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OHL Flint Firebirds

Firebirds & Greyhounds Battle in the Soo Friday for Final Road Game

March 16, 2018 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Sault Ste. Marie, Ont - The Firebirds will face-off against the top-ranked Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds Friday night for their final road game of the 2017-18 season. Puck drop is set for 7:07 p.m. (ET) at the Essar Centre (capacity 4,928).

Friday marks the sixth and final game between the Firebirds and Greyhounds this season. The Firebirds won the most recent contest between Flint and Sault Ste. Marie. Flint posted a 4 - 2 triumph at the Dort Federal Event Center on Jan 20. That night, Sault Ste. Marie entered the contest ranked first in the 20-team OHL and ranked number-one in the 60-team CHL. The same holds true Friday, when the Firebirds look to steal one last victory from the Greyhounds. Sault Ste. Marie is 4-1-0-0 against Flint this year.

They Greyhounds have won three of their last five games. Flint has not been able to secure a victory in their past three. Sault Ste. Marie holds a 54-7-2-3 overall record this season. With the one point earned in their shootout loss to Owen Sound on Sunday, the Greyhounds reached 111 points in the regular-season standings, a new franchise record. They then went on to defeat the Saginaw Spirit 8 - 1 on Wednesday, and they now hold 113 regular-season points. On home ice, Sault Ste. Marie has only one regulation loss all season. Their record at the Essar Centre this season stands at 30-1-1-0.

Flint holds a season record of 19-42-3-2 and rank fifth in the West Division. On the road, the Firebirds are 6-23-2-2 this campaign. Most recently, the 'Birds fell to the Owen Sound Attack Wednesday night at the Dort Federal Event Center.

On special teams, Sault Ste. Marie has the fifth-best power-play in the OHL, scoring 23.6% of the time. Flint is 17th in the OHL with a 17.1% rate of success on the man-advantage. The Greyhounds are fourth on the penalty-kill at 82.4% while the Firebirds are killing penalties at a 73.6% clip.

Players to Watch:

Flint Firebirds (19-42-3-2, 5th West Division):

Maurizio Colella leads the team in points with 60 in 65 games played. His 37 assists are the most on the squad. Colella had a five-game point streak snapped on Wednesday. Ty Dellandrea leads the team with 27 goals on the season and ranks second overall in points with 59 in 65 games. He also rode a five-game point streak into Wednesday's tilt but was ended by the Attack. Connor Roberts sits third on the squad with 18 goals and 16 helpers for 34 total points. Roberts has 27 points in 42 games since joining the Firebirds mid-season. Jack Wismer and Ethan Keppen have been red-hot of late, as each have four points in their past four games.

From the blue-line, defenseman Jalen Smereck (Arizona Coyotes) leads all defenders on the squad with 32 points in 44 games with Flint this season. Fedor Gordeev (Toronto Maple Leafs) ranks second among the rearguards with 23 points in 65 games this season. Defenseman Riley McCourt leads all Flint rookies in points with 22 in the campaign.

In net, Garrett Forrest carries a 4.74 goals-against average (GAA) and a save percentage of .865 (SAV%). Forrest has appeared in 44 games and has earned 12 wins. Forrest holds the record for the all-time most saves among Flint goaltenders in the OHL. Luke Cavallin has a 4.21 GAA and a .872 SAV% in 30 appearances. Luke now has seven wins in his rookie season as the league's highest-selected goaltender from the 2017 OHL Draft. Luke is now tied with for the most games played among rookies netminders in the OHL with 30, equalling Owen Sound's Mac Guzda.

NHL: The Firebirds have two players with NHL ties consisting of Jalen Smereck (Arizona Coyotes) and Fedor Gordeev (Toronto Maple Leafs). Additionally, Dennis Busby, Ty Dellandrea, Hunter Holmes, Ryan Littlejohn, Riley McCourt, Connor Roberts and Jack Wismer are eight first-time eligible players to be selected in the NHL Entry Draft in June 2018.

Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (54-7-2-3, 1st West Division):

The Soo are led up front by Morgan Frost (Philadelphia Flyers) who is tied for first in the OHL in scoring with 110 points in 65 games this season. His 69 assists rank him second in the league and his 41 goals have him tied for fourth. Frost is riding a 12-game point streak with nine goals and 13 assists in that span. Boris Katchouk (Tampa Bay Lightning) ranks second for the Greyhounds with 85 total points in 57 games played. He ranks first on the team and fourth in the league with 42 goals on the season. Third on the scoresheet for Sault Ste. Marie is Taylor Raddysh (Tampa Bay Lightning) with 82 points in 56 games. Raddysh was acquired from the Erie Otters at the trade deadline this season. Additionally, forward Tim Gettinger (New York Rangers) and defenseman Conor Timmins (Colorado Avalanche) are averaging more than a point per game this season.

Between the pipes, netminder Matthew Villalta has appeared in 48 games, has earned the OHL's most wins with 40, and sits tied for third in the league with three. He has the leagues best goals-against average (GAA) at 2.55 and a .909 save percentage (SAV%). Backup goaltender Tyler Johnson has appeared in 25 games this season and has 13 wins with two shutouts. He has a 2.60 GAA and a .908 SAV%. Johnson was originally picked by the Plymouth Whalers in the 2014 OHL Priority Selection.

NHL: The Greyhounds have nine players that have NHL ties including Noah Carroll (Carolina Hurricanes), Morgan Frost (Philadelphia Flyers), Tim Gettinger (New York Rangers), Boris Katchouk (Tampa Bay Lightning), Jack Kopacka (Anaheim Ducks), Taylor Raddysh (Tampa Bay Lightning), Jordan Sambrook (Detroit Red Wings), Conor Timmins (Colorado Avalanche) and Matthew Villalta (Los Angeles Kings). Additionally Barrett Hayton and Rasmus Sandin we're named to the NHL Central Scouting's November 'Players to Watch' list for the upcoming 2018 NHL Draft.

25 notable Greyhounds' alumni to play in the NHL are Wayne Gretzky, Jeff Beukeboom, Bob Boughner, Jeff Carter, Dan Clouthier, Paul Coffey, Trevor Daley, Ray Emery, Adam Foote, Ron Francis, Craig Hartsburg, Ric Jackman, Dustin Jeffrey, Tyler Kennedy, Denny Lambert, Greg Millen, Ted Nolan, Nathan Perrott, Bob Probert, Wayne Simmons, Brad Staubitz, Steve Sullivan, Joe Thornton, Rick Tocchet, John Vanbiesbrouk, and Josef Vasick.

Broadcast Coverage:

Friday evening's contest against the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds can be heard live on the radio throughout Flint & Mid-Michigan on US 103.1 FM, online at www.us103.com or by downloading the US 103 app here. Dominic Hennig will call the play-by-play action on the Flint Firebirds Hockey Radio Network. Pregame coverage will begin 30 minutes prior to puck drop at 6:30 p.m.

Friday's game is one of only three games on the 68-game schedule that will not have live television coverage.

However, all Flint Firebirds home and away games throughout the 2017-18 season can be watched anywhere in the world online on www.ohllive.com or on the OHL Live app. OHL Live is a league video streaming platform that delivers high quality live and on-demand coverage of all regular season and playoff games annually. The cost is $6.99 per game, $69.99 for Flint Firebirds away games only, $179.99 for all 68 home and away Firebirds games and $279.99 for all 1,360 OHL games throughout the 2017-18 season.

Next Home Game:

The Flint Firebirds final game of the 2017-18 season is tomorrow, Saturday, March 17th at 7 p.m. at the Dort Federal Event Center in Flint. The Firebirds host west division rival and 2017 Memorial Cup Champion, the Windsor Spitfires.

Saturday marks the Firebirds' annual "Fan and Police Appreciation Night" featuring many free giveaways including 2,500 fan appreciation scratch-offs, 1,000 Firebirds' St. Patrick's Day koozies, Dort Federal Credit Union thunderstix and team posters (while supplies last) a t-shirt toss sponsored by Harmony Glass and more!

All law enforcement officers with valid ID will receive $5 off a Silver Level ticket at the Dort Federal Event Center Box Office.

Attention season ticket holders and team sponsors! Saturday is the final opportunity for unused ticket redemption. If you've missed any games this season, you can get one ticket for every unused season ticket this Saturday or in advance at the Dort Federal Event Center box office.

Single game tickets for all Firebirds games are $12 / Bronze, $16 / Silver, $20 / Gold and $26 / VIP seating (Seating Chart). All seats are reserved / assigned seating. Fans can purchase tickets by calling (810) 744-0580, in-person at the Dort Federal Event Center Box Office or online at ticketmaster.com.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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