OHL Flint Firebirds

Firebirds Hit Ontario for First Time this Year to Take on the Kitchener Rangers

Published on November 5, 2021 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Kitchener, Ont. - The Firebirds hit the road and visit Canada for the first time season Friday night to take on the Kitchener Rangers. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. (ET) at Kitchener Memorial Auditorium with the Pre-Game show (driven by Shea Automotive) slated for 7:10 p.m. on US 103.1.

Friday marks the first of six meetings between these clubs and the first of three games to be played in Kitchener this season. All-time, the Firebirds hold a record of 7-10-2-0 versus Kitchener and are 5-3-1-0 at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium. Last season the 'Birds won two of three games in the series.

Flint enters Wednesday's contest in fourth place in the West Division. The Firebirds' current record sits at 4-3-0-0. The Rangers are currently third in the Midwest Division with a record of 6-4-0-0. In road games this year, the Firebirds have a record of 2-1-0-0 compared to Kitchener's home record of 4-2-0-0. The Firebirds have won two of their last five games and the Rangers have one victory in their last five contests.

The last time these teams met was February 22, 2020 in Flint. That night, Flint outshot the Rangers 46-33, but fell by a final score of 4-1 in front of more than 3,900 fans at the Dort Financial Center. Kitchener's goaltender was the first star of the game that night. Since then, Jacob Ingham has spent the past two seasons playing professional hockey, splitting time between the AHL and ECHL.

On special teams, this season, Flint's overall penalty-kill (PK) sits seventh-best at 83.3%. Kitchener's PK unit is tied for 12th-best overall in the OHL at 76.1%. With the man-advantage, the Rangers are tied for 15th in the league converting at a rate of 15.1% and the Firebirds are 19th, scoring at a 10.3% clip.

Players to Watch:

Flint Firebirds (4-3-0-0, 4th West Division):

Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers) leads the 'Birds in goals (5), assists (3), and total points (8). Zacharie Giroux (3 G, 2 A) and Braeden Kressler (2 G, 3 A) are tied for second with five points each. Forward Amadeus Lombardi (3 G, 1 A) is tied with Flint's top-scoring defenseman (1 G, 3 A) to date, Winnipeg Jets' prospect Dmitry Kuzmin. Tyler Deline sits at a +4 in the +/- rating, which is tied for tenth-best among all OHL defensemen. Flint's top rookies are Coulson Pitre with three goals and Luca D'Amato with one goal plus two helpers.

In net, Luke Cavallin has appeared in six of Flint's seven games thus far. He carries a goals-against average (GAA) of 3.33. His save percentage (SV%) is .906. Cavallin has earned three wins, with one of them being a shutout against the Erie Otters on opening night. Rookie netminder Ian Michelone played one full game, making 32 saves on 33 shots in the victory. Nathaniel Day played the final 18 minutes of a road game in Saginaw last week and turned aside all four shots faced.

NHL: The Firebirds have three players with NHL ties consisting of Braeden Kressler (Toronto Maple Leafs), Dmitry Kuzmin (Winnipeg Jets), and Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers). Tag Bertuzzi was invited to the recent Montreal Canadians rookie camp, and forward Sahil Panwar was an invitee at the Los Angeles Kings' camp. Additionally, Gavin Hayes was recently named to the 2021 NHL Central Scouting October Players to Watch List.

Despite Flint playing in just five OHL seasons thus far, Alex Nedeljkovic (Carolina Hurricanes / Detroit Red Wings), Kole Sherwood (Columbus Blue Jackets), and Ty Dellandrea (Dallas Stars) are three former Firebirds to play 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.

Kitchener Rangers (6-4-0-0, 3rd Midwest Division):

Joseph Serpa tops the Rangers in scoring with four tallies and nine assists for 13 points through 10 games played. Mike Petizian has the most goals on the club at six plus six helpers for 12 total points. Francesco Pinelli (Los Angeles Kings) ranks a close third with 12 total points (3 G, 8 A) through nine contests.

The Rangers' top-scoring rearguards are Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Roman Schmidt (5 G, 1 A) and Montreal Canadians prospect Arber Xhekaj (1 G, 5 A). Among the first-year players, the top-performing Ranger to date is Cameron Mercer with four points (1 G, 3 A) through ten games.

Pavel Cajan has appeared between the pipes six times this season. Cajan carries a 2.95 goals-against average (GAA) and a save-percentage (SV%) of .915. Jackson Parsons has made four appearances in the campaign, posting two victories along with a 3.78 GAA and a .872 SV%.

NHL: Kitchiner's roster features four players with NHL ties, consisting of Declan McDonnell (Tampa Bay Lightning), Francesco Pinelli (Los Angeles Kings), Roman Schmidt (Tampa Bay Lightning), and Arber Xhekaj (Montreal Canadians). Additionally, twin brothers Andrew LeBlanc (center) and Jacob LeBlanc (defense) were named to the 2021 NHL Central Scouting October Players to Watch List.

21 notable Kitchener Rangers' alumni to play in the NHL are Brian Bellows, Andre Benoit, Shawn Burr, David Clarkson, Paul Coffey, Boyd Devereaux, Steve Downie, John Gibson, Dale Hunter, Nazem Kadri, Jakub Kindl, Gabriel Landeskog, Matt Lashoff, Al MacInnis, Don Maloney, Wayne Presley, Mike Richards, Larry Robinson, Derek Roy, Jeff Skinner and Scott Stevens.

Broadcast Coverage:

Friday evening's contest against the Kitchener Rangers 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 7:10 p.m. (ET) Wednesday evening.

The game will also be televised live across the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pak on channel 468 (4468 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 Home Game: The Firebirds return to home ice Saturday, November 6 when they host the top-seeded London Knights for the first time this season. Puck drop for Flint's annual Military Appreciation Night is scheduled for 7 p.m. (ET). All active-duty military members and veterans can receive one free ticket to the game. Single-game tickets for all Firebirds games are $15 Bronze, $18 Silver, $21 Gold and $26 VIP seating (Seating Chart). All seats are reserved/assigned seating. Fans can purchase tickets by calling (810) 744-0580, in-person at the Dort Financial Center Box Office or online at etix.com.

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from November 5, 2021


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