Sports stats



OHL Flint Firebirds

Firebirds' Road Trip Continues in Barrie Tonight

January 12, 2023 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Barrie, Ont. - The Firebirds haven't played the Barrie Colts since December 5, 2019. That all changes tonight on the road. Puck drop versus the Colts is set for 7:30 p.m. (ET) at the Sadlon Arena.

The Firebirds played three games in three days this past weekend, earning four of the possible six points. It started with a 6-5 overtime win over the Soo Greyhounds on home ice Friday. Then they toppled the Kitchener Rangers 5-4 in another tight back-and-forth game at the Dort Financial Center. Sunday, the team loaded the bus and traveled across the border for an afternoon tilt with the Spitfires. Despite leading early, Windsor claimed the 6-3 win in the WFCU Center.

Tonight's game marks the second of Flint's current five-game road trip. They enter the contest with a record of 19-15-2-1 for the season, and a mark of 11-6-1-0 in away games. The Firebirds are currently seeded fourth in the West Division and sixth in the ten-team Western Conference. The Colts are third in the Central Division and fourth in the Eastern Conference, having gone 19-10-4-2 in the campaign with a 10-5-1-1 record at the Sadlon Arena.

Tonight is the first of two meetings between these clubs this season, and the only game to be played in Barrie. All time, the Firebirds are 2-8-0-0 versus the Colts with a 2-3-0-0 road record in the series. When facing Central Division opponents so far this season, the Birds are winless in four tilts. Flint did claim the road win the last time these teams met in December of 2019. Zacharie Giroux and Tyler Deline are the only two Flint players who skated in the contest for the Firebirds three years ago, while current teammate Riley Piercey was a member of the Colts at that time. Brandt Clarke is the only returning Barrie player from their last matchup expected to play against Flint again tonight.

Nolan Dann is expected to make his first appearance for Flint since being acquired from Niagara just shy of the trade deadline on Tuesday this week. Dann was acquired by the IceDogs from the Sarnia Sting this summer after producing 29 G and 28 A in 64 GP for the Sting during the 2021-22 season. This season he has 16 Pts (6 G, 10 A) which currently ranked fourth on the IceDogs.

The Cambridge, Ont. native stands at 5-foot-9, 182 pounds and was selected in the 4th round of the 2019 OHL Priority Selection by Sarnia. He'll wear #9 for the Firebirds.

Two players are expected to make their debut with Barrie tonight, as well. Rookie winger Ethan Quick was acquired at the trade deadline from the Ottawa 67s. Additionally, Florida Panthers' prospect Braden Hache was acquired from the Kingston Frontenacs this week. He's known for using his 6-foot-3 and 210-pound frame to become a premier hard-hitting shut-down defenseman in the OHL.

Additionally, the LA Kings' first-round draft pick (8th overall) from the 2021 NHL Draft Brandt Clarke has also been returned the Colts after playing nine NHL games and five with the Ontario Reign of the AHL this season. Clarke also recently skated for Team Canada at the World Juniors, where he won a gold medal and topped all skaters for the team with eight points in the tournament (2 G, 6 A).

On special teams the Birds have scored on 20.4% of their power-play chances, ranking them 16th in the OHL. The Colts rank third with a 24.4% conversion rate. Flint ranks 13th on the penalty kill, shutting down the opposition 76.6% of the time. Barrie is eighth at a 79.2% rate of success.

Players to Watch

Flint Firebirds (19-15-2-1, 4th West Division):

Amadeus Lombardi continues to lead the Firebirds in goals (23), assists (27), and total points (50) through 37 contests. He's tied for ninth in goals and sixth in total points for the OHL. Westland, Mich. native Gavin Hayes has 22 goals for the season plus 16 helpers for 38 points to rank second in scoring. Riley Piercey is third with 12 tallies and 23 helpers for 35 points.

Tied one point behind the top three are forward Braeden Kressler and defenseman Dmitry Kuzmin. Kressler carries a seven-game points streak into the game tonight, having earned six goals and six assists in that span. For the season he has 34 points, stemming from 18 goals and 16 helpers. His faceoff-win percentage sits at 58.4%, which is the fourth highest among all players with 100 or more draws in the season. Kuzmin tops the blue-line group and is currently tied for the most shorthanded goals (2), has the fourth-most points (34) and the fifth-most assists (26), and is tied for the ninth-most goals among all OHL rearguards.

Will Cranley has now appeared in 29 games for Flint this season, including his 100th career game last Friday night. He's earned 14 victories and holds a 3.46 goals-against average (GAA) and a .895 save percentage (SV%). Rookie netminder Nathan Day has five wins in 13 appearances. His GAA is 4.76 and he carries a SV% of .837.

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 latest NHL Central Scouting's 2023 Players to Watch List.

Despite Flint playing in just seven OHL seasons thus far, Alex Nedeljkovic (Carolina/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.

Barrie Colts (19-10-4-2, 2nd Central Division):

One-time Firebirds' forward Evan Vierling sits atop the stats for the Colts with 45 points (18 G, 27 A) through 29 games this season. His eight goals on the power play are tied for sixth-most in the league. Ethan Cardwell has the most goals for the team (19) and is second in point total (43) through 30 contests. Jacob Frasca ranks third with 15 goals and 22 assists in 35 games played.

Connor Punnett leads Barrie's defensive unit with eight tallies and 20 helpers. He's tied for the fifth-most power-play goals from a defender with four.

Between the pipes, Anson Thornton has appeared in 21 contests, earning 12 victories while posting a 3.28 goals-against average (GAA) and a .907 save percentage (SV%). His SV% is tied for third-best in the OHL. Ben West has six wins across 15 appearances, and sports a 3.91 GAA with a .894 SV%.

NHL: The Colts have seven players with NHL ties, including Ethan Cardwell (San Jose Sharks), Declan McDonnell (Tampa Bay Lightning), Evan Vierling (New York Rangers), Braden Hache (Florida Panthers), Brandt Clarke (LA Kings), Artur Cholach (Vegas Golden Knights), and Anson Thornton (Arizona Coyotes). Additionally, Beau Akey was named to the most recent 2023 NHL Central Scouting Players to Watch List.

Notable Colts' alumni to play in the NHL include Dan Girardi, Marin Skoula, Alex Pietrangelo, T.J. Brodie, Mike Weber, Aaron Ekblad, Dalton Prout, Andreas Athanasiou, Brian Lashoff and Dan LaCosta.

Broadcast Coverage:

This evening's contest against the Barrie Colts 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), starting with the pre-game show at 7:10 p.m. (ET).

The game will be televised live across the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pak on channel 470. 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.

All Flint Firebirds' home and away games throughout the 2022-23 regular season can be watched anywhere in the world online at 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 $7.99 for 24-hour access, $29.99 for monthly access, $119.99 for all-access to the 2022-23 Firebirds and OHL season, or $179.99 for all-access to the entire 2022-23 CHL season.

Next Up: The Firebirds continue the current five-game road trip with the third stop in Sudbury on Friday. Flint's next home game is Saturday, January 21 when they host the Saginaw Spirit for another installment of the I-75 Divide Cup, presented by Coors Light. Tickets for the January 21 home game are available now from ETIX HERE.

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from January 12, 2023


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