OHL Flint Firebirds

Firebirds Welcome Undefeated London Knights for Military Appreciation Night

Published on November 6, 2021 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Flint, Mich. - The first-place London Knights will visit Flint for the first time Saturday night. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. (ET) at the Dort Financial Center. The Firebirds will be recognizing all active and retired military members, with a free ticket as a thank you for their service.

The Firebirds enter Saturday's contest in third place in the West Division with a record of 5-3-0-0. The Knights sit first in the league as the only undefeated team, with a 9-0-0-0 record. On home ice this year, the 'Birds are 2-2-0-0 compared to London's road record of 4-0-0-0.

Friday marks the first of six meetings between the two clubs this season, and the first of three games in Flint. All-time, Flint holds a record of 2-14-2-1 in the series and a record of 1-7-1-1 on home ice. In the last season played, the Firebirds went 1-1-1-0 in three meetings.

The last time these teams played was January 4, 2020, when the clubs skated to overtime. Ultimately, the Knights completed a 4-3 victory in front of more than 3,000 fans at the Dort Financial Center.

On special teams this season, Flint's killing penalties at a rate of 82.9% when short-handed, which is sixth-best in the OHL. London's penalty-killers are ranked second at 89.5%. With the man-advantage, the Knights rank second in the league, converting at a rate of 30.0% and the Firebirds are 19th, scoring at a 12.1% clip.

Players to Watch:

Flint Firebirds (5-3-0-0, 3rd West Division):

Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers) continues to top the stats, leading the 'Birds with eight goals and three assists for 11 total points in only eight games. Rookie Coulson Pitre ranks second with six points (4 G, 2 A) in six games. There is a five-way tie for fifth between forwards Zacharie Giroux (3 G, 2 A), Amadeus Lombardi (2 G, 3 A), and Toronto Maple Leafs' prospect Braeden Kressler (1 G, 4 A), as well as defensemen Dmitry Kuzmin (Winnipeg Jets) and Tyler Deline with one goal and four helpers each.

In net, Luke Cavallin has appeared in seven games thus far. He carries a goals-against average (GAA) of 3.43. His save percentage (SV%) is .898. Cavallin has earned four wins, with one of them being a shutout against the Erie Otters on opening night. Rookie netminder Ian Michelone played one full game, making 32 saves on 33 shots in the victory. Nathaniel Day played the final 18 minutes of a road game in Saginaw and turned aside all four shots faced.

NHL: The Firebirds have three players with NHL ties consisting of Braeden Kressler (Toronto Maple Leafs), Dmitry Kuzmin (Winnipeg Jets), and Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers). Also, Gavin Hayes was recently named to the 2021 NHL Central Scouting October Players to Watch List. More recently, defenseman Tristan Bertucci and netminder Nathaniel Day were both among the 24 OHL players named to Hockey Canada's Under-17 roster to participate at the inaugural Capital City Challenge. The Capital City Challenge is a four-team tournament featuring three men's under-17 teams and Canada's National Women's Team to take place November 26 to December 1 at TD Place in Ottawa.

Despite Flint playing in just five OHL seasons thus far, Alex Nedeljkovic (Carolina Hurricanes / Detroit Red Wings), Kole Sherwood (Columbus Blue Jackets), and Ty Dellandrea (Dallas Stars) are three former Firebirds to play 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.

London Knights (9-0-0-0, 1st Midwest Division):

The Knights are led by a pair of forwards averaging better than a point-per-game. Luke Evangelista (Nashville Predators) tops the scoresheet for London with 16 points (11 G, 5 A) in nine games played. Sean McGurn sits second with eleven points (3 G, 8 A) through nine contests. Rookie Colton Smith is tied with former Firebirds' forward Cody Morgan with nine points in nine games. Smith has six goals and three assists and Morgan has three goals and six helpers. Topping the blue-line crew are first-year defensemen Edward Jackson and Isaiah George with three assists each.

Between the pipes, returning netminder Brett Brochu has played in all nine contests so far and earned all nine victories, which is the most by any OHL goaltender. He carries the best goals-against average (GAA) at 1.95 and the best save-percentage (SV%) at .936.

NHL: London's roster features six players with NHL ties, including Liam Gilmartin (San Jose Sharks), Luke Evangelista (Nashville Predators), Max McCue (San Jose Sharks), Plymouth, Mich. native Antonio Stranges (Dallas Stars), Bryce Montgomery (Carolina Hurricanes), and Ben Roger (Ottawa Senators). Additionally, Jackson Edward, Brett Brochu, Ben Bujold, Brody Crane, Isaiah George, Stuart Rolofs, Landon Sim, and Colton Smith were named to the 2021 NHL Central Scouting October Players to Watch List.

Notable London Knights alumni to play in the NHL include Brendan Shanahan, Patrick Kane, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, Corey Perry, David Bolland, John Carlson, Dino Ciccarelli, Michael Del Zotto, Max Domi, Sam Gagner, Bo Horvat, Michael Hutchinson, Nazem Kadri, Chris Kelly, Sergi Kostitsyn, Oli Maatta, Patrick Maroon, Steve Mason, Marc Methot, Vladislav Namestnikov, Rick Nash, Kyle Quincey, Steve Smith, Chris Tierney, Jarred Tinordi, Matthew Tkachuk, Austin Watson, Dennis Wideman and Nikita Zadorov.

Broadcast Coverage:

Saturday evening's contest against the London Knights 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 6:45 p.m. (ET) Saturday evening.

The game will also be televised live across the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pak on channel 467 (4467 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 Home Game: The Firebirds return to home ice Friday, November 12 when they host the Erie Otters for the third time this season. Puck drop for Flint's annual Puck for Paws night is set for 7 p.m. (ET). Bring your dogs to the game. Single-game tickets for all Firebirds games are $15 Bronze, $18 Silver, $21 Gold and $26 VIP seating (Seating Chart). All seats are reserved/assigned seating. Fans can purchase tickets by calling (810) 744-0580, in-person at the Dort Financial Center Box Office or online at etix.com.

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from November 6, 2021


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.

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