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OHL Flint Firebirds

Firebirds Look to Stay in First Place, Solve Spitfires Tonight in Windsor

February 18, 2022 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Windsor, Ont. - The Firebirds look to continue their pursuit of dominance in the Western Conference, now with points in six-straight contests. They take the ice for a Friday night tilt versus the Spitfires in Windsor. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. (ET) at the WFCU Centre. It will be the first game back to 50% fan capacity for the Spits, with Ontario expanding their capacity restrictions on February 17.

The Firebirds are firing on all cylinders, now on pace for their best season ever. Earlier this week the 60-team Canadian Hockey League (CHL) announced their Kia CHL Top 10 list, and Flint was just outside looking in with 'Honorable Mention.' Luke Cavallin has been stellar in his senior season, posting the second-most wins of any OHL netminder. Captain Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers) was the first player in the league to score 30 goals, and Ethan Keppen (Vancouver Canucks) has put up 21 points in 18 games since rejoining his club. Coulson Pitre, the leading rookie on the squad, recently surpassed the rookie numbers of former Firebirds' captain Ty Dellandrea (Dallas Stars) and current captain Brennan Othmann to become the all-time points leader among first-year players in franchise history. Pitre is also tied for the most goals by a rookie in franchise history.

Friday also happens to be Tag Bertuzzi's birthday. Bertuzzi has four points (2 G, 2 A) in his last four games. Zacharie Giroux is expected to play in his 50th OHL game on Friday evening. Giroux has points in seven of his last nine games, consisting of two goals and seven assists, plus a pair of two-point games in that span.

Flint enters Friday's tilt atop the West Division and first in the 10-team Western Conference. The Firebirds have a 27-14-0-3 record. They're 8-1-0-1 in their past ten and have picked up points in six-straight tilts. The Spits carry an overall record of 23-13-2-2 and rank third in the West Division. They've won two consecutive games and are 7-3-0-0 in their past 10. On home ice this season, the Spitfires are 13-7-1-1 compared to the Birds' away record of 17-5-0-2, which is the best road record in the OHL. Flint has points in eight consecutive road games.

Friday marks the fifth of eight meetings between these clubs this season, and a third of four to be played in Windsor. All-time, Flint is 12-20-1-1 against the Spitfires and is 4-12-1-1 at the WFCU Centre. In fact, Windsor is one of only two teams in the Western Conference that have posted a winning record against the Firebirds this season. Flint has gone 0-3-0-1 in the four meetings, and 0-1-0-1 at the WFCU Centre. The Spits have scored six or more goals in every contest this season.

The last time these teams met was January 16 in Windsor. That night, the Spits scored three in the third period to claim the 6-3 triumph. Wyatt Johnston (Dallas Stars) and Will Cuylle (New York Rangers) each posted three assists for the Spitfires to lead their club on the scoresheet. Matthew Maggio and Pasquale Zito (Detroit Red Wings) each potted a pair of goals, and Andrew Perrott had a pair of helpers. For Flint, Brennan Othmann scored twice and assisted on one tally, and Piercey had a pair of helpers to top the Birds on the stat sheet. Luke Cavallin stopped 29 of 35 shots between the pipes.

On special teams this season Flint's penalty-kill ranks third in the league, finding success at a rate of 84.4%. Windsor's penalty-killers are ranked tenth at 78.9%. With the man-advantage, the Spitfires rank second in the league, converting at a rate of 25.8%, and the Firebirds are 13th scoring at a 19.0% clip.

Players to Watch:

Flint Firebirds (27-14-0-3, 1st West Division):

Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers) ranks first on the team and is tied for second in the league with 32 goals in a tight race atop the charts. Othmann also has 31 assists for 63 total points in 42 games. He's tied for third in shorthanded goals (3), is tied for the seventh-most points, and is tied with the league's tenth-most power-play tallies (8). His 1.51 points-per-game average is ninth-best, and he's currently on a six-game point streak (3 G, 6 A). Veteran forward Riley Piercey sits second in scoring and now has 20 goals and 25 helpers through 39 games. He is tied for the sixth-most game-winning tallies this season with five. Piercey has 12 multi-point games this season.

Flint's top rookie on the scoresheet is Coulson Pitre with 17 goals and 17 assists through 35 games. Pitre ranks second among all OHL rookies with a 0.97 points-per-game average, and he's scored the third-most goals of all first-year players in the OHL. He's also tied for fourth in plus/minus ranking at '+13,' and he's fourth in total points in the freshman class.

