Spitfires edge Firebirds in OHL Pre-Season opener

The Flint Firebirds took to the ice for the first time on Friday (Sept. 1, 2017) to kick off play at a league Showcase tournament involving a half dozen league team at the Harbor Center in Buffalo, NY.

The Firebirds drew a tough assignment in its opening pre-season contest, facing the defending Memorial Cup Champion Windsor Spitfires, but if the team was intimidated it didn’t show. The Spits ended up holding on for a 4-3 edge on the scoreboard, but the Firebirds matched them on the shot clock with 40 apiece.

The Firebirds hit the scoreboard first as Hunter Holmes, a 17-year-old returner from Ontario, buried one 7:16 into the game from a couple of other returners from Ontario: Jake Durham, 18 and Dennis Busby, 17.

The 1-0 lead held up into the middle frame when Chris Playfair, 17, from Ontario scored the first of three straight Windsor goals at the 5:52 mark.

It was Playfair again just 21 seconds later, giving the Spits a lead it would not relinquish and Joseph Mizzi, 19, from Ontario made it 3-1 with 6:54 to go in the frame.

Ty Dellandrea, a 17-year-old Firebirds’ returner pulled his team within a goal 23 seconds from the end of the middle period with assists from Fedor Gordeev, 18, from Russia and C.J. Clarke, 18, from Ontario, also Firebirds returners.

Igor Larionov, 19, from Detroit restored the two-goal margin in the second minute of the final period for Windsor and his goal stood up as the game winner after Kyle Harris, 16, from New York pulled one back for Flint just before the period’s halfway mark. Assists on the goal went to Ethan Keppen, 16, from Ontario, Flint’s First Round Selection (Fifth Overall) in the 2017 OHL Entry Draft and Zack Pilon, 16, from Ontario, the team’s fourth round pick in the same draft.

That was as close as the Firebirds could get in this on though thanks to a 36-save effort by Brock Baier, 18, from Ontario while the goaltending chores for the Firebirds was split between Garrett Forrest, a 20-year-old native of Virginia and a Firebirds returner (30:25 25/27) and Luke Cavallin, 16, from Ontario (28:23 11/13).

The Firebirds will get another tough assignment Saturday (Sept. 2) when it faces another Memorial Cup team, the Erie Otters before wrapping up on Sunday against the North Bay Battalion.