OHL Flint Firebirds

Firebirds Open 2024 on Wednesday in Windsor

Published on January 3, 2024 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


WINDSOR, Ont. - The Firebirds hit the road for their first game of 2024 on Wednesday night, a short trip across the Detroit River to Windsor. Flint has only seen the Spitfires once this season and things didn't go as planned. Windsor claimed the 6-3 home victory on December 10, powered by Oliver Peer's hat trick. Now the clubs meet for the second of six scheduled games this season. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m. at the WFCU Centre.

LAST TIME OUT: The Firebirds jumped out to an early, 2-0 lead in the first period but the London Knights scored five of the game's final six goals and went on to beat Flint, 5-3, on New Year's Eve at the Budweiser Gardens. Matthew Jenken scored his second of the season, Coulson Pitre extended his point streak to seven games and Nolan Dann scored for the fourth time in his past five games in the loss.

SERIES HISTORY: Wednesday marks the second of six meetings between these teams this season and is the second of three to be played at the WFCU Centre. Flint's all-time season versus the Spitfires stands at 14-27-3-1 and is 5-14-3-1 in road games. In total, 15 games in the series have been determined by a single goal.

SCOUTING THE SPITFIRES: (11-20-3-0, 5th West Division) -

Liam Greentree is atop the scoring leaders for Windsor with 22 goals and 24 assists for 46 total points. Oliver Peer ranks second and also has 22 goals, including scoring the first goal of the game the third-most times in the league (6). Peer also has 22 assists for 44 points. In third is Jacob Maillett with 28 points (10 G, 18 A).

Joey Costanzo has backstopped the Spitfires in 21 contests this season. He's credited with six wins and carries a 4.82 goals-against average and an .848 save percentage. Former Firebirds netminder Ian Michelone has five victories in 16 appearances and rides a 4.64 GAA with a save percentage of .862.

Windsor ranks 13th on the power play, scoring at an 18.4% clip. They're killing penalties at a rate of 75.8%, the league's 16th-best.

SCOUTING THE FIREBIRDS: (14-17-2-1, 3rd West Division) -

Anaheim Ducks prospect Coulson Pitre and Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Braeden Kressler are tied for the top spot on Flint's scoresheet with 37 points apiece. Pitre combines 17 goals with 20 helpers and Kressler has 15 tallies plus 22 assists. Zacharie Giroux is just two points back (15 G, 20 A).

Edmonton Oilers prospect Nathan Day now has 12 wins through 29 appearances. His goals-against average sits at 4.00 and his save percentage is .859. Rookie Jacob Brown carries a GAA of 4.10 and an .859 SV%. He has two wins in eight appearances to date in his rookie OHL campaign.

The Birds rank 15th in the league on the power play, scoring on 18.1% of their opportunities. They're killing penalties at a 77.9% rate and rank 14th.

ODDS AND ENDS: Gavin Hayes (United States) and Simon Slavicek (Czechia) remain in Sweden representing their home countries in the World Junior Championship. Hayes and Team USA have advanced to the semifinals. Czechia has also moved onto the semis. Slavicek is on the extended roster as a potential injury replacement. None of Windsor's players were selected for World Juniors... Coulson Pitre is on a seven-game point streak (4 G, 7 A) heading into tonight's tilt... The Spits are 5-11-2-0 on home ice this season compared to Flint's road record of 11-8-1-0.

BROADCAST COVERAGE: This evening's game against the Winsor 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. Brian Gardner will call the play-by-play action on the Firebirds Hockey Network starting with the pre-game show at 6:50 p.m.

All of the Flint Firebirds home and away games throughout the 2023-24 season can be watched anywhere in the world online at https://watch.chl.ca/ohl.

COMING UP: The Firebirds' three-game home stand starts on Friday when Flint hosts the Peterborough Petes. The Oshawa Generals are in town on Saturday. Puck drop for both contests is set for 7:00 p.m. and tickets for both are available now from ETIX.COM.

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from January 3, 2024


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