Sports stats



OHL Flint Firebirds

Firebirds Look to Take Lead in I-75 Divide Cup Tonight in Saginaw

January 5, 2022 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Saginaw, Mich. - The Firebirds have made a schedule change, and will now visit the Saginaw Spirit again Wednesday with another installment of the I-75 Divide Cup, presented by Coors Light. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. (ET) at the Dow Event Center. Tonight marks the return of Firebirds' forward Ethan Keppen in his return from the Abbotsford Canucks (AHL).

These teams have played eight times so far this season. The Spirit came out on top the first three meetings, then the Firebirds shifted gears and won three straight to even the series at three going into the holiday break. Last Wednesday night in Flint, the Spirit won in a shootout to take a 4-3 series lead, before the Birds tied things up at four Saturday with a 5-2 triumph at the Dow. In the most recent tilt, Luke Cavallin made 33 saves on 36 shots to earn OHL 'First Star' honors for New Year's Day.

Leading the way for Flint through seven meetings with Saginaw is first-year forward Coulson Pitre, with four goals and four assists. Veteran Riley Piercey is second with two tallies and five helpers, though he's only played in five tilts with the up-north rivals. Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers) is tied with Sahil Panwar in third with five total points in the series. Panwar has three tallies and two helpers and Othmann has two markers with three assists. For Saginaw, Grand Blanc, Mich. native Dalton Duhart (2 G, 7 A) and Dean Loukus (4 G, 5 A) are tied with nine points each. Matyas Sapovaliv has five goals and three assists versus Flint, and Josh Bloom (Buffalo Sabres) has three goals plus four helpers in the rivalry this year.

The Firebirds enter Friday's contest in third place in the West Division with a record of 14-10-0-2. The Spirit currently rank fourth in the West, with a 13-14-1-0 record. On the road this year, the Firebirds have gone 7-2-0-1, and sport the OHL's third-best road-game win percentage at .750. Saginaw's home record is 5-8-0-0. The Birds have picked up 11 points in their past ten games with a 5-4-0-1 record. The Spirit earned six points in their last ten, going 3-7-0-0 in that span.

All-time, Flint carries a record of 18-26-0-3 against Saginaw, with a road record of 10-14-0-0. Wednesday marks the ninth of 12 total meetings between the clubs this season, and the fourth of six to be played in Saginaw. Thus far, the Spirit have won one of the three games at the Dow Event Center. After winning the I-75 Divide Cup their first two seasons in the OHL, Flint has now surrendered the trophy to Saginaw for three straight campaigns. The first team to win seven games in the series this season will earn the coveted trophy.

On special teams, Flint ranks 11th on the power play, converting at an even 20.0% rate. The Spirit rank 19th, scoring at a 14.8% clip. These teams hold two of the top-three penalty-kill (PK) rates in the 20-team OHL. The Birds recently reclaimed the number one spot on the PK, holding their opposition scoreless 86.0% of the time. Saginaw's PK ranks third with an 84.9% success rate.

Players to Watch:

Flint Firebirds (14-10-0-2, 3rd West Division):

Ethan Keppen will make his Firebirds debut this season after being returned from Abbotsford (AHL). In 175 career GP with the Firebirds, the OA forward has 106 Pts (56 G, 50 A). Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers) remains atop the scoresheet for Flint, now with 39 points (21 G, 18 A) in 26 games. He's tied for second in goals scored in the OHL, and he's tied for ninth in both total points (39) and points-per-game (1.50). Riley Piercey holds the second spot, and now has 11 goals and 12 helpers in 21 contests. There is a tie for third in points for Flint between rearguard Tyler Deline (3 G, 19 A) and Amadeus Lombardi (11 G, 11 A). Deline is tied for seventh overall in the league and second among defenders with 13 power-play assists. He's also tied for eighth among rearguards for total points, and sixth for assists.

Flint's top rookie on the scoresheet is Coulson Pitre with nine goals and 12 assists through 20 games played. Pitre sits all alone atop the list of OHL rookies at 1.05 points per game, and he's tied for sixth among rookies for total points and seventh for goals-scored.

In net, Luke Cavallin has appeared in 18 games thus far. He carries a goals-against average (GAA) of 3.32 and his save percentage (SV%) is .900. Cavallin has earned ten wins this season, which is tied for sixth-most in the OHL. He also is the all-time winningest goaltender in Firebirds' franchise history with 36 career victories for his club. Rookie netminder Ian Michelone has now played in eight games and has 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 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.

Saginaw Spirit (13-14-1-0, 4th West Division):

Josh Bloom (Buffalo Sabres) sits atop the leaderboard for the Spirit with 30 points (15 G, 15 A) through 28 games. Bloom sits way atop the leaderboard in shorthanded goals with six this season. No other OHL player has more than three. Rookie Matyas Sapovaliv, who is one of the highest-rated rookies in the league, ranks second for Saginaw in scoring. Sapovaliv has ten goals, which are the sixth-most goals among rookies, as well as 15 assists. His 25 total points are tied for second among rookies, and he's tied for fourth in assists and third in power-play tallies among the league's freshman class. Saginaw's top defenseman is Pavel Mintyukov, who ranks third on the club in total points. His six goals are tied for sixth-most among defenders in the OHL, and his 22 total points are tied for eighth-most in the rearguard club.

Between the pipes, Tristan Lennox (New York Islanders) has appeared in 13 games and earned five victories. He carries a 2.91 goals-against average (GAA) and a save-percentage (SV%) of .891. Shelby Township, Mich. native Andrew Oke has played in 15 contests, picking up seven victories. Oke carries a 4.21 GAA with a SV% of .852.

NHL: The Spirit have two players with NHL ties, consisting of Josh Bloom (Buffalo Sabres) and Tristan Lennox (New York Islanders). Additionally, forward Matyas Sapovaliv and rearguard Pavel Mintyukov were named to the 2021 NHL Central Scouting November Players to Watch List.

12 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:

Wednesday evening's contest 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. Dominic Hennig fills in for Jack Sznewajs tonight and will be on the call on the Firebirds Hockey Network (FHN). Pregame coverage will begin prior to puck drop at 6:45 p.m. (ET) Wednesday evening.

The game will also be televised live across the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pak on channel 466 (4466 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 will hit the road for a Friday night tilt against the Knights in London, before hosting the same team at the Dort Financial Center Saturday night. Saturday's puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. (ET). Tickets are on sale NOW here: ETIX.

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from January 5, 2022


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