OHL Flint Firebirds

Firebirds Target Wayne Gretzky Trophy in Game 6 on Home Ice Tuesday

Published on May 31, 2022 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Flint, Mich. - The Firebirds return home to the Dort Financial Center Tuesday with a shot at earning the Wayne Gretzky Trophy as the Western Conference Champions. They lead the Windsor Spitfires 3-2 in the best-of-seven series. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. (ET) Tuesday evening, and great seats are still available HERE.

Former Detroit Red Wings player and current color commentator, Mickey Redmond, will be returning to join Jack Sznewajs once again for Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals. Redmond is alumni of the OHL, having played four seasons with the Peterborough Petes. He played 10 seasons in the NHL, with the final six years donning the winged wheel in Detroit. He'll be in the booth at the Dort Financial Center Tuesday, joining Jack Sznewajs for the TV and radio broadcast on the Firebirds Hockey Network (FHN).

The clubs split Games 1 and 2 in Windsor, before shifting to Flint and splitting Games 3 and 4. The pivotal Game 5 was played in Windsor on Sunday evening, and right from the start, it was an uphill battle for the Firebirds. They were outshot 10-3 in the first 10 minutes of play. They trailed the Spits 2-0 with four minutes remaining in the opening frame. They also lost two more forwards during the game, who went down the tunnel and never returned. But the Firebirds did what they've done all season long; They continued to fight and win the small battles. It all started with Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers) potting his first goal of the series during a Windsor power play late in the first. That started a streak of four unanswered goals. Luke Cavallin faced the lion's share of shots in the tilt and made a total of 42 saves in one of his best performances of the year.

The Firebirds have scored more goals in the playoffs than any other OHL team, having lit the lamp 62 times. The Spitfires are second with 61 tallies. To those who've tuned into this series, it's no surprise that the clubs are first and second in penalty minutes in the 2022 postseason. As far as winning percentage on home ice in the playoffs, Flint's 7-2 record is the second-best. Coincidentally, the Spitfires' 5-2 road record is also second-best since the conclusion of the regular season.

In the five games between these clubs in the Western Conference Finals so far, Braeden Kressler (Toronto Maple Leafs), Tag Bertuzzi, and Amadeus Lombardi each have three goals. Kressler and Bertuzzi each have one helper for four total points. It's Captain Othmann leading the way as he's done all season, now with six total points, stemming from one goal and five assists.

Will Cuylle (New York Rangers) and Matthew Maggio have four goals and two assists each, tying them for first in goals and second in total points for the Spitfires in the Conference Finals to date. Wyatt Johnston (Dallas Stars) has seven points (3 G, 4 A) to top the stats for Windsor. Defenseman Louka Henault is tied with Othmann for the most helpers (5) in Round 3.

On special teams, the Firebirds rank third of the four teams who advanced to the Conference Semifinals with anet 18.1% conversion rate on the power play. The Spitfires rank fourth at 15.6%. It's noteworthy that the Birds have the second-ranked scoring rate on home ice with the man-advantage at 29.3%. Flint had the league's best penalty kill in the 68-game regular season, and now rank second of the four semifinalists with an 81.8% kill rate. Windsor ranks third, killing penalties at an 80.9% clip.

Players to Watch

Flint Firebirds (42-21-1-4, 3rd Western Conference):

Through 17 playoff games to date, the Firebirds are led by Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers) with nine goals and 14 assists for 23 points. Othmann led his troops with 50 goals and 97 total points in the regular season. He currently leads the playoffs with five game-winning tallies, is second in assists and third in points. In the last three games versus Windsor, Othmann's earned six points (1 G, 5 A). Amadeus Lombardi ranks second on the club with 15 points (7 G, 8 A) in 17 games. Lombardi also finished second in the regular season, with 59 points (18 G, 41 A) in 67 games.

Rookie Gavin Hayes ranks third with 12 points (5 G, 7 A). Hayes has the most points of any rookie among the four teams that made the semifinals, and he's second in goals and assists. His three power-play goals are the most in the freshman class, as well. Coulson Pitre has six goals and three helpers in 14 games played. No rookie in the league has lit the lamp more than Pitre. Flint's defensive unit is led by Winnipeg Jets prospect Dmitry Kuzmin, who has assisted on 11 goals in the postseason. No defenseman in the OHL has assisted on more playoff goals.

