OHL Flint Firebirds

Firebirds vs. Greyhounds Round Two on 'Fan Appreciation Night' Saturday

April 16, 2022 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Flint, Mich. - The Firebirds will host the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds for the final regular-season game on Saturday. The event will include giveaways, contests, prize packs, playoff ticket promotions and MORE. Tickets are available online from ETIX HERE. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. (ET) at the Dort Financial Center. Additionally, First Round tickets for the 2021-22 OHL Playoffs are on sale NOW on both Etix.com and at the Dort Financial Center Box Office. Game 1 and Game 2 are set for Friday, April 22 and Saturday, April 23 respectively. Both games set for 7:00 p.m.

This Firebirds team has put together the best regular season in franchise history. The Birds have set new records in many categories, including wins in a season (41), road wins in a season (24), points in a season (87), most goals scored in a season (280), most shorthanded goals in a season (16), and the most power-play goals in a season (50). Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers) has scored the most goals of any Flint player in a single season (46) and raised the bar for total points in a single season (93). He's also tied the record for shorthanded goals (4) along with rookie forward Ethan Hay, who leads all OHL freshmen in the category. Coulson Pitre has scored more goals than any rookie for Flint (23), while fellow freshman Gavin Hayes set a new high for rookie assists (27) and points (46) in a season. Defenseman Dmitry Kuzmin (Winnipeg Jets) has tied the record for the most goals by a rearguard in a single season (18), as well. Finally, goaltender Luke Cavallin has crushed practically every record for a goaltender's season and career.

The Firebirds enter Saturday's contest in second place in the West Division and third in the 10-team Western Conference with a record of 41-21-1-4. The Hounds rank third in the West Division and fourth in the Western Conference with a 39-21-6-1 record. They sit two points behind the Firebirds, but Flint owns the tie-breaker should they end up with 87 points each. On the home ice this year, Flint has posted a record of 17-14-0-2. Sault Ste. Marie's road record is 16-12-4-1. In their past 10 tilts, the Greyhounds have gone 7-3-0-0 while the Birds' have gone 6-4-0-0.

Saturday marks the fifth and final meeting between these clubs this season, and the third of three games to be played in Flint. All-time, the Firebirds carry a record of 13-18-1-2 against the Soo, with a home record of 6-9-1-1 in the series. So far this year, Flint has a record of 1-1-0-2 in the four contests, with all three tilts requiring overtime or a shootout. Through the four previous matches this season, the Hounds have outscored the Birds 20-16.

These teams met last night in a penalty-filled affair that ended in a 6-3 road win for Sault Ste. Marie. Connor Toms led the offense for Sault Ste. Marie with a two-goal performance. Rory Kerins (Calgary Flames) had a goal and two assists, and Tye Kartye (Seattle Kraken), Bryce McConnell-Barker, and Cole MacKay each had a goal and an assist. For Flint, Coulson Pitre and Braeden Kressler (Toronto Maple Leafs) led the attack with two-point nights. Pitre scored and logged one helper, and Kressler assisted on two of the Firebirds' three tallies. Luke Cavallin made 36 saves in a busy night in goal, but it was Tucker Tynan across the ice with the victory after a 34-save performance.

On special teams, the Firebirds have the OHL's top-ranked penalty kill, finding success at a rate of 83.9%. The Greyhounds are killing penalties at a 79.5% clip, the league's 10th-best. Flint is converting with the man-advantage at an 18.9% rate, which ranks them 14th in the 20-team OHL. Sault Ste. Marie has scored 28.8%, of their chances, which is the best in the league.

Players to Watch:

Flint Firebirds (41-21-1-4, 2nd West Division):

Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers) ranks first on the team and second in the league with 46 goals. Othmann also has 47 assists and ranks eighth in the league with 93 total points through 65 games. Riley Piercey is second in scoring with 27 goals and 31 helpers for 58 points through 58 games played. He's also tied for sixth in the league and first in franchise history with six game-winning goals. Amadeus Lombardi ranks third on the squad with 17 tallies and 40 helpers through 66 contests.

Overage forwards Tag Bertuzzi and Ethan Keppen (Vancouver Canucks) remain red hot in Flint's best playoff push, as well. Keppen has maintained nearly a point-per-game average since returning from the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League (AHL), and now has 38 points (22 G, 16 A) in 41 games. Bertuzzi has 45 points (21 G, 24 A) in 62 games, with 39 of those points coming since January 1.

Westland, Mich. native Gavin Hayes remains atop the scoresheet for rookies on the roster, now with 46 points (19 G, 27 A) in 64 games. He's tied for the seventh-most power-play assists (10) among rookies. Coulson Pitre tops the freshman class in goals (23) and has 44 total points through 51 contests. Pitre's tied for seventh in the league for goals by a rookie, is tied for sixth with four game-winning tallies, and he ranks third with a .86 points-per-game average.

On defense, Dmitry Kuzmin (Winnipeg Jets) has 18 goals and 24 helpers to lead the rearguards. His 18 markers have him tied for third in the OHL in defensive scoring. Tyler Deline has seven tallies and 31 assists to rank second among the blue-liners. His 17 power-play helpers are tied for 8th-most among defensemen. Rookie defender Tristan Bertucci has a +/- rating of +24, which is best among all rookies in the league and eighth-best among all rearguards.

