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OHL Flint Firebirds

Firebirds Close out 2023 in London

December 31, 2023 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


London, Ont. - The Firebirds look to end 2023 in the win column with a road battle in London against the Knights. London enters Sunday on a five game winning streak and the Birds are 1-1-0-0 in the last two nights. Puck drop is set for 4:00 p.m. at Budweiser Gardens on Sunday afternoon.

WEEKEND RECAP: Flint snapped its six-game skid with a 5-3 triumph over the OHL's league-leading Kitchener Rangers at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Friday. Nolan Dann recorded his first two-goal game of the season and Coulson Pitre had a goal and two assists to lead the offense, while Nathan Day posted 23 saves on 26 to earn his 12th victory of the campaign. Then on Saturday, the Guelph Storm scored three power-play goals and escaped Flint with a 3-2 win at the Dort Financial Center. Coulson Pitre netted his 16th of the season and younger brother Kaden Pitre had two assists in the contest. Nathan Aspinall scored Flint's other marker and Jacob Brown made 21 saves on 24 shots in his eighth OHL appearance.

SERIES HISTORY: Sunday marks the second of four meetings between these teams and is the second of two to be played at Budweiser Gardens. The Firebirds won the first meeting by a final score of 7-4 in London back in mid-November. Coulson Pitre's hat trick backed by Braeden Kressler's three-point night (1 G, 2 A) combined with Nathan Day's 26-save performance sent many of the more than 9,000 fans heading toward the exits early. Flint's all-time record at "The Bud" is 5-9-0-1 and 9-17-1-2 overall.

SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS: (22-11-0-1, 2nd Midwest Division) -

Philadelphia Flyers prospect Denver Barkey leads the Knights on the scoresheet with 18 goals and 33 helpers for 51 points in only 32 games. Tied for second are Ruslan Gazizov and Winnipeg Jets prospect Jacob Julien with 14 tallies and 25 assists through 34 games each. Gazizov rides a seven-game point streak into Sunday's game, recording five goals and 14 assists in that span.

Backstopping the Knights through 26 appearances this season is Michael Simpson with 17 victories including a shutout. Simpson's goals-against average stands at 2.82 and his goals-against average is .901. Owen Willmore has five wins across ten appearances with a 3.57 GAA and an .889 SV%.

London has the OHL's top power play, scoring on 33.9% of their chances. When shorthanded they're escaping unscathed at an 82.4% clip, the fourth-best in the league.

SCOUTING THE FIREBIRDS: (14-17-2-1, 3rd West Division) -

With Gavin Hayes in Sweden representing the United States in the World Junior Championship, Braeden Kressler has taken over the lead in Flint's scoring race. The prospect of the Toronto Maple Leafs has 37 points (15 G, 22 A) in just 31 games this season. Team captain Zacharie Giroux ranks second with 15 goals and 20 assists through 34 contests. Anaheim Ducks prospect Coulson Pitre has been red hot of late and rides a six-game point streak (3 G, 5 A) into Sunday's tilt. For the season he has the third-most points for Flint with 16 tallies and 18 helpers in 34 games.

Edmonton Oilers prospect Nathan Day now has 12 wins through 28 appearances and sports a goals-against average of 3.96 with an .860 save percentage. Rookie Jacob Brown carries a GAA of 4.10 and an .859 SV%. He has two wins in eight appearances in his rookie OHL campaign.

The Birds rank 15th in the league on the power play, scoring on 18.0% of their opportunities. They're killing penalties at a 79.0% rate and now rank 11th.

ODDS AND ENDS: Five players across both rosters are representing their native countries in the World Junior Championships currently. In addition to Gavin Hayes, Simon Slavicek is absent as he is in Sweden on Team Czechia's extended roster as a potential injury replacement. London is playing without forwards Easton Cowan (Canada) and Kasper Halttunen (Finland) as well as defender Oliver Bonk (Canada)..... Flint holds a record of 4-6-0-1 against the Midwest Division this year.... The Knights have two additional players on seven-game point streaks currently, consisting of St. Louis Blues prospect Sam O'Reilly (2 G, 10 A) and Landon Sim (4 G, 10 A)....

BROADCAST COVERAGE: This afternoon's game against the London Knights 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. Brian Gardner will call the play-by-play action on the Firebirds Hockey Network starting with the pre-game show at 3:45 p.m.

All of the Flint Firebirds home and away games throughout the 2023-24 season can be watched anywhere in the world online at https://watch.chl.ca/ohl.

COMING UP: The Firebirds will play a road game in Windsor on Wednesday before a three-game home stand starts on Friday. Flint hosts the Peterborough Petes on Friday and the Oshawa Generals on Saturday next weekend. Tickets for both home games next weekend are available now from ETIX.COM.

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from December 31, 2023


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