Looking to turn the page after a tough 5–1 loss at home to the Saginaw Spirit on December 28, the third-place Soo Greyhounds (21-12-1-1) entered their final game of 2025 with a clear objective — finish the calendar year on a high note. Standing in their way were the West Division-leading Flint Firebirds (24-8-2-2), a familiar and formidable opponent that had already narrowly defeated the Hounds 3–2 in both head-to-head meetings earlier in the season, setting the stage for a tightly contested Ontario Hockey League showdown.

The Flint Firebirds continued their strong West Division play with a 3–1 victory over the Soo Greyhounds on home ice at the Memorial Gardens, using timely scoring and steady goaltending to secure the win. Flint opened the scoring late in the first period on the power play, as Christopher Thibodeau buried his 11th of the season at 18:25, set up by Ihnat Pazii and Dryden Allen. The Firebirds doubled their lead midway through the second when Brady Smith broke in alone behind the Greyhound defense and finished for his fourth of the year, with Ryland Cunningham earning the assist.

The Soo showed early life in the third period, cutting the deficit to one just 16 seconds in when Quinn McKenzie notched his 13th of the season off feeds from Jordan Charron and Lukas Fischer. Any momentum was short-lived, however, as Thibodeau answered back at the 45-second mark, scoring his second of the night and 12th of the season with helpers from Kevin He and Urban Podrekar to restore Flint’s two-goal cushion.

Firebirds goaltender Mason Vaccari was solid between the pipes, stopping 21 of 22 shots, while Greyhounds netminder Landon Miller made 13 saves on 16 shots in the loss.

Flint improves with the 3–1 win and will return to action on January 2 when they visit the London Knights, while the Greyhounds hit I-75 to face the Saginaw Spirit on January 3.