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OHL Flint Firebirds

Firebirds Pursue Crucial Points Versus Spirit Sunday Afternoon

February 26, 2023 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Flint, Mich. - The Saginaw Spirit travel down I-75 to battle with the Firebirds one final time during the regular season this afternoon. The event is themed Princess and Superhero Family 'FUN'day. Saginaw has already captured the I-75 Divide Cup, presented by Coors Light. Critical points for playoff seedings are on the line for both squads, and all sorts of exciting things are scheduled on and off the ice for fans of all ages. Puck drop at the Dort Financial Center is set for 4:00 p.m. (ET).

Last night the Firebirds hosted the Central Division-leading North Bay Batallion. Nathan Day backstopped the club to their third-ever win on home ice versus the Battalion while picking up win number 11 of his rookie campaign. Ethan Hay scored twice for the Birds, and both Coulson Pitre and Dmitry Kuzmin had a pair of assists. Pitre played his 100th career game in the OHL to make his two-point performance even more significant. The Spirit were defeated at the Dow Event Center 6-1 by the visiting Sarnia Sting in a late game on Saturday.

The Spirit sit third in the West Division and fourth in the Western Conference with a record of 30-23-2-1. On the road, they've gone 16-9-2-0. The Firebirds rank fourth in the West Division and seventh in the Western Conference with a 26-26-4-1 mark. They've posted a 12-12-2-1 record on home ice this season, and are 13-10-3-0 versus West Division foes. Flint has also picked up points in four of their last five games.

All time the Firebirds are 25-32-1-3 in the overall series with the Spirit, and they've gone 11-15-1-3 when playing in Flint. In the seven prior meetings this season, the Birds hold a 2-4-1-0 mark. Across the seven matchups between the Birds and Spirit, the top overall scorer is Braeden Kressler with seven tallies and five helpers for 12 total points. Calumet, Mich. native Dean Loukus and youngster Michael Misa are tied atop the stats for Saginaw with ten points a piece against the Firebirds. Both have five goals and five assists. Tristan Bertucci carries the second-most points for Flint with two goals and seven assists, which are the most by any player in the rivalry this year.

On special teams, the Firebirds have converted on 19.6% of their power-play chances, ranking them 17th in the league. The Spirit have found success 21.7% of the time, which ranks tenth in the OHL. Flint has killed off 77.0% of their penalties, which is 14th in the league. Saginaw has the sixth-best penalty kill in the league operating at 79.9% efficiency.

Promotions

Today's matchup is the final game in the I-75 Divide Cup Series (Sponsored by Coors Light) between the Firebirds and Spirit. The event is themed Princess & Superhero Family 'FUN'day! Get two FREE kids tickets, with every paid adult ticket available only at the Dort Financial Center Box Office. Everyone's favorite princess and superhero characters will be in attendance and kids are encouraged to dress up as their favorite characters as well. There will also be a costume parade held at the first intermission. The Dort Financial Center Box Office opens at Noon on Sunday. All other tickets can be purchased at Etix.com.

Players to Watch

Flint Firebirds (26-26-4-1, 4th West Division):

Amadeus Lombardi has 37 goals and 42 helpers for 79 total points across 57 games. He ranks fourth in the OHL in points and sixth in goals. Westland, Mich. native Gavin Hayes remains in second with 60 points, stemming from 28 tallies and 32 helpers. He has four goals and 11 assists on his current ten-game point streak. Overage forward Riley Piercey ranks third with 19 goals and 38 assists.

Defender Dmitry Kuzmin has the fourth-most points (54) of any rearguard in the OHL, combining the third-most assists (42) with the ninth-most goals (12). Sophomore blue-liner Tristan Bertucci lit the lamp last night and now has 12 points (6 G, 6 A) in his last 10 games.

Veteran goaltender Will Cranley will celebrate his 21st birthday today. Through 40 appearances, he's posted a 4.00 goals-against average (GAA) and a .880 save percentage (SV%). Cranley is credited with 15 victories, including one shutout. Nathan Day has 11 wins across 24 appearances and carries a GAA of 4.30 with a .861 SV%.

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). In total, the team has produced 24 signed or drafted players into the NHL.

Saginaw Spirit (30-23-2-1, 3rd West Division):

The Spirit are led on the scoresheet by rookie Michael Misa, who now has 50 points (21 G, 29 A) through 40 games. Among all first-year players in the league, he ranks first in goals, points, power-play goals (5), points-per-game average (1.25), and is second in assists and fifth in helpers on the power play (7). Dean Loukus ranks second with 15 goals and 33 assists in 55 contests. Matyas Sapovaliv sits third with 45 points, stemming from 22 tallies and 23 helpers in 51 tilts.

The defensive unit is led by local player Mitchell Smith, who hails from Saginaw. He has 38 total points (7 G, 31 A) through 56 contests. Rookie defender Zayne Parekh is next with 20 goals and 13 assists in 46 games. He ranks inside the top ten for rookies with five power-play tallies (T-1st), goals (3rd), points per game at .72 (4th), points (T-6th), and his five power-play assists are seventh.

Between the pipes, Tristan Lennox has appeared in 40 games and earned 22 victories. He carries a 3.28 goals-against average (GAA), and his save percentage (SV%) is .880. Shelby Township, Mich. native Andrew Oke has played in 18 contests, picking up seven victories. Oke carries a 3.29 GAA with a SV% of .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.

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:

This afternoon'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. Jack Sznewajs will call the play-by-play action on the Firebirds Hockey Network (FHN). Pregame coverage will begin prior to puck drop at 3:45 p.m. (ET) today.

The game will also be televised live across the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pak on channel 470 (4463 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: In another rematch of last season's Western Conference Finals, the Windsor Spitfires visit the Dort Financial Center for a Friday night tilt. Puck drop for the contest is set for 7:00 p.m. (ET) and great seats are still available from ETIX.

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from February 26, 2023


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