Firebirds win at home for the first time this season, 5-2 over Kitchener, then beat Sarnia 6-4

FLINT, Mich. — The Flint Firebirds finally gave their home crowd a win Wednesday night, beating the Kitchener Rangers 5-2 at the Dort Financial Center for their first victory on home ice this Ontario Hockey League season.

Cooper Williams scored two goals, WNEM-TV reported. Nick Bogas, Martins Klaucans and Ryland Cunningham scored one each.

It was Flint’s second win in a row. The Firebirds lost 3-2 at home to the Soo Greyhounds on Oct. 3, their second straight loss, then rebounded Sunday afternoon with a 7-2 win at London. Jimmy Lombardi had a career-high five points in that game, and Liam Edgcumbe made 22 saves to win his OHL debut in goal, according to the team.

Darian Anderson, a Brighton native and New York Rangers prospect, entered Wednesday’s game with a goal in each of Flint’s first five games, the team said. He scored 20 goals in 60 games last season.

Wednesday’s game was the only one on the OHL schedule. Flint and Kitchener split four meetings last season, and the home team won every one, according to the Firebirds.

Flint, then 4-2, returned to the Dort Financial Center on Saturday, Oct. 10, to host the Sarnia Sting.

Updated Oct. 12, 2026: Flint beat Sarnia 6-4 on Saturday, the team reported. Brady Smith scored twice and Mason Courville made 34 saves, and after the Sting cut a 5-2 deficit to one in the third period, Jimmy Lombardi’s empty-net goal with 15 seconds left sealed it. The Firebirds are 5-2-0-0.

Updated Oct. 13, 2026: The headline and summary were changed to report the result of the game this story previewed.

Sources:
Sarnia Observer, “Sarnia Sting’s two-game winning streak ends in Flint,” Oct. 11, 2026, https://www.theobserver.ca/sports/hockey/sarnia-sting/sarnia-stings-two-game-winning-streak-ends-in-flint/
Flint Firebirds, “Firebirds Hold Off Sting, 6-4,” Oct. 10, 2026, https://chl.ca/ohl-firebirds/article/firebirds-hold-off-sting-6-4/
WNEM-TV, “Firebirds earn first home win of the season over Kitchener,” Oct. 8, 2026, https://www.wnem.com/2026/10/08/firebirds-earn-first-home-win-season-over-kitchener/
Flint Firebirds, “GAME DAY: Game 6, Firebirds vs Rangers – 7 p.m.,” Oct. 7, 2026, https://chl.ca/ohl-firebirds/article/game-day-game-6-firebirds-vs-rangers-7-p-m-2/
Ontario Hockey League, “Wednesday OHL Highlights: Williams, Bogas boost Firebirds on home ice,” Oct. 7, 2026 (scoreboard and standings), https://chl.ca/ohl/article/wednesday-highlights-williams-bogas-boost-firebirds-on-home-ice/
Photo: Michael Barera, “Niagara IceDogs vs. Flint Firebirds December 2024 04 (in-game action),” Dec. 28, 2024, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), cropped and color-corrected; derivative under the same ShareAlike license, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Niagara_IceDogs_vs._Flint_Firebirds_December_2024_04_(in-game_action).jpg

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