OHL Flint Firebirds

Firebirds Battle Erie for the Final Time Saturday

April 9, 2022 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Flint, Mich. - The Firebirds have already clinched home-ice advantage in the playoffs for the first time in club history. They'll play their final five games of the regular season over then a span of eight days. First up, they'll host the Erie Otters for the final time this year. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. (ET) at the state-of-the-art Dort Financial Center.

This season has been one for the record books, quite literally. Franchise and individual records have broken practically every game for the past several weeks, with more records on the verge of falling. Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers) has scored the most goals in a single season (42) and tied the record for shorthanded goals (4) along with rookie forward Ethan Hay. Coulson Pitre became the first rookie to score 20 goals in a season and now has 21. Gavin Hayes became the rookie to score the most points in a single game (6) on his way to earning the most all-time assists (26) and points (45) by a first-year player. Luke Cavallin already owned the all-time records for career minutes played, saves, and wins before breaking the single-season record for victories, now with a league-leading 32 wins.

As a team, the club has set the bar for the most road wins (24), goals scored on the road (143), most shorthanded goals in a season (15), and the fastest goal to start a game (10 seconds). They've scored the most power-play goals on home ice (28), and need just two more goals on the man-advantage to tie the overall season record of 49. With five regular-season games remaining, all on home ice, points (-1), goals scored on home ice (-2) and total goals in a single season (-9) are all within reach, as well.

The Firebirds enter Saturday's contest in second place in the West Division. They carry the second-most points in the 10-team Western Conference with a record of 38-19-1-4. The Otters rank fifth the Midwest Division and ninth in the Western Conference with a 26-33-2-2 record. They sit one point outside of the eighth and final playoff spot with one week remaining in the regular season. On the home ice this year, Flint has posted a record of 14-13-0-2. Erie's road record is 12-19-1-1. In their past 10 tilts, the Otters have gone 3-7-0-0 and the Birds' last 10 have gone 5-4-0-1.

Saturday marks the 12th and final meeting between these clubs this season, and the sixth of six games to be played in Flint. All time, the Firebirds carry a record of 15-9-2-3 against Erie, with a home record of 8-3-0-2 in the series. So far this year, the Birds have won nine of 11 meetings with the Otters, including four of five at the Dort Financial Center. Across the 11 games played between these organizations, Flint has outscored Erie by a total of 51-28.

The most recent tilt between the Firebirds and Otters was March 5 at the Erie Insurance Arena. That night, the Otters defeated the Firebirds for the first time on home ice this season, 5-3. Luke Cavallin got the start in net for Flint and stopped 29 of 34 shots and it was Nolan Lalonde stopping 20 of 23 for the Otters. James Mayotte, Riley Piercey, and Tag Bertuzzi scored for Flint. Noah Sedore and Spencer Sova led the charge for Erie, each with a goal and an assist.

For the season, Othmann leads all players in the series between Erie and Flint with 18 total points (11 G, 7 A). Tied for second for Flint are Coulson Pitre (5 G, 6 A) and Amadeus Lombardi (4 G, 7 A) with 11 points each. Daniel D'Amato, the older brother of Flint's Luca D'Amato, tops the scoring for the Otters with 11 points (6 G, 5 A). Christian Kyrou (1 G, 7 A) is second in scoring for the Otters versus Flint, followed by Elias Cohen (3 G, 4 A) and Noah Sedore (2 G, 5 A) with eight points each. Luke Cavallin has seven wins between the pipes for the Birds, and rookie netminder Nolan Lalonde has both wins for Erie.

On special teams, the Firebirds are converting with the man-advantage at a 19.0% rate, which ranks them 15th in the 20-team OHL. Erie has scored at a success rate of 17.4%, which ranks them 17th. Flint's penalty-kill remains atop the league at an 84.6% rate of success. The Otters are killing penalties at a 79.7% clip, the league's tenth-best.

Promotions: Saturday, April 9 will be Overager Appreciation Night, sponsored by the Flint Walk to End Alzheimer's. Flint's three overage players Tag Bertuzzi, Luke Cavallin, and Ethan Keppen will be recognized prior to the game. The organization will be thanking these players and congratulating them for their accomplishments during their OHL careers.

Players to Watch:

Flint Firebirds (38-20-1-4, 2nd West Division):

Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers) ranks first on the team and third in the league with 43 goals. Othmann also leads the club with 46 assists and ranks seventh in the league with 89 total points. He also netted his fourth shorthanded goal last week, which ties him for the most in a season in franchise history and for the fifth-most in the OHL this year. Othmann holds the league's eighth-best points-per-game average at 1.46. Riley Piercey is second in scoring with 27 goals and 31 helpers through 58 games. He's also tied for first in franchise history with six game-winning tallies. Amadeus Lombardi ranks third on the squad with 17 tallies and 39 helpers through 62 contests.

Gavin Hayes hails from Westland, Mich. and tops the rookie class in total points with 45 (19 G, 26 A) through 60 games. He sits tied for the ninth-most points and tenth-most power-play assists (9) among all first-year players in the league. Coulson Pitre has 21 goals, which are the most by any rookie in Firebirds' history. Pitre also has 19 assists for 40 total points through 47 games. He ranks third among rookies in the OHL at a .85 points-per-game average and is tied for the seventh-most goals by any rookie in the league this season. Pitre's four game-winning tallies are tied for sixth-best.

