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OHL Flint Firebirds

First-Place Firebirds Return Home on 10-Game Point Streak for Flint Generals Night

February 26, 2022 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Flint, Mich. - The Firebirds will return home to the Dort Financial Center for a pair of home games this weekend on both Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. First up is the Sarnia Sting for game three of a three-in-a-row series between the two clubs on 'Flint Generals Night.' Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. (ET) at the Dort Financial Center Saturday.

Earlier this week the 60-team Canadian Hockey League (CHL) announced their Kia CHL Top 10 list, and Flint was ranked at number 10. Flint enters Friday's tilt atop the West Division and first in the 10-team Western Conference with a 30-14-1-3 record. They've picked up points in their past ten tilts, and they became the first Western Conference team to earn 30 wins last night. The Sting carry an overall record of 19-20-3-1 and rank fourth in the West Division. They're 5-5-0-0 in their past 10. On home ice this season the Firebirds carry an 11-9-0-1 record and the Sting have a road record of 13-7-1-0.

Friday marks the sixth of eight meetings between these clubs this season, and the second of four games to be played in Flint. This season, the Birds have defeated the Bees three out of five meetings but lost the only home game in the series thus far on November 27. Flint has outscored Sarnia 28-12 across the five meetings. All-time, the Firebirds are 23-19-1-0 against the Sting and have gone 13-6-1-0 at the Dort Financial Center.

Leading the way for Flint in the season series with Sarnia is Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers) with 10 points (2 G, 8 A). Amadeus Lombardi and Gavin Hayes are tied for second with two goals and five helpers each. With six points apiece are Tyler Deline and Riley Piercey, each with two tallies and four assists. For Sarnia, Nolan Dann and Ty Voit (Toronto Maple Leafs) each have five points (2 G, 3 A), followed closely by Nolan DeGurse (1 G, 3 A) and Nolan Burke (2 G, 2 A).

Flint topped the Sting 7-3 in Sarnia Monday afternoon, and then most recently skated to a 6-0 triumph at the Progressive Auto Sales Arena last night. Netminder Luke Cavallin stopped all 34 shots he faced, but because he was forced out of the game for 31 seconds between whistles, he didn't get credit for his third shutout of the season. However, he did earn his 50th OHL victory, all in a Firebirds' sweater. Nathaniel Day came in to relieve Cavallin between whistles and stopped the only shot he faced. Rearguard Dmitry Kuzmin (Winnipeg Jets) scored his seventh and eighth goals of the season and fellow defenseman Tyler Deline netted his fifth and finished with two points (1 G, 1 A). Brennan Othmann picked up his 100th and 101st points in the OHL in his 101st career game, finishing with two helpers on the night. Forwards Riley Piercey (22) and Zacharie Giroux (12) also lit the lamp for the visitors and each added an assist for a two-point game.

On special teams this season Flint's penalty-kill ranks second in the league, finding success at a rate of 85.0%. Sarnia's penalty-killers are ranked 18th at 73.7%. With the man-advantage, the Sting rank 20th in the league, converting at a rate of 14.3%, and the Firebirds are 13th scoring at a 19.5% clip.

Promotion: On Saturday, February 26th it will be Flint Generals Night, sponsored by Lewis Tree Service when Flint takes on the Sarnia Sting. The Firebirds will wear special throwback uniforms honoring the former team that used to call the Dort Financial Center (then Perani Arena and Event Center & IMA). There will be a postgame jersey auction to follow the conclusion of the game by Tim Narhi Auctioneer & Associates, LLC. Additionally, several Flint Generals Alumni will be in attendance for a pre-game Meet & Greet on the concourse. All tickets for Flint Generals Night can be purchased on ETIX HERE or at the Dort Financial Center Box Office.

Players to Watch:

Flint Firebirds (30-14-1-3, 1st West Division):

Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers) ranks first on the team and ranks second in the league with 34 goals. Othmann also has 34 assists for 68 total points in 46 games. He's tied for third in shorthanded goals (3), and he has the sixth-most points. His 1.48 points-per-game average ranks 10th in the OHL. Veteran forward Riley Piercey sits second in scoring and now has 22 goals and 27 helpers through 43 games. Piercey needs just three points to hit 100 in his OHL career. Amadeus Lombardi ranks third with 16 tallies and 28 helpers through 47 contests. Ethan Keppen (Vancouver Canucks) continues to pace ahead of a point-per-game, and now has 25 points (13 G, 12 A) in 22 games played with Flint. The veteran, who played the first half of the season with the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League (AHL), is just three games shy of playing in his 200th OHL game.

