OHL Flint Firebirds

Firebirds Aim for Comeback Bid Tonight in Front of Hometown Crowd

Published on April 3, 2023 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Flint, Mich. - The Firebirds look for answers after dropping back-to-back games in Saginaw to start their postseason. More than 4,000 fans were on hand Thursday to witness a 7-1 home-ice win for the Spirit, and a standing-room-only crowd watched Friday's chippy 4-1 Saginaw victory led by Matyas Sapovaliv's hat trick. After two days off, Flint has regrouped and looks forward to a chance to get back into the series in the friendly confines of the Dort Financial Center. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. (ET) tonight for Game 3 of this historic OHL Playoffs series between these in-state rivals.

The Firebirds were first to light the lamp in the first two games but were unable to solve New York Islanders' prospect netminder Tristan Lennox and his defense for the balance of the night. Riley Piercey was Thursday's goal-scorer and Nolan Dann found twine in Game 2 on Friday. Special teams made a big difference on the scoreboard Thursday as the Spirit scored twice on the power play and once shorthanded. Flint went scoreless across both games on nine combined chances with the man advantage.

Flint concluded the 68-game regular season with a record of 35-28-4-1, ranking them fourth in the West Division and fifth in the Western Conference. The Spirit ended the year ranked third in the West Division and fourth in the Western Conference with a 36-27-3-2 mark. The Firebirds posted a record of 18-13-2-1 on home ice this year and won eight of their final nine home games down the stretch. Saginaw finished 19-11-3-1 in road games.

These clubs met eight times in the regular season, and the Birds had points in four of the tilts with a 3-4-1-0 overall record. On home ice, however, Flint had points in three of four, going 2-1-1-0. In the all-time series between these in-state rivals, the Firebirds sit at 26-32-1-3 in regular-season contests. They're also 12-15-1-3 since 2015 when playing in home games.

Players to Watch

Flint Firebirds (0-2-0-0, 5th Seed, Western Conference):

Amadeus Lombardi played in 67 of the 68 games during the regular season and nearly doubled his point production from his rookie campaign. He became the first Flint player to top the 100-point mark, logging 45 goals and 57 assists for 102 total points. Lombardi scored the sixth-most goals, finished tied for the sixth-most helpers, and had the third-most points in the league this year. He assisted on the lone Flint goal on Thursday. Gavin Hayes finished the season second in scoring with 41 goals and 40 assists through 66 contests. Overager Riley Piercey concluded his overage regular season with 70 points (22 G, 48 A) in 67 tilts, and was the solo goal-scorer for Flint Thursday evening.

Dmitry Kuzmin led the Birds on defense in the regular, scoring 14 times and pitching in 45 helpers for 59 total points in 65 games. Those numbers placed him sixth in points, eighth in assists, and tenth in goals among all league defenders. Finishing second among rearguards was sophomore Tristan Bertucci with 50 points (11 G, 39 A) through 63 contests. He also has one assist thus far in the series. Kaden Pitre topped the freshman class for Flint with seven goals and four assists.

Rookie netminder Nathan Day had 17 victories in 32 appearances across the 68-game 2022-23 season while recording a 3.91 goals-against average (GAA) with a .874 save percentage (SV%). He stopped six of Saginaw's ten shots in the first 26 minutes of Thursday's lopsided affair, then posted 22 saves on 25 shots on Friday. Overage goaltender Will Cranley made seven saves in the balance of the night after playing in 44 regular-season contests. He posted a 3.87 goals-against average (GAA) with a .884 save percentage (SV%) in a year that saw him earn 18 victories. Cranley made seven saves on ten shots on Thursday.

