Sapovaliv stayed hot, recording two assists on the night for the Spirit. Netminders for both teams remained the same, with Nathan Day getting the nod for the Birds making 38 saves en route to being named the First Star of the game, and Tristian Lennox was between the pipes for the Spirit stopping 19.
The Firebirds had the early pressure on Saginaw to begin things. Flint found themselves with three grade-A opportunities within the first five minutes of action, but Lennox picked up right where he left off and stood tall, keeping things knotted at zero.
The Firebirds kept the pressure on, peppering Lennox every chance they could with high-quality shots left and right. A breakout started by Tyler Deline who wrapped the puck up the wall to Riley Piercey. Piercey chipped it to Nolan Dann, who was streaking down the left side board on a 2-on-1 rush with Amadeus Lombardi in the middle lane. Dann slid a pass over the Spirit defenders’ stick and onto Lombardi’s tape near the right-side hashmark. Lombardi sniped a wrister above the blocker of Lennox, netting his third goal of the series and putting the Birds on the board first again, with 5:57 remaining in the opening frame.
The period ended with the Firebirds in the lead 1-0, outshooting the Spirit 12-9 in the first period, while also dominating in the faceoff circle by an 11-4 margin.
A pair of Saginaw penalties from the end of the first period rolled over to begin the second, putting Flint on the 5-on-3 advantage for the first 75 seconds of the frame. After a clear by the Spirit, Gavin Hayes started the breakout for the Firebirds with time winding down on the two-man advantage. Hayes walked in on the right side of the zone and veered over to the middle of the blue line. Hayes sent a saucer pass over to Zacharie Giroux on the left side. The pass hit Giroux on the tape and propelled him to the net with a full head of steam. Giroux pulled the puck over to his backhand across the crease, freezing Lennox and sliding it into the back of the net. Giroux’s tally gave the Firebirds the second goal of the game for the first time in the series, making the lead 2-0 just over a minute into the period.
The Spirit had their fair share of chances, including a 2-on-1 opportunity that saw Nathan Day make a dazzling glove save, denying Michael Misa and leaving the Dow Event Center silent.
The Spirit found themselves with a handful of power play opportunities as the period began to come to a close. The Firebirds fought off the Spirit attack for as long as they could, but Mitchell Smith found himself alone at the top of the right-side face-off circle and sniped one past Day, cutting the lead in half with 3:43 remaining in the middle frame. Matyas Sapovaliv added the lone assist.
Saginaw outshot the Birds in the middle frame by a hefty 21-5 margin but remained behind entering the final period of game five. Both teams found the back of the net in the middle frame, giving the Birds the 2-1 lead heading into the third period.
The Spirit would tie the game at two just under two minutes into the third. Misa was skating in with puck control down the left side half wall and sent a pass towards the slot, where Dean Loukus pulled it to the backhand and lifted it over the blocker side. A brand new hockey game with 18:07 to play.
All the momentum seemed to be on Saginaw’s side, but the Birds struck right back. The Birds found themselves with an offensive zone faceoff on the left side circle. Giroux tied up the opposing center to perfection, leaving the puck behind for Hayes. Hayes walked into the slot and fired a shot that got blocked by a Saginaw defender. The blocked shot landed in the slot, and Dmtrity Kuzmin turned and fired it glove side, giving Flint the lead once again just 1:53 after Saginaw’s strike.
A few minutes later, the puck got away from Spirit defenseman at the blue line, and Ethan Hay found himself with a breakaway opportunity. He went to the backhand and got Lennox sliding to his left, and Hay picked the five-hole, giving Flint a two-goal lead once again with 11:18 remaining in the game.
Saginaw would pull the goalie with three minutes remaining, trying to muster any last-minute effort at winning this one. Tyler Deline pick up a loose puck and sent it down ice from the Firebirds’ end, netting his first of the series and icing this one for Flint.
Final shots read 24 for Flint and 40 for the Spirit. The Firebirds dominated in the faceoff circle, leading 47-21 in that category. Both teams struggled on the man advantage, as Flint went 1-for-5 and the Spirit netted one on seven tries.
Next Up: Game 6 will be played Saturday evening in Flint. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m. (ET) and tickets are ON SALE NOW at ETIX.COM and the Dort Financial Center Box Office will open tomorrow at Noon. Tickets are expected to go fast and fans are encouraged to buy them early.
Photography: Todd Boone / Flint Firebirds
Story: Sean Massa / flintfirebirds.com
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