Sports stats



OHL Flint Firebirds

Firebirds Look to Settle the Score Saturday Night in Flint

December 11, 2021 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Flint, Mich. - The Firebirds are set to play the second of back-to-back home games versus the Owen Sound Attack on Saturday night, for the annual Old Newsboys Night. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. (ET) at the Dort Financial Center. Tickets are on sale NOW here: ETIX.

These teams met last night in Flint, and the Attack skated off with the 8-4 victory. With the win, Owen Sound took the 2-games-to-one lead over the Firebirds in the four-game series. The Firebirds enter Friday's contest in third place in the West Division with a record of 12-9-0-1. The Attack currently ranks third in the Midwest, with an 11-10-1-2 record. On home ice this year, the Firebirds have gone 6-7-0-0 compared to Owen Sound's road record of 4-6-1-1. Against Midwest Division opponents this season, Flint's record sits at 9-4-0-1.

All-time, Flint carries a record of 7-16-0-0 against Owen Sound, with a home record of 4-7-0-0. In the shortened 2019-20 season, each team won two of the four meetings. Friday marks the third of four total meetings between the clubs, and the first of two games to be played in Flint.

On special teams, Flint now ranks 13th on the power play, converting at a 19.6% rate. The Attack rank 15th, scoring at a 17.2% clip. The Birds continue to hold the league's best penalty kill (PK), holding their opposition scoreless 87.7% of the time. Owen Sound's PK ranks 14th with a 76.5% success rate.

Promotion: Saturday's contest is Old Newsboys Night, Sponsored by Dort Financial Credit Union. Fans can bring a toy (recommended minimum $10 value) and get a FREE ticket compliments of Dort Financial Credit Union. Toys will be collected leading up to the game at the "Birds Nest," the official Firebirds Merchandise Store. The Firebirds will be wearing special Santa-themed jerseys that will be available in a Live Auction at the conclusion of the game. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. (ET) at the Dort Financial Center. Tickets are on sale NOW here: ETIX.

Players to Watch:

Flint Firebirds (12-9-0-1, 2nd West Division):

Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers) maintains the top spot for Flint with a total of 35 points (18 G, 17 A) in 22 games played. He's tied for fourth in goals-scored in the OHL, and he's tied for eighth with a 1.59 points-per-game average. Second in points for Flint is blue-liner Tyler Deline with 19 total points (3 G, 16 A). Deline is tied for seventh among OHL defensemen in both total points (19) and points-per-game (.90). Amadeus Lombardi (9 G, 9 A) and Riley Piercey (9 G, 9 A) are tied for third on the club with 18 points each. Piercey enters Saturday's tilt on a nine-game point streak (7 G, 6 A).

Flint's top rookie on the scoresheet is Coulson Pitre with eight goals and nine assists in only 17 games. Pitre sits atop the list of OHL rookies with a 1.06 points-per-game average, and he's tied for seventh in the league's freshman class for goals. Fellow rookie Luca D'Amato is tied for seventh among rookies with five goals on the season.

In net, Luke Cavallin has appeared in 15 games thus far. He carries a goals-against average (GAA) of 3.40. His save percentage (SV%) is .900. Cavallin has earned eight wins this season and is the all-time winningest goaltender in Firebirds' franchise history with 34 total victories between the pipes. Rookie netminder Ian Michelone has now played in seven games and has four victories. He carries a GAA of 4.02 and a SV% of .892. To date, Michelone is the only OHL rookie goaltender with a shutout this season. Nathaniel Day has played 18 minutes of OHL action and made four saves on four shots.

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). Also, Gavin Hayes was recently named to the 2021 NHL Central Scouting November 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.

Owen Sound Attack (11-10-1-2, 3rd Midwest Division):

Deni Goure leads the Attack on the scoresheet with 12 goals and 14 helpers through 24 games played. Rookie Servac Petrovsky is tied for second on the team with 20 total points (8 G, 12 A) and is tied for fourth in points among OHL rookies. Defenseman Andrew Perrott has one goal and a team-high 19 assists to tie for second with Petrovsky. Perrott ranks third among defenders in total assists, and he's tied for fifth in the group with 10 power-play helpers.

Between the pipes, Nick Chenard has made 11 appearances and earned five victories. He carries a 2.77 goals-against average (GAA) and a save-percentage (SV%) of .916. The 2.77 GAA is the fifth-best in the league, and his SV% is second-best. Rookie netminder Corbin Votary has one win in six appearances, along with a 4.85 GAA and a .838 SV%.

NHL: The Attack are currently without any players with NHL ties. However, Servac Petrovsky, Gavin Bryant, and Cedrick Guindon were named to the 2021 NHL Central Scouting November Players to Watch List.

The list of notable Owen Sound alumni to play in the NHL includes Sean Avery, Wayne Simmonds, Mark Giordano, Bobby Ryan, Kirk Maltby, Josh Bailey, Joel Ward, Wayne Primeau, Brad Richardson, Andrej Sekera, Trevor Lewis, Andrew Shaw, Cody Ceci, Brian McGrattan, Kevin Weekes, and Paul Bissonnette.

Broadcast Coverage:

Friday evening's contest 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 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) Friday 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.

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from December 11, 2021


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