Luke Cavallin carries the league's seventh-best goals-against average (GAA) of 3.14 and the league's fourth-best save percentage (SV%) at .910 through 55 appearances. He's earned the most wins in the league and the most in Flint history, now with 35 victories. Behind Cavallin are two first-year netminders showing plenty of promise for the future. Ian Michelone has now appeared in ten games and picked up four victories. Two of his wins came against Erie. He carries a GAA of 4.37 and a SV% of .884. Nathaniel Day has two victories in eight appearances, with a 3.63 GAA and a .883 SV%.

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 Simon Slavicek were named to the 2022 NHL Central Scouting Midterm Draft Rankings.

Despite Flint playing in just five OHL seasons thus far, Alex Nedeljkovic (Carolina Hurricanes / Detroit Red Wings), Kole Sherwood (Columbus Blue Jackets), Ty Dellandrea (Dallas Stars), and Vladislav Kolyachonok (Arizona Coyotes) are four former Firebirds to play regular-season games in the NHL. Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers) and Firebirds' alumni Ethan Keppen (Vancouver Canucks), Vili Saarijarvi (Detroit Red Wings) and Jalen Smereck (Arizona Coyotes) have all played in NHL pre-season contests. In total, the team has produced 21 signed or drafted players into the NHL.

Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (39-21-6-1, 3rd West Division):

Rory Kerins (Calgary Flames) tops the Hounds on the scoresheet with 43 goals and 75 assists for 118 points in 67 games. Kerins sits inside the top ten players in the OHL in several categories. He's first in the league in power-play assists (32), ranks second in points, third in assists, is tied for third in game-winning goals (8), tied for sixth in overall goals scored, and sits tied for ninth in power-play goals (12). Tye Kartye sits second with 44 goals and 34 assists for 78 points through 62 contests. Kartye ranks first in power-play goals (23), is tied for first in game-winning goals (9), and is tied for fourth in total goals scored in the league. Cole MacKay is third with 28 tallies and 75 total points through 60 games played.

Jack Thompson holds the edge in points for rearguards with 21 goals and 36 assists in 64 games. He ranks first among defenders in goals, is tied for first in game-winning goals (5) and power-play goals (7). His 57 points are the sixth-most by a rearguard. Close behind is Robert Calisti, who also has 21 goals plus 34 helpers in 65 contests. Calisti is also tied for first in defensive scoring in the OHL. He's tied for fifth among defensemen with six power-play goals and ranks eighth in total points.

The leader among the rookie class for the Greyhounds is Bryce McConnell-Barker, who now has 23 tallies and 26 helpers through 67 contests. He's tied for fourth in the league among rookies for power-play goals (7), seventh in total goals, and eighth in total points.

First-year defenseman Kirill Kudryavtsev ranks second among Greyhounds' rookies with 39 points (5 G, 34 A) in 67 games. He's also tied for third among first-year players with 12 power-play helpers and is tied for third in total assists.

For the season, Tynan Tucker has appeared in 50 games this season, which is the fifth-most in the league. He's earned the tenth-most wins (22) and carries a 3.55 goals-against average (GAA) with a .887 save percentage (SV%). Samuel Ivanov has 20 wins in 34 games played, and a 3.43 GAA with a .887 SV%.

NHL: The Greyhounds have five players with NHL ties, including forwards Tye Kartye (Seattle Kraken), Rory Kerins (Calgary Flames) and Tanner Dickinson (St. Louis Blues), and defensemen Ryan O'Rourke (Minnesota Wild) and Jack Thompson (Tampa Bay Lightning). Additionally, Bryce McConnell-Barker and Kirill Kudryavtsev were named to the NHL Central Scouting's Midterm Rankings for the upcoming 2022 NHL Draft.

25 notable Greyhounds' alumni to play in the NHL are Wayne Gretzky, Jeff Beukeboom, Bob Boughner, Jeff Carter, Dan Clouthier, Paul Coffey, Trevor Daley, Ray Emery, Adam Foote, Ron Francis, Craig Hartsburg, Ric Jackman, Dustin Jeffrey, Tyler Kennedy, Denny Lambert, Greg Millen, Ted Nolan, Nathan Perrott, Bob Probert, Wayne Simmons, Brad Staubitz, Steve Sullivan, Joe Thornton, Rick Tocchet, John Vanbiesbrouk, and Josef Vasick. Greyhounds (31-17-6-1, 2nd West Division):

Broadcast Coverage:

Saturday's contest against the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 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 6:40 p.m. (ET) Saturday evening.

The game will also be televised live across the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pak on channel 468 (4468 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: The Firebirds' final regular-season game was tonight versus the Greyhounds. The Firebirds have clinched home-ice advantage, meaning the first two games of the playoffs will be played in Flint. Their first-round opponent will be the Owen Sound Attack, with Games 1 and 2 scheduled next Friday and Saturday both at 7:00 p.m. Tickets for the first two games of the post-season are available now from ETIX.

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from April 16, 2022


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