The Windsor Spitfires put themselves in a hole and could not climb out Saturday night.
Windsor fell behind early in their 5-2 loss to the Firebirds in Flint. It was the sixth loss in the last eight games for the Spitfires, who are now in fourth place with 33 points in the OHL West Division.
Flint took a three-goal lead in the first period. C.J. Clarke scored the first two in order, the first at 2:47, the second just less than five minutes later. Ethan Keppen scored on the power play later in the frame for a 3-0 Firebirds lead.
Windsor got back into the game with back-to-back goals in the second period. Curtis Douglas scored his 16th goal of the year to put the Spits on the board, then Will Cuylle scored to cut the Flint advantage to one goal after 40 minutes of play.
Flint got those two goals back in the final frame. Eric Uba scored shorthanded, then Jake Durham scored with two minutes left to seal the win for the Firebirds.
Colton Incze had 31 saves out of 36 tries in goal for the Spitfires. Evan Morrison had 21 stops for Flint.
The Spitfires return home Monday for their traditional New Year's Eve matinee, against Mississauga.
