Flint, Mich. – In the sixth installment of the I-75 Divide Cup, presented by Coors Light, the Firebirds scored six goals and recorded their third-straight victory over the visiting Saginaw Spirit. Riley Piercey scored his 11th goal of the season, tying former Firebirds’ forward Ryan Moore for the franchise record of goals in seven-straight games, while also extending his point streak to 11 games (9 G, 7 A). Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers) netted his third shorthanded goal of the season and 20th overall marker of the campaign. Gavin Hayes, Samuel Assinewai, Ty Petrou, and Coulson Pitre each tallied for the Birds. Saginaw’s goal scorers were Camaryn Baber, Dean Loukus, Matyas Sapovaliv, and Roberto Mancini. Luke Cavallin made his first appearance between the pipes since November 27 and made 23 saves on 27 shots to earn his ninth victory this season.
The Spirit took the early lead, finding paydirt only 1:12 into the first period. Dean Loukus carried up the right side of his offensive zone and drew two defenders before passing across the slot to Camaryn Baber for the back-door one-timer behind Cavallin. The goal was Barber’s eighth of the campaign, assisted by Loukus and Sebastian Gervais.
Flint fought back and tied the contest at 13:23. Ethan Hay carried across the blue line into the offensive zone and made a drop pass to his oncoming defenseman. James Petrovski gathered the puck and fired a howitzer from the left point into traffic. Lennox was able to make the initial save, but Gavin Hayes pounced on the rebound and slid it behind the Spirit netminder for his seventh marker of the season.
Saginaw reclaimed the lead only 22 seconds later. Two players from each club were tied up in the corner to Cavallin’s right. It was Grand Blanc, Mich. native Dalton Duhart that passed the puck out of the scrum to Loukus at the inner edge of the left circle. Loukus sniped the puck mid-height just inside the near post for his seventh of the year, logged at 13:45.
The Spirit-led 2-1 after the opening 20 minutes, despite being outshot by the Firebirds 11-7. Saginaw won 10 of 16 first-period faceoffs and killed off both penalties taken successfully.
The teams played high-tempo back-and-forth hockey with impressive saves at both ends of the ice to start the middle frame. Then, at the 7:53 mark, Samuel Assinewai lit the lamp for the second time this season, tying the game at two. Coulson Pitre passed from just inside the blue line to Owen Pitters at the left faceoff dot. Pitters fed the charging Assinewai at the top of the circle, and the first-year forward snapped a quick shot that found twine just under the crossbar.
The intensity increased, with both teams finishing more checks along the perimeter. Gloves were dropped with just under five minutes to play, and penalties piled up. Saginaw ended up with the man advantage, but Flint wound up with the shorthanded goal to take their first lead of the night. Brennan Othmann picked off a pass between two defenders just inside the Saginaw blue line, and he was off to the races. He skated uncontested from his defensive end on an all-out breakaway against Lennox. Front close range, he listed a deceptive wrister up high on the glove side and potted his 20th goal of the season, unassisted at 16:46.
Flint headed to the locker room with the 3-2 advantage and were on top 24-16 on the shot clock. Saginaw again won the majority of the faceoffs by a 13-6 surplus. The ‘Birds were unable to convert on their lone power-play opportunity in the middle stanza, but they killed off all three penalties taken and added a shorthanded marker.
Under four minutes into the third period, Tyler Deline shot from the top of the right circle and chased his own rebound to the left side of the ice. He reclaimed the puck and attempted a second shot that was partially blocked by a defender. The puck slid directly to Riley Piercey in the slot, and the veteran quickly dropped to a knee and rifled the puck past Lennox to the glove side. The goal was Piercey’s 11th of the campaign, assisted by Deline and Zacharie Giroux at 3:41.
The Spirit fought back and pulled within a goal 26 seconds later on the power play. Josh Bloom (Buffalo Sabres) took the initial shot from the top of the right circle, which was kicked aside by Cavallin. The rebound, however, found its way to one of the OHL’s top rookies, Matyas Sapovaliv, who knocked it home for his eighth of the year at 4:07, assisted by Bloom and Pavel Mintyukov.
The ‘Birds extended their lead to a pair again late on a shot from Zack Terry past Lennox for his second marker of the season at 16:49. Once again, Saginaw answered quickly, on Roberto Mancini’s sixth of the year at 17:12, assisted by Loukus and Mintyukov.
The Spirit used their timeout with 2:14 remaining in regulation and kept Lennox on the bench for an extra attacker. After keeping the pressure on Flint for over a minute, Ethan Hay intercepted a pass and sent it the length of the ice toward the empty cage. The puck struck iron and deflected off the left post back into the slot area. Coulson Pitre was the first man in and skated the puck in for the easy empty-netter to seal the victory. The goal was Pitre’s ninth, recorded at 19:04.
Flint finished with a 35-27 advantage in shots, and Saginaw won more faceoffs by a margin of 35-21. The Spirit finished 1-for-4 on the power play while keeping the Birds scoreless in five chances.
Next Home Game: The Firebirds will play a pair of road games this weekend in Sarnia and Saginaw before shutting things down for the holiday break. They return to the Dort Financial Center to host the Saginaw Spirit again on Wednesday, December 29. Tickets are on sale now here: ETIX.
Story: Brandon Mills/flintfirebirds.com
Photography: Todd Boone / Flint Firebirds
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