The Birds' top-scoring rearguard is Tyler Deline, with 29 points (4 G, 25 A) in 43 contests. His 16 power-play assists are fourth-most among OHL defenders. His 25 total helpers are tied for ninth-most among all defensemen. Fellow rearguard Dmitry Kuzmin (Winnipeg Jets) has seven points in his last six games, consisting of five goals and two assists. Rookie defender Tristan Bertucci ranks eighth among OHL defensemen and second among OHL rookies with a plus/minus rating of '+18.'

In net, Luke Cavallin has appeared in 35 games this season, which is tied for second-most by any netminder in the OHL. He has 21 wins and two shutouts, which are tied for the second-most victories and third-most shutouts in the league to date. He carries a goals-against average (GAA) of 3.29 and his save percentage (SV%) .905. His SV% is seventh among netminders with 20 or more games-played in the campaign. Rookie netminder Ian Michelone has appeared in eight games and picked up four victories. He carries a GAA of 4.03 and a SV% of .889. To date, Michelone is the only active OHL rookie goaltender with a shutout this season. Nathaniel Day has two victories in four games with a 2.28 GAA and a .915 SV%.

NHL: The Firebirds have four players on their roster with NHL ties consisting of Ethan Keppen (Vancouver Canucks), Braeden Kressler (Toronto Maple Leafs), Dmitry Kuzmin (Winnipeg Jets), and Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers). Also, Gavin Hayes and Simon Slavicek were named to the 2022 NHL Central Scouting Midterm Draft Rankings.

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.

Windsor Spitfires (23-13-2-2, 3rd West Division):

Wyatt Johnston (Dallas Stars) leads the Spits with 76 total points (26 G, 50 A) through 40 games. He's tied for the most assists in the league, the second-most points, the most power-play assists, and the second-highest points-per-game average. Will Cuylle (New York Rangers) ranks second for Windsor in scoring with 26 tallies and 20 helpers for 46 points in 39 contests. Cuylle is tied for the third most power-play tallies (10), sixth for game-winning goals (5), and seventh for the first goal in a game (5). Matthew Maggio sits third with 46 points (22 G, 24 A) in 39 tilts.

Defenseman Andrew Perrot has the most points among rearguards, having found twine three times and chipping in 32 assists through 36 games. He's tied with the third-most helpers among defenders, the sixth-most points, and he has the sixth-highest points-per-game average among rearguards at 0.97. Fellow blue-liner Louka Henault ranks inside the top ten defensemen in the league with 0.92 points-per-game (7th), 28 helpers (7th), 34 points (9th), and 13 power-play assists (T-8th). Ethan Miedema tops the freshman class for the Spits, now with nine goals and 13 assists in 37 games.

Detroit, Mich. native Xavier Medina has appeared in 22 contests for the Spitfires, earning 14 victories. The second-year goaltender carries a 2.83 goals-against average (GAA), which ranks fifth among goalies with 20 or more games played. His save percentage (SV%) is .899. Mathias Onuska joined the Spits mid-season and has a 3.39 GAA and a SV% of .876 with two wins in eight appearances.

NHL: Windsor's roster features four players with NHL ties, consisting of Will Cuylle (New York Rangers), Wyatt Johnston (Dallas Stars), Pasquale Zito (Detroit Red Wings), and Daniil Sobolev (Montreal Canadiens). Additionally, Livonia, Michigan native Ryan Abraham was listed on the 2022 NHL Central Scouting Midterm Rankings.

Notable Windsor alumni to play in the NHL include Ed Jovanovski, Matt Cooke, Cory Stillman, Jason Spezza, Steve Ott, Jason York, Josh Bailey, Tim Gleason, Mike Rupp, Cam Fowler, Taylor Hall, Adam Henrique, Kyle Wellwood, Eric Wellwood, Todd Warriner, Steve Downie, Jamie Allison, and Ryan Ellis.

Broadcast Coverage:

Friday evening's contest against the Windsor Spitfires 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 470 (4470 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 Up: The Firebirds will return home to host the Spitfires at the Dort Financial Center Saturday. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. (ET). It will be Youth Sports Night in Flint. Kids 18 & under who wear their youth or school team jersey get in FREE with any purchase of an adult ticket at the box office only. Additional tickets are on sale NOW here: ETIX.

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from February 18, 2022


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