FLINT, Mich. – The Saginaw Spirit will host and play in the 2024 Memorial Cup, the first time in 26 years the Canadian Hockey League’s championship tournament will be held outside of Canada.
The Flint Firebirds are determined to prevent them from getting there this season.
Nolan Dann scored at 12:41 of overtime on Monday night and lifted the Firebirds to a 5-4 victory over the visiting Spirit in Game 3 of their first-round Ontario Hockey League playoff series.
The Firebirds trail the best-of-seven series 2-1, with Game 4 scheduled for Wednesday at the Dort Financial Center in Flint.
It appeared the Firebirds were home free late in the third as they enjoyed a 4-2 lead with under five minutes to play. But OHL Player of the Week Matyas Sapovaliv scored at 15:41 and 19:02 to force the overtime.
Zacharie Giroux, Tristan Bertucci and Amadeus Lombardi also scored for the Firebirds, who were outshot 13-7 in the opening period but were bailed out by goaltender Nathan Day’s superb play. Ethan Hay chipped in with three assists, while Coulson Pitre had two. The Firebirds outshot the Spirit in overtime 12-1.
Zayne Parekh, Michael Misa and Matyas Sapovaliv also scored for the Spirit, who won Game 1 7-1 and Game 2 4-1.
POKE CHECKS: There are seven OHL playoff games scheduled for Tuesday. … As mentioned earlier, Sapovaliv of the Spirit was named the OHL’s player of the week on Monday. The 19-year-old Vegas Golden Knights’ prospect had three goals and three assists in a pair of playoff games against the Firebirds. … Netminder Marco Costantini of the Kitchener Rangers was named OHL goaltender of the week on Monday, going 2-0 with a 1.50 goals-against average, .952 save percentage and a shutout in two outings last week.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 3, 2023.
