Ottawa, Ont. – The Firebirds traveled to Ottawa to face the first-place team in the OHL Friday, having earned points in ten of their past 11 contests. Despite an early 2-0 lead, the 67’s scored six unanswered goals to earn the victory. Amadeus Lombardi (Detroit Red Wings) found paydirt for the fifth time in the past three games and Zacharie Giroux buried his eighth of the season for Flint. Nathan Day made his ninth appearance in goal for the Firebirds and posted 28 saves in the effort. Max Donoso made 27 saves on 29 shots to earn his 14th victory for Ottawa.
Flint controlled the tempo for the majority of the first period. Puck possession leaned heavily in their favor. They also received three power-play chances but could not solve the OHL’s third-best penalty kill. The lone goal came off a long saucer pass from Amadeus Lombardi (Detroit Red Wings) to Zacharie Giroux as he crossed the offensive blue line. With a defender a half-step behind, he maintained his speed all the way to the slot before slipping the puck over Donoso’s right pad for his eighth of the campaign at 12:22. Dmitry Kuzmin (Winnipeg Jets) had the second assist. Shots after one were 9-8 and faceoffs were 8-7, both favoring Flint by a small margin. The Birds stayed out of the penalty box so as to avoid Ottawa’s first-ranked power-play unit.
Lombardi did what he’s done a lot of over the past three games, scoring his team-leading 14th at 2:53. Coulson Pitre carried in on a two-on-one and backhanded a late pass in front of the defender for the Lombardi one-timer to Donoso’s left. Giroux made the initial pass to spring his two teammates, resulting in Lombardi’s fifth goal in the past three games.
Ottawa fought back with two goals late in the middle frame to knot the score at two. First, Jack Matier (Nashville Predators) wristed a shot from the right point that deflected off a defender between the circles, deceiving Day for Matier’s ninth of the year at 17:29. Matthew Mayich and Will Gerrior combined for the assists. Next, a high shot from the left point sailed over the Flint net and bounced off the end boards. The puck made its way back over the Flint net, hitting a defender’s skate in front and redirecting under Day. Anthony Costantini was credited with his fifth of the campaign at 19:36.
The 67’s outshot the Birds 18-13 through the middle 20 minutes, and they outdrew Flint 11-7. Both teams went 0-for-1 with the man advantage.
Ottawa scored four unanswered goals in the third period to claim the 6-2 victory. First, Gavin Ewles picked up his first OHL goal of long-range shot that trickled through Day’s equipment and was knocked across the line by the netminder’s equipment at 8:14 to give the 67’s their first lead of the night. Cameron Tolnai assisted on the go-ahead marker. Then Cooper Foster potted his fifth on a wripper through traffic on the power play at 10:55. At 12:55, it was Tolnai earning his 13th of the year from between the hash marks with a top-shelf wrister. Finally Henry Mews picked up his fourth at 15:32, assisted by Brady Stonehouse and Tolnai at even strength.
Final shots were 34-29 in favor of the 67’s and they also outdrew the Birds 27-24. Ottawa logged one power-play tally on two chances while keeping Flint scoreless on four attempts.
Next Up: After tonight’s game, the Firebirds have two remaining road games before returning home. They’ll battle the Frontenacs in Kingston Sunday afternoon with a 2:00 p.m. (ET) opening faceoff. 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. The home game versus the Sting is a Toy Drive benefitting the Old Newsboys of Flint, sponsored by Dort Financial Credit Union. Fans can bring a new toy (minimum $10 value) to the game and receive a FREE ticket. The Firebirds will also be wearing specialty-themed Christmas jerseys, which will be auctioned off immediately following the conclusion of the game. Tickets for next Saturday’s contest are available from ETIX HERE.
Story: Brandon Mills / flintfirebirds.com
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