On defense, Dmitry Kuzmin (Winnipeg Jets) has the most points for the club with 38. He also tops the blue-liners with 16 goal in 52 games played. Tyler Deline has six goals and 29 helpers through 57 games. Kuzmin's 16 markers are fifth-most among the OHL's defenders, and Deline's 17 power-play helpers are tied for eighth-most. Rookie defenseman Tristan Bertucci has a +/- rating of +26, which is the best among all rookies in the league and tied for fifth-best among all blue-liners.

Luke Cavallin has now appeared in 51 games, which is the second-most in the OHL. His 32 wins are the most in the league and the most in Flint's franchise history. He also carries the OHL's fourth-best save percentage (SV%) at .910 and eighth-best goals-against average (GAA) of 3.17. Behind Cavallin are two first-year netminders showing a lot of potential for the future. Ian Michelone has now appeared in ten games and picked up four victories. Two of his wins came against Erie. He carries a GAA of 4.37 and a SV% of .884. Nathaniel Day has two victories in eight appearances, with a 3.63 GAA and a .883 SV%.

NHL: The Firebirds have four players on their roster with NHL ties consisting of Ethan Keppen (Vancouver Canucks), Braeden Kressler (Toronto Maple Leafs), Dmitry Kuzmin (Winnipeg Jets), and Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers). Also, Gavin Hayes and Simon Slavicek were named to the 2022 NHL Central Scouting Midterm Draft Rankings.

Despite Flint playing in just five OHL seasons thus far, Alex Nedeljkovic (Carolina Hurricanes / Detroit Red Wings), Kole Sherwood (Columbus Blue Jackets), Ty Dellandrea (Dallas Stars), and Vladislav Kolyachonok (Arizona Coyotes) are four former Firebirds to play regular-season games in the NHL. Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers) and Firebirds' alumni Ethan Keppen (Vancouver Canucks), Vili Saarijarvi (Detroit Red Wings) and Jalen Smereck (Arizona Coyotes) have all played in NHL pre-season contests. In total, the team has produced 21 signed or drafted players into the NHL.

Erie Otters (26-33-2-2, 5th Midwest Division):

Daniel D'Amato ranks first in scoring for the Otters with 21 goals and 39 helpers for 60 points in 58 total games. He's also tied for fifth with four shorthanded goals and is in a three-way tie for first in the league with three shorthanded assists. Third-year center Elias Cohen sits second on Erie's scoresheet with 59 points (24 G, 35 A) in 60 games. Erie's top-scoring defenseman is Christian Kyrou, who has lit the lamp 18 times and pitched in 41 assists through 59 games played. Among blue-liners, he's tied for second in the league for goals scored, first in shorthanded assists (3), the third-most total points, the fourth-best points-per-game average at .94, and the eighth-most total helpers.

The Otters' first-round draft pick (8th overall) from 2020 is defenseman Spencer Sova. He paces the freshman class on the team with 28 points (9 G, 19 A) in 63 contests.

The Otters are backstopped by a pair of first-year netminders. Nolan Lalonde has played in 50 games this season, which is tied for the third-most in the OHL. He's earned 23 victories, which is tied for seventh-most in the league and is the most by any rookie goaltender. Lalonde has posted a 3.59 goals-against average (GAA) and a save-percentage (SV%) of .878. Marshall Nicholls has played in 15 contests, earned two victories, and carries a 4.42 GAA with a SV% of .849. Aidan Campbell made his return from hip surgery on March 26 and has played in three games this year. He carries a 2.02 GAA and a .909 SV%.

NHL: Connor Lockhart (Vancouver Canucks) is the lone player on Erie's roster with NHL ties. Additionally, Spencer Sova, Christian Kyrou, and netminder Nolan Lalonde were named to the NHL Central Scouting Midterm Rankings.

Notable Otters' alumni to play in the NHL are Connor McDavid, Alex DeBrincat, Connor Brown, Nikita Alexeev, Brad Boyes, Tim Connoly, Mike Rupp, Steve Montador, Carlo Colaiacovo, Chris Campoli, Jason Ward and Dylan Strome.

Broadcast Coverage:

Saturday's contest against the Erie Otters 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 6:40 p.m. (ET) Saturday evening.

The game will also be televised live across the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pak on channel 469 (4469 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 2021-22 regular season can be watched anywhere in the world online on https://watch.chl.ca/ohl. CHL TV is the league's new and improved 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 for 24-hour access, $24.99 for monthly access, $109.99 for all-access to the 2021-22 Firebirds and OHL season, or $159.99 for all-access to the entire 2021-22 CHL season.

Next Up: The Firebirds are right back in action Sunday afternoon as they host the Sarnia Sting for the first of back-to-back home games. Sunday, April 10 will be 'Family Funday' at the Dort Financial Center with puck drop now scheduled for 5:00 p.m. (ET). Get two FREE kids (ages 12 & under) tickets with every paid adult ticket. Tickets to Sunday's game are available to purchase from ETIX.

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from April 9, 2022


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