Firebirds Face Spirit in Monumental Game 7 Tonight in Saginaw
Published on April 10, 2023 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release
Flint, Mich. - With their backs against the wall trailing their in-state rivals three games to one, the Firebirds regrouped and won two consecutive contests to even the best-of-seven series. While the first two games were solved by Saginaw winning the special-teams battle, the series switched gears and became a goaltending showdown with a rookie taking on an overage NHL prospect on opposite ends of the ice. The team that wins tonight moves on to the second round to take on the Sarnia Sting, and the other team will see its season come to an end. Tonight's puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m. (ET) at the Dow Event Center for the most significant game in the history of these in-state rivals.
The first two games of Round 1 were dominant victories for the Spirit on home ice. In Game 1 they scored two power-play goals and one shorthanded tally in a 7-1 triumph to start the series. 24 hours later, they skated to a 4-1 win led by Vegas Golden Knights prospect Matyas Sapovaliv's hat trick. Games 3 and 4 were played at the Dort Financial Center, and both were decided in overtime. Game 3 saw the Firebirds come out on top 5-4, led by draft-eligible Ethan Hay who logged three assists and was dominant in the faceoff circle all night. Saginaw won a tight defensive battle in Game 4 by a 2-1 final in overtime. Tristan Lennox was the game's 'First Star' after allowing only one goal on 29 shots.
Flint traveled to Saginaw on Friday on the brink of elimination. The Firebirds controlled the contest and skated away with a decisive 5-2 victory. Atop the stats were the two-point nights from Zacharie Giroux (1 G, 1 A), Gavin Hayes (2 A), and Tristan Bertucci (2 A). Rookie goaltender Nathan Day turned aside 38 of 40 shots faced and earned himself the 'First Star' honors for his performance.
Still trailing three games to two, the Birds hosted Game 6 last night. Saginaw went up 3-1 in the second period and held the two-goal advantage until the final ten minutes of the third. That's when Nolan Dann potted his second of the night to breathe life back into Flint's season. Zacharie Giroux struck paydirt four minutes later with what would be the final marker of regulation. The Spirit dominated time of possession for more than four minutes to start the extra frame, logging four shots on goal before the Firebirds could produce one. That first Flint shot, however, was Coulson Pitre winning a one-on-one battle with a defender to create a breakaway chance on Lennox. He tucked the winning goal through the five-hole 4:53 into bonus time to tie the series at three games and extend Flint's season by at least one more game.
On special teams through six postseason games, Flint ranks 14th on the power play in the postseason with a 12.0% conversion rate. The Spirit rank 12th, scoring on 14.8% of their chances. The Birds now rank fifth in the playoffs with an 85.2% rate of success. They've killed 14 of the last 15 penalties across the previous four games in the series. The Spirit are killing penalties at an 88.0% clip, good for third.
Players to Watch
Flint Firebirds (3-3-0-0, 5th Seed, Western Conference):
Ethan Hay and defender Dmitry Kuzmin lead the Birds on the scoresheet with six points in six games. Both have one goal and five helpers. Amadeus Lombardi and Nolan Dann are tied just behind with five points each. Dann has the most playoff goals on the roster with four plus an assist, and Lombardi has three tallies plus two helpers.
In the faceoff circle, Zacharie Giroux (68.2%) and Ethan Hay (61.8%) are among the best in the league. Giroux ranks first out of all players with at least 80 postseason draws. Hay ranks fourth among that same group, but is second-best of all centermen with over 100 faceoff attempts in the 2023 Playoffs.
Rookie netminder Nathan Day has three wins in six-consecutive starts in Round 1. He's picked up three victories and carries a goals-against average (GAA) of 3.10 with a save percentage (SV%) of .902. He tops all rookie netminders in all three categories. Overage goaltender Will Cranley has logged 34 minutes of action and stopped seven of ten shots faced.
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). 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 (3-3-0-0, 4th Seed Western Conference):
Matyas Sapovaliv has five goals and six assists to lead Saginaw this postseason. He's third in the league in points and tied for third in goals. Dean Loukus now sits in second place on the roster with one goal and seven assists, which are tied for third-most among all skaters in the playoffs. Saginaw native defender Mitchell Smith and rookie Michael Misa are tied for the third-most points for the Spirit with seven each. Smith's scored three times and assisted on four markers while Misa has a pair of goals with five helpers. He leads all league rookies in assists and total points.
Fourth-year veteran netminder Tristan Lennox has backstopped Saginaw in all six games of this First Round series. He carries a goals-against average (GAA) of 2.54 and a save percentage (SV%) of .910. Shelby Township, Mich. native Andrew Oke played in 24 regular-season 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.
Among the 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 467 (4467 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.
All of the 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: The schedule for Round 2 of the OHL Playoffs isn't available yet at the time of publication. Follow along anytime on FlintFirebirds.com and all social media platforms for updates and schedules as soon as they become available.
Ontario Hockey League Stories from April 10, 2023
- Bulldogs' Season Comes to a Close in Game 6 - Brantford Bulldogs
- Spirit Take First-Ever Game 7 Win, 6-3 Over Flint - Saginaw Spirit
- Firebirds Drop Game 7 to the Spirit 6-3 - Flint Firebirds
- Pinelli and Brochu Named OHL Top Performers of the Week - OHL
- Schedule Announced for Round 2 vs London - Kitchener Rangers
- Firebirds Face Spirit in Monumental Game 7 Tonight in Saginaw - Flint Firebirds
- Saginaw Hosts Flint for Game 7 Monday - Saginaw Spirit
- OHL Announces 2022-23 Coaches Poll Winners - OHL
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.
