OHL Flint Firebirds

Firebirds & Spirit Meet for I-75 Divide Cup Finale in Flint Wednesday

March 2, 2016 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Flint Firebirds vs. Saginaw Spirit Meet for I-75 Divide Cup
Flint Firebirds vs. Saginaw Spirit Meet for I-75 Divide Cup
(Flint Firebirds)

Wednesday night marks the first time that either the Flint Firebirds or the Saginaw Spirit will skate away as the inaugural I-75 Divide Cup champions. Presented by Coors Light, the I-75 Divide Cup is awarded to the team that wins a best-of-eight series between the two clubs throughout the regular season. The Flint Firebirds hold the 4-3 series lead over the Saginaw Spirit however, the tiebreaker is the ratio of goals for and goals against. Both teams have scored a total of 24 goals against each other in the first seven games this season, leading to a "winner-take-all" battle in Flint on Wednesday night.

To make this rivalry match even more entertaining, Flint and Saginaw are competing for the eighth and final available playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Flint Firebirds (18-35-4-2, 5th West Division) are 10 points behind the Saginaw Spirit (23-31-3-3, 4th West Division) in the standings but the Firebirds have played one less game than the Spirit with nine games remaining for Flint and eight games for Saginaw.

More than 24,000 fans have attended the first seven games of the I-75 Divide Cup rivalry, producing an average of 3,400+ fans each game to see the two rivals play. Flint has scored first in five of the seven games against Saginaw this season and the Firebirds have won more face off draws in six games, with the seventh game being a tie. Both teams have outshot each other three times this season but when Flint records more shots, they have earned the victory that night.

Wednesday night is "college night" in Flint featuring $2 beers and $2 hot dogs for all fans in attendance. College students will also receive $2 off their tickets with valid ID. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. (EST) at the Dort Federal Event Center.

Lastly, the mid-week game against Saginaw is also "backpack night." Each player will have his name, number and the Firebirds logo stitched on individual backpacks that fans will have the opportunity to bid on throughout the game to support the Shard Financial Backpack Night, which benefits the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan. There will be a silent auction during the game for the backpacks, however Will Bitten's backpack will be auctioned off live during the first intermission and Vili Saarijärvi's will be auctioned off live during the second intermission.

Single game tickets are $12/Bronze, $15/Silver, $19/Gold and $25/VIP and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com or by visiting or calling the Dort Federal Event Center Box Office Monday thru Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. at (810) 744-0580. Saturday and Sunday game day box office hours begin at 10 a.m.

Radio & TV Coverage

Fans unable to attend Wednesday's game can listen live in Flint and Mid-Michigan on 1330 AM WTRX Sports Radio and around the world online on the iHeartRadio app. Dominic Hennig will call the play-by-play action on the Flint Firebirds Hockey Radio Network. Pregame coverage will begin at 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday's game against Saginaw will be televised live across the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pak on cable channel 455. OHL fans with cable television in Ontario can add the OHL Action Pak to their television plan to catch the Firebirds in action, home or away all season long. Along with Wednesday night's game, 64 of the Firebirds' 68 games throughout the 2015-16 season are also scheduled to be televised live across the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pack.

All Flint Firebirds home and away games throughout the 2015-16 season can be watched anywhere in the world online on OHL Live and 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 2015-16 season.

Players to Watch:

Flint:

Nicholas Caamano has scored the most goals against Saginaw this season, recording five lamp-lighters in seven games against the rival. Caamano, eligible for the 2016 NHL Draft ths summer is fifth on the Firebirds with 31 points in 55 games.

Mathieu Henderson, Vili Saarijärvi (Detroit '15) and Francesco Vilardi lead the point production against the Spirit this campaign with six points each. Vilardi has scored three goals, Henderson has found twine once and Saarijarvi has notched six helpers. Saarijarvi is 17th among all OHL defenseman with 11 goals and 23 assists totaling 34 points in 50 games.

Ryan Moore follows closely with three goals against Saginaw this year and has earned 10 points in his last nine games played. The Troy, Mich. native is second on the Flint roster with 42 points in 59 games this season.

