Flint Township View

Firebirds rally to top Battalion




NORTH BAY, Ont. – Falling behind early in the second period proved to be no problem for the Flint Firebirds in a 5-3 win at the North Bay Battalion on Sunday.

Zacharie Giroux was the first to score, nabbing his first goal of the season, as well as giving Flint a 1-0 lead in the first period.

North Bay would tie it up late in the frame, and early in the second, took its first lead of the night. That’s when Flint took control, beginning with Ty Dellandrea finding the equalizer on the power play. Ethan Keppen then gave the Firebirds a 3-2 lead heading into the third.

Dellandrea also buriedy the game-winner 5:50 into the final stanza. The Battalion drew closer with a goal at 10:34, but Jake Durham put the game away with an insurance marker on the power play.

Anthony Popovich turned aside 30 of the 33 shots sent his way.

The Firebirds were playing from behind all night on Friday in a high-scoring 8-5 loss at the Sudbury Wolves.

Two Sudbury goals in the first 8:10 of the game put Flint behind the eight ball immediately, but Owen Lalonde chipped away at the deficit with his second of the year.

However, the Wolves netted two more in the final five minutes of the frame to go up 4-1. They even made it 5-1 at 12:26 of the second period, but the Firebirds wouldn’t go without a fight. Dellandrea and Connor Roberts each scored in the final five minutes of the frame to make it 5-3.

Sudbury extended it to 6-3 early in the third, but Flint goals from Riley McCourt and Cody Morgan suddenly made it a one-goal game with less than five minutes remaining. But it wasn’t meant to be, as the Wolves fired home a pair of empty-net goals to get the win.

The Firebirds still remain in second place in the Westeran Conference at 18-11-0-0 for 36 points. They’ll return home to face Saginaw on Friday and travel to Saginaw on Saturday before taking a two-week holiday hiatus.