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Flint Firebirds

Series Preview: Firebirds Face Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in First-Round of OHL Playoffs

March 22, 2017 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Series Preview: Firebirds Face Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in First-Round of OHL Playoffs

Watch Series Video Preview

For the first time in just their two-year existence in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), the Flint Firebirds will compete in the OHL Playoffs. Flint will face-off against the second-seeded Sault Ste. Marie (Ontario) Greyhounds in a best-of-seven series beginning this Thursday and Saturday in Saut Ste. Marie. Games three and four will take place in Flint on Monday, Mar. 27 and Wednesday, Mar. 29. (Buy Tickets Here)

OHL Playoffs Format:

There are 20 teams in the OHL, 10 of which are in the Western Conference and 10 are in the Eastern Conference. The top-eight teams in each conference claim a playoff spot at the conclusion of the regular season with the division leaders ranked one-two in each Conference. (See OHL Standings Here)

In the first round of the playoffs, first place plays eighth, second plays seventh, third plays sixth and fourth plays fifth in each conference.

Teams are re-seeded within their conference after each round and the division winners are always ranked 1-2 within the conference as long as they progress. The champions from each conference play in the OHL Championship Series for the J. Ross Robertson Cup.

The Firebirds finished the 2016-17 regular season in seventh-place in the Western Conference, which was arguably the toughest conference in the 60-team Canadian Hockey League (CHL) this year, leading to a first-round series against Sault Ste. Marie. All eight playoff teams in the Western Conference finished the regular season with records above 0.500.

First-Round Series Schedule:

Game 1 - Thursday, March 23: Flint at Soo - 7:07 p.m.

Game 2 - Saturday, March 25: Flint at Soo - 7:07 p.m.

Game 3 - Monday, March 27: Soo at Flint - 7:00 p.m.

Game 4 - Wednesday, March 29: Soo at Flint - 7:00 p.m.

*Game 5 - Friday, March 31: Flint at Soo - 7:07 p.m.

*Game 6 - Sunday, April 2: Soo at Flint - 4:00 p.m.

*Game 7 - Tuesday, April 4: Flint at Soo - 7:07 p.m.

* if necessary

Flint vs. Sault Ste. Marie this Season:

The two clubs split the season series, 3-3, with the road team winning each contest. Three of the six games were separated by one goal, while five were two-goal differences.

Watch Firebirds Video Preview

Flint won the first meeting on Oct. 21, 4-3 in overtime. The Greyhounds collected victories in the next two games 5-3 on Nov. 5 and 5-0 on Dec. 28. Flint and Sault Ste. Marie then split a home-and-home series. Down 4-1 with 10 minutes left in the game, the Firebirds scored three goals in 4:13 to force a shootout before eventually earning a 5-4 victory (Highlights). The Greyhounds then won 5-4 on Jan. 20 (Highlights). However, Flint won the most recent contest, 5-3 on Feb. 11 in Sault Ste. Marie.

Nicholas Caamano (6G, 2A), Kole Sherwood (2G, 5A) and Ryan Moore (4G, 2A) tallied 21 total points against Sault Ste. Marie in six games during the regular season. Meanwhile, Jack Kopacka (5G, 3A), Bobby MacInyre (2G, 6A) and Connor Timmins (0G, 8A) have registered 24 points against the Firebirds.

The Firebirds outshot the Greyhounds 197 to 173 but Flint was outscored, 25 to 21. On special teams in the regular season, the Firebirds were 4/27 (15%) on the power-play, while Sault Ste. Marie was 6/29 (21%).

Media Coverage:

Firebirds Video Preview - 3/22/17

Sault Star Newspaper - 3/22/17

ABC 12 WJRT - 3/22/17

FOX 66 WSMH - 3/22/17

Detroit Free Press Newspaper - 3/22/17

Canadian Press Newspaper - 3/22/17

Flint Journal Newspaper - 3/21/17

Soo Today Newspaper - 3/21/17

Sault This Week Newspaper - 3/21/17

Sault Star Newspaper - 3/19/17

ABC 12 WJRT - 3/8/17

About Sault Ste. Marie:

The Greyhounds are one of the most storied franchises in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). They were first founded 97 years ago in 1919 but the current Greyhounds were formed in 1962, 55 years ago. Along with currently having eight players on their roster signed and/or drafted in the NHL, more than 100 former Greyhounds have gone on to play in the National Hockey League. 25 notable Greyhound's alumni to play in the NHL are Jeff Beukeboom, Bob Boughner, Jeff Carter, Dan Clouthier, Paul Coffey, Trevor Daley, Ray Emery, Adam Foote, Ron Francis, Wayne Gretzky, Craig Hartsburg, Ric Jackman, Dustin Jeffrey, Tyler Kennedy, Denny Lambert, Greg Millen, Ted Nolan, Bob Probert, Wayne Simmons, Brad Staubitz, Steve Sullivan, Joe Thornton, Rick Tocchet, John Vanbiesbrouk, and Josef Vasick.

This season, the Greyhounds recorded a league-high 26 road wins en-route to earning 100 points for just their third time in franchise history. Sault Ste. Marie finished the regular season with a 7-1-0-0 record and were 10-1-1-0 in their last 12 games. The Greyhounds have won the West Division title for their third time in the last four years.

