Sports stats



OHL Flint Firebirds

Firebirds Face Attack in Owen Sound on Saturday

January 27, 2024 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


OWEN SOUND, Ont. - After a thrilling overtime win on Friday night in Mississauga, the Firebirds have now traveled to Owen Sound for a Saturday-night tilt. Flint won the first meeting between these teams on the road before dropping the next two at home. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. at the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre.

LAST TIME OUT: On Friday night, Nolan Dann scored the winning goal in overtime that lifted the Birds to a 3-2 victory in extra time. Nathan Day won a tight goaltending battle over rookie standout Jack Ivankovic making 24 saves on 26 shots to pick up his 16th win of the campaign. Despite winning only 20 of 60 total faceoffs and Ivankovic posting 30 saves against them, the Firebirds outshot the Fish 33-26 and picked up the two critical points in the standings.

SERIES HISTORY: Friday marks the fourth of four annual meetings between these clubs and is the second of two contests to be played in Owen Sound. In Flint's home win back on November 1, Simon Slavicek scored twice and pitched in an assist and was named the game's first star. Nathan Day turned aside 21 of 24 shots and Tristan Bertucci had a two-point night (2 A) in the 6-3 victory. The Birds' all-time record versus the Bears sits at 11-20-0-0 including ten games settled by a single goal. Flint's mark at the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Center stands at 5-10-0-0.

SCOUTING THE ATTACK: (21-20-2-1 4th Midwest Division) -

Owen Sound's top three scorers are the club's three overagers. Forward Deni Goure is atop the scoresheet with 24 goals and 59 total points. His six game-winning markers are tied for third-most in the league to date. Fellow forward Ethan Burroughs is second with 47 points (19 G, 28 A) in the campaign. Defenseman Sam Sedley leads the squad in assists (37) and ranks third in points (45).

Rookie goaltender Carter George has carried the majority of the workload between the pipes this season, appearing in 35 games and earning 15 wins including four shutouts (T-1st). He has the OHL's best save percentage of .914 and his goals-against average is sixth-best at 3.04. Corbin Votary has six wins in 16 appearances and carries a 5.08 GAA with a .860 SV%. Owen Sound recently signed its fourth-round (72nd overall) pick from the 2023 OHL Priority Selection, goaltender Matthew Koprowski, to an OHL scholarship and development agreement. He made 26 saves on 29 shots in his OHL debut in Barrie on Thursday after entering the game during the second period.

The Attack are inside the top five in both facets of special teams. Their power play ranks second overall operating at a 31.4% efficiency. On home ice, however, they rank first with the man advantage at 30.5%. Their penalty kill is getting the job done 81.9% of the time which is good for fifth, but they rank 17th when shorthanded at home ice as their success rate drops to 73.8%.

SCOUTING THE FIREBIRDS: (18-23-2-1, 3rd West Division) -

Oliver Peer paces the Firebirds with 26 goals, 29 assists, and 55 total points for the season. He's netted the first goal of the game seven times this year, which is tied for the most in the league, and he's tied for the seventh most goals in the OHL. Anaheim Ducks prospect Coulson Pitre is second with 43 points, stemming from 20 tallies and 23 helpers. Dann holds the third spot with 16 goals and 22 assists.

Edmonton Oilers prospect Nathan Day has now appeared in 37 contests for Flint this year. Only two goaltenders in the OHL have played in more games. Day has 16 wins and carries a goals-against average of 3.88 with a .861 save percentage. Rookie Jacob Brown has two wins in ten appearances and holds a GAA of 4.82 and a SV% of .836.

The Firebirds have the OHL's 17th-best power play, scoring at a 16.7% clip. The penalty kill is getting the job done 78.3% of the time which ranks 12th.

ODDS & ENDS: Flint snapped a three-game skid with last night's road win and improved to 13-10-1-0 on the road this season... Slavicek remains red-hot and has six points in his past six games... Former Firebirds defenseman James Petrovski has been with Owen Sound since the middle of last season. He has two assists in three games versus the Birds this year... The Sarnia Sting trailed Flint by only one point in the West Division standing, but with a Firebirds win and an overtime loss for the Bees last night the gap grew to two points.

BROADCAST COVERAGE: This evening's game against the Owen Sound Attack 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 pregame show at 6:45 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 Birds return to home ice for a pair of home games next weekend against the Barrie Colts and Ottawa 67's. Friday's matchup with the Colts is Flint's annual Girls and Women in Sports Night and the Saturday contest versus Ottawa is Family Night. More details on both events are available on flintfirebirds.com and tickets for both home games are available from ETIX.COM.

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from January 27, 2024


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.

OurSports Central