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Flint Firebirds

Firebirds Host Fourth-Ranked Windsor Tonight in Flint

October 22, 2016 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Flint, Mich. - After earning a 4-3 overtime victory in Sault Ste. Marie Friday night, the Firebirds return home to Flint for a Saturday night battle against the CHL's fourth-ranked Windsor Spitfires. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. (ET) at the newly renovated Dort Federal Event Center.

Saturday night marks the second of six games between Flint and Windsor this season. The Spitfires, who will host the 2017 MasterCard Memorial Cup this Spring, earned the first victory over Flint in Windsor, 7-2 last Thursday, Oct. 13. The Spitfires are coming off a 2-0 victory over the Kingston Frontenacs Thursday night after being shutout by the London Knights 4-0 on Oct. 14. Windsor holds the OHL's best power-play, operating at a 32.7% efficiency and are fourth on the penalty-kill with a 88.9% success-rate. The Firebirds are the OHL's best team in the extra frame with a 2-0-0-1 record, earning five out of a possible six points in three overtime contests.

Prior to last Saturday's loss to the Barrie Colts on home-ice, the Firebirds started the 2016-17 season with an impressive 5-0 record in Flint. Windsor is 3-2 in road contests through five games this season.

This weekend is a "Firebirds Family Four Pack Weekend" featuring 4 Silver Level Tickets, 4 Large Pizza Slices, 4 medium soft drinks, 2 game night magazines and 1 parking pass.... a $102 value for $69 with advance purchase. Walk-up does not include a parking pass.

Single game tickets for the Flint Firebirds 2016-17 season are $12 for Bronze, $15 for Silver, $19 for Gold and $25 for VIP seating. Prices are unchanged from last season and all seats are reserved / assigned seating. Fans can purchase tickets at the Dort Federal Event Center Box Office and online at ticketmaster.com seo_bc_name&mc_cid09fdeae5f2&mc_eid[UNIQID]) . For more information, call (810) 744-0580 or contact Matt Dewire at tickets@flintfirebirds.com (mailto:tickets@flintfirebirds.com) .

Players to Watch:

Flint (6-4-0-1, 7th Western Conference): Ryan Moore has led the OHL in points through the first 10 games of the season but fell to second in the league after not recording a point in Sault Ste. Marie Friday night, ending his 10-game point streak. Moore has an impressive 21 points (10G, 11A) in 11 games this campaign. Nicholas Caamano (Dallas Stars) is second on the Firebirds' roster with 18 points (6G, 12A) in 11 games and is currently on a three-game point streak. Third on the team is Kole Sherwood (Columbus Blue Jackets) who has 12 points (5G, 7A) in eight games played. Mathieu Henderson leads the Firebirds' defenseman and recorded the game-winning goal in overtime Friday night. Henderson has scored twice and added eight assists this season in 11 games. Defenseman Jalen Smereck (Arizona Coyotes) has seven assists in eight games with the Firebirds and forward Ty Dellandrea is tied for fifth among OHL rookies with eight points (4G, 4A) in nine games.

In net, Connor Hicks played in the most recent contest for Flint and has a 3-1-0-1 record with a 4.25 GAA and a .863 SAV%. Garrett Forrest is 2-2-0-0 and sports a 2.40 GAA with a .924 SAV%.

NHL: The Firebirds currently have two players that have signed contracts with NHL clubs. Forward Kole Sherwood signed a three-year NHL contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets (July 2015) and defenseman Jalen Smereck signed a three-year NHL contract with the Arizona Coyotes (October 2016). Flint's Nicholas Caamano was drafted by the Dallas Stars in the most recent NHL Draft in June 2016. Along with Caamano, Sherwood and Smereck, four more Flint Firebirds competed in NHL training camps this fall: Everett Clark (St. Louis Blues), Connor Hicks (Detroit Red Wings), Luke Kirwan (Detroit Red Wings) and Alex Peters (Carolina Hurricanes).

Samuel Duchesne, Jake Durham, Fedor Gordeev and Jack Phibbs are first-time eligible players to be selected in the NHL Draft in June 2017.

#4 Windsor (8-3-0-0, 3rd Western Conference): The Spitfires have three players on their roster that were selected in the first-round of the 2016 NHL Draft: Logan Brown (Ottawa Senators), Mikhail Sergachev (Montreal Canadiens) and Logan Stanley (Winnipeg Jets).

Brown leads the Spitfires with 17 points (6G, 11A) in nine games followed by Cole Carter with 12 points (7G, 5A) in 11 games and Aaron Luchuk with 11 points (4G, 7A) in 11 games. Gabriel Vilardi is a top-prospect for the upcoming 2017 NHL Draft in Chicago, Ill. Sean Day, who was acquired in a trade from Mississauga Tuesday, is currently on a five-game point streak and has six points (4G, 2A) in six games this season.

Between-the-pipes, the Spitfires are splitting time between two goaltenders. Michael DiPietro played for Windsor in their most recent contest Thursday vs. Kingston and has a 5-2-0-0 record. DiPietro is second in the OHL with a 2.13 GAA and a third in the OHL with a .924 SAV%. Mario Culina has played in four games and holds a 3-1-0-0 record with a 2.75 GAA and a .920 SAV%.

NHL: Nine players on the Spitfires roster have been drafted by NHL teams consisting of Jeremiah Addison (Montreal Canadians), Logan Brown (Ottawa Senators), Sean Day (New York Rangers), Cristiano DiGiacinto (Tampa Bay Lightning), Christian Fischer (Arizona Coyotes), Julius Nattinen (Anaheim Ducks), Patrick Sanvido (Dallas Stars), Mikhail Sergachev (Montreal Canadians) and Logan Stanley (Winnipeg Jets).

Broadcast Coverage: Saturday's contest against the Spitfires can be heard live on 1330 AM WTRX Sports Radio in Flint & Mid-Michigan and around the world online on the Sports Xtra 1330 Radio app here deae5f2&mc_eid[UNIQID]) . Pregame coverage with Dominic Hennig & Rick Ice will begin 30 minutes prior to puck drop at 6:30 p.m. Additionally, the game will be televised live in Windsor on channel 11 / 700 (HD) for Cogeco TV cable subscribers and throughout the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pak on channel 437 for cable TV subscribers. Fans can also watch the game live online at www.ohllive.com (http://ohl.neulion.com/ohl/?mc_cid09fdeae5f2&mc_eid[UNIQID]) or on the OHL Live App.

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