Sault Ste. Marie is an offensive team with seven players that scored between 20 and 40 goals. Greyhounds' captain Blake Speers averaged a goal every two games in an injury-shortened, 30-game season while defensemen Gustav Bouramman and Colton White both had 30-point campaigns. On Wednesday, rookie goaltender Matthew Villalta was recognized as the 2016-17 recipient of the F.W. "Dinty" Moore Trophy registering the best goals-against-average among OHL rookie goaltenders in 2016-17 with a mark of 2.41 for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.

Players to Watch:

Flint Firebirds (32-28-3-5, 7th Western Conference):

Nick Caamano (Dallas Stars), Ryan Moore, Kole Sherwood (Columbus Blue Jackets) and Jalen Smereck (Arizona Coyotes) are four Flint Firebirds to watch Thursday night.

Ryan Moore finished the 2016-17 regular season seventh among all OHL skaters and leads the Firebirds with 90 points (39G, 51A). Moore has 15 points in the last 10 games and has racked up 20 goals in the last 30 contests.

Kole Sherwood has recorded 18 points (4G, 13A) in his last 11 games and finished ninth in the OHL with 85 points (33G, 52A) in 60 games this season. Sherwood also recorded a 14-game point-streak from Dec. 30, 2016 to Feb. 12, 2017.

Nicholas Caamano (Dallas Stars) has 31 points (20G, 11A) in the last 30 contests and has 16 goals in his past 22 games. Caamano is third on the Firebirds' roster with 35 goals and 29 assists in 66 games played.

Additionally, Maurizio Colella has tallied 14 points (7G, 7A) in the past 15 contests and has 18 goals and 22 assists in 65 games. Jalen Smereck (Arizona Coyotes) is currently riding a four-game point streak where he has tallied six points (2G, 4A). Smereck has nine goals and 36 assists in 60 games thus far.

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

In net, Connor Hicks is 18-13-1-3 and is statistically the 12th-best goaltender in the OHL with a 3.21 GAA and a .886 SAV%. Hicks made 30 saves on 33 shots in the Firebirds' 3-2 loss against London on Saturday. Garrett Forrest is 13-14-2-2 and is statistically the 17th-best goaltender in the OHL with a 3.51 GAA along with a .889 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).

Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (48-16-3-1, 2nd Western Conference):

Bobby MacIntyre finished the regular-season on a six-game point streak and lead the Greyhounds in scoring with 28 goals and 52 assists in 63 games played. Zachary Senyshyn, a first-round NHL draft pick to the Boston Bruins, recorded three points in their last game against London on Sunday and has 42 goals and 23 assists in 59 games this journey. Third on the Greyhounds' roster is Boris Katchouk (Tampa Bay Lightning) who also tallied three points in the last game against London and has 35 goals and 29 assists in 66 games thus far. Defenseman Connor Timmins has seven goals and 54 assists in 67 games this season.

MacIntyre, Senyshyn and Katchouk recorded a combined total of 29 points in 35 games throughout the 2016 playoffs for the Greyhounds last season.

Between-the-pipes, Rookie Matthew Villalta holds a 25-3-0-0 record and is statistically the fifth-best goaltender in the OHL. Villalta has racked-up nine wins in his last 10 starts and holds a 2.41 GAA along with a .918 SAV%. Joseph Raaymakers is 23-13-3-1 and is the 15th-ranked goaltender in the OHL. Raaymakers made 18 saves on 22 shots in the Greyhounds' 6-4 victory over the Knights on Sunday and has a 3.38 GAA and a .889 SAV%.

Three Greyhounds are rated among the top North American Skaters for the upcoming NHL Draft which takes place June 23-24 in Chicago: Conor Timmins (#26), Morgan Frost (#29) and Anthony Demeo (#161). Matt Villalta is ranked 14th among North American Goaltenders.

NHL: Eight players on the Greyhounds roster have been drafted by NHL teams consisting of Gustav Bouramman (Minnesota Wild), Noah Carroll (Carolina Hurricanes), Tim Gettinger (New York Rangers), Boris Katchouk (Tampa Bay Lightning), Jack Kopacka (Anaheim Ducks), Zachary Senyshyn (Boston Bruins), Blake Speers (New Jersey Devils) and Colton White (New Jersey Devils).

Broadcast Coverage:

Thursday and Saturday evening's contest against the Greyhounds 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. Pregame coverage with Dominic Hennig will begin 37 minutes prior to puck drop at 6:30 p.m. Additionally, the game will be televised live in Sault Ste. Marie on channel 10 for Shaw TV cable subscribers and throughout the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pak on channel 441/444 for Rogers TV and Cogeco TV cable subscribers. Fans can also watch the game live online at www.ohllive.com or on the OHL Live App.

Ticket Information:

Flint Firebirds 2017 'Three-Game Playoff Packages' and individual game tickets are on sale now! Come #CatchTheFire as the Flint Firebirds make their first run in the OHL Playoffs. Flint Firebirds home playoff games will feature $2 beers and $2 hot dogs for all fans in attendance. Season ticket holders that purchase a three-game playoff package will receive free parking and a complimentary limited edition playoff t-shirt. Three game playoff packages start as low as $42.

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics

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