OHL Flint Firebirds

Firebirds Look to Even Series with Spirit Tonight in Flint

Published on April 5, 2023 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Flint, Mich. - The Firebirds needed to bounce back in Game 3 at the Dort Financial Center on Monday, and they did just that. More than 3,000 fans packed the arena to witness an intense 5-4 overtime victory for the home team, posting their first victory of the postseason and pulling within one in the First Round of the OHL Playoffs against rival Saginaw. Puck drop for Game 4 is tonight at 7:05 p.m. (ET) in Flint, and seats are still available from ETIX HERE.

The Firebirds have scored first in all three playoff games against the Spirit in the opening round. The first one stood as their lone tally in the first two tilts, as they dropped 7-1 and 4-1 decisions at the Dow Event Center last week. Then, after a weekend off, they hit back and downed the Spirit 5-4 in overtime on home ice Monday. Ethan Hay posted a solid performance in front of a raucous crowd. He finished with three assists and won 26 of 40 faceoffs for the Firebirds. Tristan Bertucci (1 G, 1 A), Coulson Pitre (2 A), and Dmitry Kuzmin (2 A) each finished with a couple of points. Nolan Dann netted the overtime game-winner, earning him 'First Star' honors for his efforts. Nathan Day logged his first playoff win of the year with an outstanding 33-save performance between the pipes.

On special teams, Flint scored their first power-play goal of the series Monday and now rank 12th in the postseason with a 12.5% conversion rate. The Spirit rank ninth, scoring on 20% of their chances with the man advantage in the playoffs. The Birds killed off all six penalties taken on Monday and now rank eighth with an 80.0% rate of success when shorthanded. Saginaw has the fifth-best penalty kill of the postseason to date at 87.5%.

Players to Watch

Flint Firebirds (1-2-0-0, 5th Seed, Western Conference):

With the three helpers on Monday, Ethan Hay now leads the Birds in playoff scoring with three points. There are five players tied with two points across the three games to date. Nolan Dann has two goals, Tristan Bertucci and Amadeus Lombardi have a goal and an assist each, and Coulson Pitre and Dmitry Kuzmin each have two assists.

Rookie netminder Nathan Day has started in all three games, earning one victory thus far. He carries a goals-against average (GAA) of 4.18 and a save percentage (SV%) of .847. Overage goaltender Will Cranley made seven saves on ten shots in 34 minutes of action in Saginaw Thursday.

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). Additionally, 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 (2-1-0-0, 4th Seed Western Conference):

Matyas Sapovaliv has five goals and three assists including a hat trick on Friday for Saginaw this postseason. He presently leads the OHL in playoff goals and is second in points. Rookie Michael Misa (2 G, 4 A) and Dean Loukus (6 A) are tied for second on the Spirit roster with six points apiece, which is tied for the third-most in the OHL. Loukus ranks second in the league in playoff assists.

Fourth-year veteran netminder Tristan Lennox has backstopped Saginaw in all three games of the First Round series. His goals-against average (GAA) stands at 2.21 and his save percentage (SV%) is .926. He has two wins, both of which were at the Dow Event Center last week. 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.

Also, all 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: Game 5 will see this first-round battle return to the Dow Event Center in Saginaw on Friday. Flint fans looking to make the short drive north can purchase tickets online HERE. If necessary, Game 6 will be played Saturday evening in Flint. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m. (ET) and tickets are ON SALE NOW at ETIX.COM.

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from April 5, 2023


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.

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