Thurs. Highlights: Firebirds take flight

Thursday September 24, 2015

The first victory in Flint Firebirds history headlined Opening Night in the OHL as the 2015-16 season got underway.

Six teams were in action on Thursday to usher in the new season.

FLINT 3 SAGINAW 0 – Ryan Moore scored the first goal in Firebirds history 14:55 into the first period and Flint never looked back, defeating the I-75 rival Saginaw Spirit 3-0 at the Dow Event Center. Nicholas Caamano and Will Bitten also added markers while goaltender Zack Bowman earned first star honours, making 24 saves for his first career OHL shutout.
GAME SUMMARY • HIGHLIGHTS

(Photo: Aaron Bell/OHL Images)

PETERBOROUGH 5 OTTAWA 4 – Steven Lorentz scored the first goal of the 2015-16 OHL season 10 seconds into the first period as the Peterborough Petes embarked on their 60th anniversary season in front of a hometown crowd. A see-saw battle saw the two clubs exchange offence before back-to-back shorthanded goals from Jonathan Ang and Eddie Schulz gave the Petes an edge. Matthew Mancina made 32 saves in a 5-4 Petes victory as two goals from Ottawa captain Travis Konecny weren’t enough in the losing cause.
GAME SUMMARY • HIGHLIGHTS

ERIE 4 WINDSOR 3 OT – The Erie Otters were beneficiaries of 3-on-3 overtime, becoming the first OHL team to win in extra time this season as Darren Raddysh stuffed a puck over the goal line at 2:13 of OT. Draft eligible 17 year-olds Taylor Raddysh and Kyle Maksimovich both scored for Erie while Bradley Latour was a bright spot for the Spitfires registering a goal and two helpers. Arizona Coyotes prospect Christian Fischer had a solid OHL debut, scoring his first goal while tallying eight shots in the game.
GAME SUMMARY • HIGHLIGHTS

#OHLOpeningWeek has just begun! Check out the full list of festivities going on around the league throughout the weekend.