Between the pipes, Luke Cavallin has the second-best save percentage (SV%) of goaltenders in the Semifinals at a .928. He has 11 wins in 17 postseason appearances and sports the third-best goals-against average (GAA) of teams in Round 3 at 2.72. He earned the most wins in the league and the most in Flint history during the regular season, ending at 36 victories during the campaign. Nathaniel Day made a brief appearance at the end of Game 2 in Windsor, making five saves on seven shots.

NHL: The Firebirds have four players on their roster with NHL ties consisting of Ethan Keppen (Vancouver Canucks), Braeden Kressler (Toronto Maple Leafs), Dmitry Kuzmin (Winnipeg Jets), and Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers). Also, Gavin Hayes and Amadeus Lombardi were named to the 2022 NHL Central Scouting's Final Draft Rankings.

Windsor Spitfires (44-17-4-3, 1st Western Conference):

The Spitfires are led by Wyatt Johnston (Dallas Stars), who recorded the most points in the regular season (124) in the OHL. Through 16 playoff games this year, he's scored 11 times and assisted on 19 tallies for 30 total points. He ranks first in the postseason for assists and points and sits tied for second in goals. New York Rangers' prospect Will Cuylle is second on the club with 20 points (10 G, 10 A). He's tied for fourth in playoff goals currently. Rearguard Louka Henault (3 G, 9 A) ranks third in scoring for the Spits. Henault's 12 points are the best in the league from the blue line.

Andrew Perrott sits one point back of Henault, having scored five times and assisted on six markers. He's tied for first in goals-scored, second in total points (with Kuzmin), and has the most power-play tallies (3) of any defenseman in the OHL. Livonia, Mich. native Ryan Abraham tops the newcomers for the Spitfires, now with 10 points (3 G, 7 A) in 16 contests. Abraham is tied for second among rookies in the postseason in both assists and points.

Goaltender Mathias Onuska started his season with the London Knights before joining the Spitfires. He appeared in 26 regular-season games for the Spits, earning 19 victories with a 3.34 goals-against average (GAA) and a save percentage (SV%) of .882. He's played in 16 playoff games for the club to date, winning 10 while posting the third-best SV% of the semifinals at .904. His GAA of 2.66 is the second-best of the league's top four. Detroit, Mich. native Xavier Medina played in 30 regular-season contests for Windsor this season, picking up 18 wins for the team. He posted a 3.05 GAA and a .891 SV%. Medina saw 35 minutes of action to finish Game 5 on Sunday, making 10 saves on 11 shots.

NHL: Windsor's roster features four players with NHL ties, consisting of Will Cuylle (New York Rangers), Wyatt Johnston (Dallas Stars), Pasquale Zito (Detroit Red Wings), and Daniil Sobolev (Montreal Canadiens). Additionally, Matthew Maggio was named to the NHL Central Scouting's Final Draft Rankings for 2022.

Notable Windsor alumni to play in the NHL include Ed Jovanovski, Matt Cooke, Cory Stillman, Jason Spezza, Steve Ott, Jason York, Josh Bailey, Tim Gleason, Mike Rupp, Cam Fowler, Taylor Hall, Adam Henrique, Kyle Wellwood, Eric Wellwood, Todd Warriner, Steve Downie, Jamie Allison, and Ryan Ellis.

Broadcast Coverage:

Tuesday's contest against the Windsor 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 here. Jack Sznewajs will call the play-by-play action with Mickey Redmond adding the color commentary on the Firebirds Hockey Network (FHN). Pregame coverage will begin prior to puck drop at 6:45 p.m. (ET) Tuesday evening.

The game will also be televised live across the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pak on channel 466 (4466 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 playoff games 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, or $59.99 to watch all of the 2022 OHL playoffs.

Next Up: Game 7, if necessary, would be played in Windsor on Wednesday with a 7:05 p.m. (ET) scheduled start. Follow flintfirebirds.com and the team's account on social media platforms for the potential schedule and ticketing information for the OHL Finals series, should Flint advance to the fourth and final round of the postseason. Game 1 of the OHL Championship Series is scheduled for Friday night in Hamilton. Tickets for any future games would be available through ETIX HERE, in person at the Dort Financial Center Box Office, or by calling 1-800-514-3849.

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from May 31, 2022


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