Sports stats



OHL Flint Firebirds

Firebirds Set to Battle Spirit in Playoffs for the First Time Ever, Game 1 Tonight in Saginaw

March 30, 2023 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Saginaw, Mich - For the first time in the history of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), two teams from the state of Michigan are meeting in the playoffs. The Spirit have home ice advantage, meaning they host games 1, 2, 5 (if necessary), and 7 (if necessary). The Firebirds made it to Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals a year ago and have unfinished business to attend to. Puck drop for Game 1 of the first round is set for 7:05 p.m. (ET) at the Dow Event Center. Flint fans looking to travel 40 miles north can purchase tickets online HERE.

Saginaw joined the OHL in 2002, and they've qualified for the postseason in all but five seasons. They've been to the Western Conference Finals once. Flint became a member of the OHL in 2015 and has qualified for the playoffs only three times, one of which was canceled due to the pandemic. The Birds have some unfinished business after making it to Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals a year ago.

Flint concluded the 68-game regular season with a record of 35-28-4-1, ranking them fourth in the West Division and fifth in the Western Conference. The Spirit ended the year ranked third in the West Division and fourth in the Western Conference with a 36-27-3-2 mark. The Firebirds posted a record of 17-15-2-0 in away games and Saginaw finished 17-16-0-1 at the Dow.

These clubs met eight times in the regular season, and the Birds had points in four of the tilts with a 3-4-1-0 overall record. At the Dow, Flint was held to a 1-3-0-0 mark. In the all-time series between these in-state rivals, the Firebirds sit at 26-32-1-3 in regular-season contests. They're also 14-17-0-0 since 2015 when playing in Saginaw.

On special teams, the Spirit finished in sixth on the power play with a 23.8% rate of success. The Firebirds ended the season ranked 15th with a 20.2% efficiency. When shorthanded, Saginaw had the seventh-best penalty-kill at 78.8% and Flint was just behind in eighth place with a 78.3% kill rate.

Players to Watch

Flint Firebirds (0-0-0-0, 5th Seed, Western Conference):

Amadeus Lombardi played in 67 of the 68 games during the regular season and nearly doubled his point production from the prior season. He became the first Flint player to top the 100-point mark, logging 45 goals and 57 assists for 102 total points. He scored the sixth-most goals, is tied for the sixth-most helpers, and has the third-most points in the entire league. Gavin Hayes finished second with 41 goals and 40 assists through 66 contests. Overager Riley Piercey concluded his final regular season with 70 points (22 G, 48 A) in 67 tilts.

Dmitry Kuzmin led the Birds on defense, scoring 14 times and pitching in 45 helpers for 59 total points in 65 games. Those numbers placed him sixth in points, eighth in assists, and tenth in goals among all league defenders. In second was sophomore rearguard Tristan Bertucci with 50 points (11 G, 39 A) through 63 contests. Kaden Pitre topped the freshman class for Flint with seven goals and four assists.

Overage goaltender Will Cranley appeared in 44 contests and earned 18 victories. He posted a 3.87 goals-against average (GAA) with a .884 save percentage (SV%). Rookie netminder Nathan Day had 17 victories in 32 appearances and recorded a 3.91 goals-against average (GAA) with a .874 save percentage (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). The team has produced 25 signed or drafted players into the NHL.

Saginaw Spirit (0-0-0-0, 4th Seed Western Conference):

Hunter Haight ended the season atop the scoring for Saginaw with 60 points (21 G, 39 A) through 62 games played. Matyas Sapovaliv and rookie Michael Misa were tied for second with 56 points each. Sapovaliv lit the lamp 27 times and added 29 helpers, whereas Misa netted 22 tallies and helped on 34 goals through 45 games, the most among all OHL rookies. Saginaw, Mich. native defenseman Mitchell Smith finished the year fifth on the club and atop the defensive unit with 14 goals and 38 assists.

Fourth-year veteran Tristan Lennox has donned the pads 45 times this season, recording 25 victories including three shutouts. His goals-against average (GAA) ended at 3.15 and his save percentage (SV%) for the year was .888. Shelby Township, Mich. native Andrew Oke played in 24 contests and logged ten wins. His GAA was 3.45 and his SV% ended at .892.

Broadcast Coverage:

This evening's Playoff Game 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 before puck drop at 6:45 p.m. (ET) this evening.

The game will also be televised live across the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pak on channel 469 (4469 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 2022-23 playoffs 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 $5.99 for a one-day pass or $44.97 to get all of the OHL's Playoff games this year.

Next Up: Game 2 of the series will be Friday evening at the Dow Event Center. Puck drop is again set for 7:05 p.m. (ET). Games 3 and 4 will be played in the Dort Financial Center on Monday and Wednesday evenings with 7:00 p.m. (ET) start times for both.

The playoffs will begin next week. Game one of the First Round will be played between the Firebirds and Spirit at the Dow Event Center in Saginaw. Games 3 and 4 will take place at the Dort Financial Center in Flint on Monday and Wednesday evenings, with puck drop set for 7:00 p.m. (ET) for both. Postseason tickets are ON SALE NOW at ETIX.COM.

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics

• Discuss this story on the Ontario Hockey League message board...

Ontario Hockey League Stories from March 30, 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