SAGINAW, Mich. (Interstat) — Xavier Tessier recorded a hat trick as the visiting Flint Firebirds defeated the Saginaw Spirit 5-4 on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, in Ontario Hockey League action at Dow Event Center. Attendance was 4,953. Flint improved to 1-0, while Saginaw dropped to 0-2. Tessier scored 8 seconds into the first period and added his second later in the opening frame. The teams traded goals throughout. Saginaw took a 4-3 lead on Braidy Wassilyn’s first-period goal, but Tessier tied it early in the second and Brady Smith scored the eventual winner at 14:36 of the middle frame. Smith had one goal and one assist, Cooper Williams contributed two assists, and James Paul added an assist. Rylan Fellinger also had an assist for Flint. Mason Courville stopped 22 shots for Flint. Dima Zhilkin paced Saginaw with one goal, two assists and seven shots. Brody Pepoy and Drew Bate also scored for the Spirit. Darian Anderson scored for Flint. Levi Harper, Alex Milojevic and Sawyer Schmidt recorded assists for Saginaw. Flint visits Windsor on Friday, Sept. 25. Saginaw hosts Niagara on Friday, Sept. 25.