NHL: The Firebirds have six players with NHL ties consisting of Will Cranley (St. Louis Blues), Amadeus Lombardi (Detroit Red Wings), Gavin Hayes (Chicago Blackhawks), Braeden Kressler (Toronto Maple Leafs), Dmitri Kuzmin (Winnipeg Jets), and Artem Guryev (San Jose Sharks). Additionally, Coulson Pitre, Tristan Bertucci, Ethan Hay, and goaltender Nathan Day were listed on the NHL Central Scouting's 2023 Midterm Rankings for the upcoming NHL Draft.

Through seven OHL seasons thus far, Alex Nedeljkovic (Detroit), Kole Sherwood (Columbus), Ty Dellandrea (Dallas), Tyler Tucker (St. Louis), and Will Bitten (St. Louis) are five former Firebirds to play in the NHL. Riley Piercey (Detroit) and Gavin Hayes (Chicago) played in NHL preseason contests this year, joining Firebirds' alumni Ethan Keppen (Vancouver), Vili Saarijarvi (Detroit), and Jalen Smereck (Arizona). The team has produced 25 signed or drafted players into the NHL.

Saginaw Spirit (2-0-0-0, 4th Seed Western Conference):

Matyas Sapovaliv lit the lamp 27 times and added 29 helpers in the regular season, finishing second in scoring for the Spirit. He's in the driver's seat through two playoff games, logging three goals and three assists to date. Dean Loukus is second with five assists in the postseason. Hunter Haight ended the regular season atop the points list for Saginaw with 60 (21 G, 39 A) through 62 games played. He now has four points (2 G, 2 A) in two games this series.

Rookie Michael Misa finished tied for second at the end of the season with 56 points, combining 22 tallies and helpers on 34 goals through 45 games, all the most among all OHL rookies. He has one tally and two helpers in the two games versus the Firebirds.

Saginaw, Mich. native defenseman Mitchell Smith finished the year fifth on the club and atop the defensive unit with 14 goals and 38 assists. He's picked up an additional two points (1 G, 1 A) in postseason play.

Fourth-year veteran netminder Tristan Lennox had donned the pads 45 times in the regular season, recording 25 victories with three shutouts. His goals-against average (GAA) ended at 3.15 and his save percentage (SV%) for the year was .888. He has a combined 50 saves on 52 shots in the two wins last week. Shelby Township, Mich. native Andrew Oke played in 24 contests this year and logged ten wins. His GAA was 3.45 and his SV% ended at .892.

NHL: The Spirit have three players with NHL ties, consisting of Matyas Sapovaliv (Vegas Golden Knights), Hunter Haight (Minnesota Wild), and Tristan Lennox (New York Islanders). Additionally, Luke McNamara, Nic Sima, Joey Willis, Pj Forgione, and Calem Mangone were all named to the 2022 NHL Central Scouting Midterm Draft Rankings.

12 notable Spirit alumni to play in the NHL are Cody Bass, Paul Bissonnette, T.J. Brodie, Matt Corrente, Filip Hronek, Jan Mursak, Jamie Oleksiak, Dalton Prout, Tom Pyatt, Brandon Saad, Chris Thorburn, and Vincent Trocheck.

Broadcast Coverage:

This evening's Playoff Game against the Saginaw Spirit 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. Jack Sznewajs will call the play-by-play action on the Firebirds Hockey Network (FHN). Pregame coverage will begin prior to puck drop at 6:45 p.m. (ET) this evening.

The game will also be televised live across the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pak on channel 463 (4463 HD) for both Rogers TV and Cogeco TV cable subscribers. 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.

Also, all Flint Firebirds' home and away games throughout the 2022-23 playoffs can be watched anywhere in the world online at https://watch.chl.ca/ohl. CHL TV is the league's video streaming platform that delivers high-quality live and on-demand coverage of all regular season and playoff games annually. The cost in the postseason is $5.99 for a one-day pass or $44.97 to get all of the OHL's Playoff games this year.

Next Up: Game 4 of the opening round will be played at the Dort Financial Center on Wednesday. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. (ET) and tickets are ON SALE NOW at ETIX.COM.

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from April 3, 2023


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