Flint on a crease Bender
Ahead of three games in as many days this weekend the Flint Firebirds have added another goalie by way of an Ontario Hockey League trade with the Oshawa Generals. Flint has parted with future fourth round and seventh round OHL priority selections draft picks to get 6 foot 4 puck stopper Noah Bender from Oshawa.
Bender, who has a 2006 birth date, had a record of 5-3-1 with a 3.26 goals against average and .894 save percentage as a rookie backup for Oshawa in ’23-24. He played in only one game for the Generals this season and gave up six goals on 30 shots in a loss to the Brantford Bulldogs.
A 12th round pick by Oshawa at the 2022 OHL priority selections draft, Bender heads to Flint where 2005 birth year goalie Nathan Day is the Firebirds workhorse starter. Day has played in 11 of 12 games for the 6-5-1 Firebirds thus far this season and has a record of 6-4-1 to go with a 2.26 goals against average and .918 save percentage. Second year goalie Jacob Brown played in the other game for Flint this season and gave up six goals on 27 shots in a loss to the Sarnia Sting.
Flint is home to the Windsor Spitfires on Friday and the Soo Greyhounds on Saturday in a pair of 7:00 p.m. games at the Dort Financial Center. The Firebirds then head to Windsor on Sunday for a 4:05 p.m. match with the Spitfires at the WFCU Center.