A Top Prospect for the upcoming NHL Draft, Will Bitten leads the Firebirds with 57 points in 58 games this season and has marked six points in his last six games.

In net, Brent Moran (Dallas '14) was Flint's starting goaltender when the Firebirds earned a 4-3 overtime triumph over the Saginaw Spirit on Feb. 3. Moran made 37 saves on Saginaw's 40 shots to record his first victory in a Firebirds uniform that night. Moran holds a 3.62 goals against average (GAA) and a .888 save percentage (SAV%) this season.

Flint's rookie netminder Kyle Keyser started the last three games and has a 3.83 GAA and a .893 SAV%. Keyser has a 3-7-0-0 record in 11 games in his first season in the OHL. Matthew Menna has a 4.57 GAA and a .866 SAV%.

There are three players on the Flint Firebirds roster that are drafted in the National Hockey League. Firebirds' captain Alex Peters and goaltender Brent Moran were both selected by the Dallas Stars in the 2014 NHL Draft. Most recently, Vili Saarijärvi was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings this past June in the 2015 NHL Draft.

In addition, Will Bitten, Nicholas Caamano, Jacob Collins, Dane Johnstone, Matyáš Kantner, Luke Kirwan, Håkon Nilsen and Keenan Reynolds are eligible to be selected in the 2016 NHL Draft in Buffalo in June.

Saginaw:

Matthew Kreis has been the most productive against the Flint Firebirds this season. Kreis has totaled 10 points, scoring 10 goals and adding six assists. Artem Artemov has tallied the second most points with eight this year vs. Flint but has scored the most goals with five. Defenseman Marcus Crawford follows with four assists this season.

Evan Cormier is one position above Flint's Moran among OHL goaltenders. Cormier holds a 3.55 GAA and a .893 SAV%. The former North Bay Battalion netminder has played in all seven games against Flint this season. Cormier has a 21-23-3-3 record in 53 total games this campaign.

The NHL Central Scouting's Midterm list which ranks North American skaters eligible for the 2016 NHL Draft this June in Buffalo, NY has identified Saginaw's Markus Niemelainen as #46-ranked player for the draft, Keaton Middleton #55 and Tye Felhaber #139.

Along with Saginaw's Mitchell Stephens being drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning, two other players attended NHL training camps this fall including Artem Artemov (New York Rangers) and Marcus Crawford (Ottawa).

Special Teams:

The Firebirds are 20th in the league on the man-advantage. Flint's power play is converting at a 13% success-rate, scoring 31 goals on 239 opportunities. On the penalty kill, the Firebirds are 19th in the OHL, currently operating at 75.7%. Flint has scored two shorthanded goals and has successfully killed 181 of 239 penalties this season. The Firebirds are at the middle of the pack with the 10th least minutes in the OHL recording an average of 12.1 minutes per game.

Saginaw's power play is the 17th in the OHL, scoring 16.3% of the time and is 9th on the penalty kill at 81.7%. The Spirit have registered the 6th least penalty minutes in the OHL averaging 11.2 minutes in the box per game.

Next Home Games:

After Wednesday's contest against the Saginaw Spirit, the Firebirds will then host the Eastern Conference's best Kingston Frontenacs Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and third place North Bay on Sunday at 5 p.m. Saturday's contest is the Firebirds first "Faith Night" while Sunday's tilt is Dort Federal Credit Union Family Night. The first 2,000 fans in attendance Sunday will receive a pair of thunder sticks courtesy of Dort Federal Credit Union. There will be a bounce house, face painters, balloon twisters and a post-game a skate with the players event; rental skates are available.

Single game tickets are $12/Bronze, $15/Silver, $19/Gold and $25/VIP and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com or by visiting or calling the Dort Federal Event Center Box Office Monday thru Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. at (810) 744-0580. Saturday and Sunday game day box office hours begin at 10 a.m.

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics




Images from this story

Flint Firebirds vs. Saginaw Spirit Meet for I-75 Divide Cup
Flint Firebirds vs. Saginaw Spirit Meet for I-75 Divide Cup
   



Ontario Hockey League Stories from March 2, 2016


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