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OHL Flint Firebirds

Firebirds, Sting Meet Again Tonight in Sarnia

October 21, 2022 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Sarnia, Ont. - The Firebirds look to sweep the Sting in this week's home-and-away series tonight in Sarnia. Flint skated to a 4-1 triumph over the Bees Wednesday at the Dort Financial Center. Puck drop tonight is set for 7:05 p.m. (ET) at the Progressive Auto Sales Arena.

On Wednesday, Amadeus Lombardi (Detroit Red Wings) led the charge for Flint with two goals and an assist for a three-point night. Riley Piercey and Dmitry Kuzmin (Winnipeg Jets) chipped in two points each, Piercy with a goal and an assist and Kuzmin with a pair of helpers. Defending the goals on either end of the ice was a pair of NHL-signed netminders in Flint's Will Cranley (St. Louis Blues) and Sarnia's Benjamin Gaudreau (San Jose Sharks). Cranley made 39 saves on 40 shots to earn the win and "First Star" honors in the contest. Gaudreau stopped 25 of 29 shots for the Sting.

Tonight marks the second of eight meetings between these teams this season, and the first of four to be played in Sarnia. Last season, the Firebirds finished with a 6-2-0-0 record versus the Bees, and a 3-1-0-0 record at the Progressive Auto Sales Arena. All-time, Flint holds a 28-20-1-0 edge in the series but trails 11-13-0-0 on the road.

Both teams enter tonight's tilt with a record of 4-4-0-0 this season. The Sting is looking to stop a three-game skid, while Flint seeks back-to-back wins. These teams are currently tied for third in the West Division and are tied for fourth in the ten-team Western Conference.

On special teams, the Firebirds have converted on 17.1% of their power-play chances, ranking 15th in the league. The Sting have found success 19.5% of the time, which is currently eighth-best. Flint has killed off 75.0% of their penalties, the 15th-best rate in the OHL. Sarnia has the tenth-ranked penalty kill at a 82.9% efficiency.

Players to Watch

Flint Firebirds (4-4-0-0, T-3rd West Division):

Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers) leads the Birds on the scoresheet with seven goals and seven assists for 14 points through eight games. His 14 points have him tied for first in the OHL with Sarnia forward Ty Voit (Toronto Maple Leafs). He's also in a two-way tie for the league lead in goals scored. Riley Piercey sits second on the club with 11 points (5 G, 6 A) thus far in the season. Amadeus Lombardi (Detroit Red Wings) ranks third with four tallies and six helpers. Dmitry Kuzmin (Winnipeg Jets) tops the blue-line crew with six points from six assists.

Flint carries a trio of netminders, led by overage veteran Will Cranley (St. Louis Blues). Cranley comes in with a 3.08 goals-against average (GAA) and a .918 save percentage (SV%) with three wins so far. Second-year goalie Nathan Day has appeared in three games this season, posting a 4.74 GAA and .855 SV% with one victory. Boe Piroski made 10 saves on 11 shots in a 20-minute relief effort over the weekend.

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 Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers).

Despite Flint playing in just seven OHL seasons thus far, Alex Nedeljkovic (Detroit), Kole Sherwood (Columbus), and Ty Dellandrea (Dallas) are three former Firebirds to play in the NHL. Brennan Othmann (NY Rangers), Riley Piercey (Detroit), and Gavin Hayes (Chicago) all 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.

Sarnia Sting (4-4-0-0, T-3rd West Division):

As mentioned, Ty Voit (Toronto Maple Leafs) is tied with Othmann with 14 points (5 G, 9 A) through eight games, sharing the current lead in the OHL. His nine helpers are tied for third in the league to date. Nolan Burke ranks second with ten points (5 G, 5 A). Burke leads the OHL in power-play goals with four. Marcus Limpar-Lantz sits third with three tallies and six helpers to date. Behind the trio of forwards are a pair of rearguards with six points each in Ethan Ritchie and Ryan Mast (Boston Bruins). Ritchie has scored twice and pitched in four assists, and Mast's six points are all helpers.

Benjamin Gaudreau (San Jose Sharks) has played in all eight games this season, earning three victories and posting a 3.46 GAA with a SV% of .858%. Nicholas Surzycia has one win in two appearances, and sports a GAA of 2.98 with a .889 SV%.

NHL: The Sting carry five players with NHL ties, including forwards Sandis Vilmanis (Florida Panthers) and Ty Voit (Toronto Maple Leafs), defensemen Ryan Mast (Boston Bruins) and Chandler Romeo (Ottawa Senators), and netminder Benjamin Gaudreau (San Jose Sharks).

Notable Sting alumni to play in the NHL are Steven Stamkos, Daniel Carcillo, Jakob Chychrun, Alex Galchenyuk, Matt Martin, Brett Ritchie, Ryan Spooner, Nail Yakupov and Pavel Zacha.

Broadcast Coverage:

Tonight's contest against the Sarnia Sting is another that will not be broadcast throughout Flint & Mid-Michigan on US 103.1 FM. Jack Sznewajs will call the play-by-play action for the next home game on Saturday versus the Windsor Spitfires on the Firebirds Hockey Network (FHN).

Tonight's game will air live across the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pak on channel 468 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.

All Flint Firebirds' home and away games throughout the 2022-23 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 $7.99 for 24-hour access, $29.99 for monthly access, $119.99 for all-access to the 2021-22 Firebirds and OHL season, or $179.99 for all-access to the entire 2021-22 CHL season.

Next Up: The Firebirds return to home ice this Saturday to host the Windsor Spitfires for the first time since surrendering the Western Conference Finals in game seven to conclude last year's record-breaking campaign. Saturday's game will be Hockey Fights Cancer Night, benefitting the McLaren Flint Foundation. The 50/50 proceeds will also go to the McLaren Flint Foundation. The Firebirds will wear lavender-colored jerseys recognizing all cancers with different colored ribbons in the numbers. A live jersey auction will follow the conclusion of the game. Tickets for Saturday's 7:00 p.m. (ET) rivalry battle are available now from Etix.

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from October 21, 2022


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