Flint's top rookie is Coulson Pitre with 17 goals and 17 assists through 37 games. Pitre ranks second among all OHL rookies with a 0.92 points-per-game average, and he's tied for the fourth-most goals of all first-year players in the OHL. He's also tied for eighth in total points in the freshman class. Pitre will become the all-time rookie scoring leader in franchise history with his next goal. Rookie defender Tristan Bertucci is ranked eighth among OHL defensemen and second among OHL rookies with a plus/minus rating of '+19.' Gavin Hayes rides a four-game point streak (2 G, 3 A) into Saturday's contest, and now has seven multi-point games this season.

Tyler Deline tops the defensemen with 32 points (5 G, 27 A) in 47 contests. His 16 power-play assists are tied for fifth-most among OHL defenders. Deline is expected to play his 100th career OHL game Saturday night in Flint. Dmitry Kuzmin (Winnipeg Jets) has scored the most goals from the blue line, now with eight goals and 23 total points in 37 games. Seven of Kuzmin's eight goals and 10 of his 23 points have come in the last 10 games.

In net, Luke Cavallin has appeared in 39 games this season, which is the second-most by any netminder in the OHL. He has 24 wins and two shutouts, which are the second-most victories and tied for the fourth-most shutouts in the league to date. He carries a goals-against average (GAA) of 3.20 and his save percentage (SV%) .909. His save percentage is the fifth-best in the league. Rookie netminder Ian Michelone has appeared in eight games and picked up four victories. He carries a GAA of 4.03 and a SV% of .889. To date, Michelone is the only active OHL rookie goaltender with a shutout this season. Nathaniel Day has two victories in five appearances with a 2.28 GAA and a .917 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.

Sarnia Sting (19-20-3-1, 4th West Division):

Ty Voit (Toronto Maple Leafs) tops the Sting in scoring with 53 points (13 G, 40 A) through 42 games played this season. He's tied for eighth in the OHL in total assists. Nolan Burke ranks second overall in points with 45, comprised of 26 goals and 19 helpers in 43 contests. Nolan Dann sits third with 20 tallies and 19 helpers in 41 games.

Bloomfield, Mich. Native Ryan Mast (Boston Bruins) is tied atop the group of defenders for the Sting with Ethan Ritchie. Mast has six goals and 11 assists in 34 games, and Ritchie has seven tallies and 10 helpers through 40 contests. Max Namestnikov tops the Sting's freshman class with seven goals and 17 assists.

Sarnia is backstopped by two netminders with NHL ties. Benjamin Gaudreau (San Jose Sharks) has 14 wins in 28 appearances. He carries a 3.46 goals-against average (GAA) along with a .899 save-percentage (SV%). Anson Thornton (Arizona Coyotes) has five wins in 15 appearances, along with a 4.04 GAA and a SV% of .883.

NHL: Sarnia's roster features five players with NHL ties, consisting of Ty Voit (Toronto Maple Leafs), Ryan Mast (Boston Bruins), Romeo Chandler (Ottawa Senators), and goaltenders Benjamin Gaudreau (San Jose Sharks) and Anson Thornton (Arizona Coyotes). Max Namestnikov and Nolan Dann were also named to the NHL Central Scouting Midterm Rankings.

13 notable Sting alumni to play in the NHL are Steven Stamkos, Reid Boucher, Eric Boulton, Daniel Carcillo, Jakob Chychrun, Alex Galchenyuk, Matt Martin, Connor Murphy, Dalton Prout, Brett Ritchie, Ryan Spooner, Nail Yakupov and Pavel Zacha.

Broadcast Coverage:

Saturday evening's contest against the Sarnia Sting 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 Up: Sunday, February 27th will be Family 'FUN'day when the Firebirds host the Erie Otters. Additionally, it is our "Talk Today" game sponsored by Genesee Health Systems and there will be tables set up around the concourse from local agencies bringing awareness to Mental Health & the services offered. Also, face painters and balloon twisters will be available on the concourse during the game. All purchased adult tickets are eligible to have up to TWO FREE kids tickets. All tickets for Family 'FUN'day can be purchased on ETIX HERE or at the Dort Financial Center Box Office.

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from February 26, 2022


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