Kressler’s 4-Point Night Propels Firebirds to 7-2 Victory in Saginaw
October 26, 2022 – Ontario Hockey League (OHL) – Flint Firebirds News Release
Saginaw, Mich. – The Firebirds jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in Saginaw on Wednesday, and never looked back as they won by a final score of 7-2. Braeden Kressler (Toronto Maple Leafs) scored twice and added two assists to top the scoresheet for either team. Coulson Pitre picked up his 50th OHL point with a goal, and then chipped in a pair of assists to round out his three-point effort. Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers) and Gavin Hayes (Chicago Blackhawks) had a goal and an assist each, as well. Between the pipes, Will Cranley (St. Louis Blues) earned his fifth victory of the season with a 27-save performance, while Tristan Lennox (New York Islanders) turned aside 23 shots across the ice for Saginaw. Saginaw’s rookie phenom Michael Misa scored to maintain the tie between him and Othmann for the league lead in goals (9).
Flint struck paydirt in under three minutes to kick off a high-scoring first period. A turnover in the neutral zone by the Spirit sprung Braeden Kressler up the right side of the ice with the puck. He dropped a short pass back to Coulson Pitre atop the right circle. A quick wrister struck twine for Pitre’s third of the season at 2:44, assisted by Kressler and Dmitry Kuzmin (Winnipeg Jets).
Then, the Firebirds’ power-play unit picked apart the OHL’s top-rated penalty kill, scoring on back-to-back opportunities with the man advantage. First, Brennan Othmann made a cross-ice pass between the circles to Gavin Hayes (Chicago Blackhawks) on the left. Hayes gathered the pass at the left faceoff dot and stick-handled briefly to freeze the defender and netminder in front of him. Then his snap shot slipped over Lennox’s right shoulder for his sixth at 7:35. Defender Tyler Deline picked up the second assist. On the next power-play chance, Zacharie Giroux kicked a puck ahead to Kressler who curled around the top of the left circle before sniping a wrister blocker-side for his third of the campaign at 11:22. Coulson Pitre combined with Giroux on the assists.
With just over a minute remaining in the first period, Othmann finished a hit along the left-wing half boards. The result was a loose puck sliding to Hayes just inside the offensive blue line. Othmann cut to the net, and Hayes returned the feed to his Captain. Othmann spun at the side of the goal and slipped his shot under Lennox for his league-leading ninth of the season at 19:00.
Prior to the game, 15-year-old Michael Misa, just the seventh player granted “exceptional status” by the league, had been tied with Othmann for the OHL lead with eight goals. In the waning seconds of the opening frame, Calem Mangone set up Misa from behind the Flint net. The youngster’s quick wrist shot lit the lamp with 12 seconds remaining until intermission, once again tying him for the lead with Othmann. Mangone and Pavel Mintyukov (Anaheim Ducks) combined for the assists.
The Firebirds led 4-1 heading into the first intermission. They also held the advantage in shots 12-6 and faceoffs 14-10. Flint stayed out of the penalty box for the opening 20 minutes and went 2-for-2 on the power play.
The second period had a much different complexion than the first. Flint killed off a four-minute double minor for high sticking in the first half of the frame, and then the Spirit killed off a two-minute minor in the later stages. Shots favored Saginaw 12-7 and they outdrew the Birds 15-7. The lone goal, however, was scored with 1.2 seconds remaining in the middle stanza. Kressler picked a defender’s pocket and rocketed up ice from the left side. He lifted a short-range wrister up over the glove of Lennox for his second of the night, unassisted and at even strength.
The Spirit scored early in the third when Matyas Sapovaliv (Vegas Golden Knights) won a faceoff in the circle to Cranley’s left. Calumet, Mich. native Dean Loukus wasted no time ripping a puck through traffic for his fifth of the campaign at 6:42, unassisted.
In the next two minutes, the Firebirds would score twice more to put the game out of reach for the Spirit. First, Kressler won a battle along the left-wing wall back to Coulson Pitre at the bottom of the left circle. Pitre fed Simon Slavicek at the of the circle, where he rifled it past Lennox for his second of the year at 7:02. Then, a two-on-one rush up-ice resulted in the younger Pitre brother scoring his second of the season. Alex Bradshaw carried up the left side through the neutral zone and into the left circle. His late pass hit Kaden Pitre in stride, and the ensuing one-timer found the top corner over Lennox’s left shoulder at 8:16.
Final shots ended at 29-23, advantage Saginaw. The Spirit also outdrew the Firebirds 32-29. Neither team took a penalty in the final period, resulting in Flint finishing two-for-three and Saginaw 0-for-2 on the power play.
Next Up: The Firebirds return home this Saturday to host the Oshawa Generals at 7:00 p.m. (ET). The game is Flint’s annual First Responders Appreciation Night, presented by Dort Financial Credit Union. The Battle of the Badges Game will be played from 4-5 p.m. (ET) prior to the game, and feature local Police versus local Firefighters. Admission to the Battle of the Badges is free with a ticket to the Firebirds game. There will be a Touch-a-Truck event in the main parking lot from 5:30-6:45 p.m., where fans will be able to interact with our local heroes from local police, fire, and EMS teams. The 50/50 proceeds will also benefit the 100 Club, which contributes money each year for the benefit of public servants who have been killed or disabled in the line of duty. Tickets for Saturday’s home game are available now from Etix.
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