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OHL Flint Firebirds

First-Place Firebirds Take on Otters for a Sunday Matinee 'Talk Today' Game

February 27, 2022 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Flint, Mich. - The Firebirds are first place in the Western Conference and just two points out of first in the OHL. The Erie Otters are in town for today's Sunday matinee game. Puck drop is set for 2:00 p.m. (ET) at the Dort Financial Center.

The Firebirds have been red-hot this season. Earlier this week the 60-team Canadian Hockey League (CHL) announced their Kia CHL Top 10 list, and Flint was ranked at number 10. Through 40 games, this crew put up the best numbers in franchise history. The Firebirds have also scored the most goals in the OHL to date. Team Captain Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers) was the first player in the league to score 30 goals. Riley Piercey scored his 100th OHL point with the third goal of his hat trick Saturday night on 'Flint Generals Night' at a packed Dort Financial Center. Luke Cavallin picked up his fourth-consecutive, 25th of the season, and 51st career victory over the Sting last night, as well.

Flint enters Friday's tilt atop the West Division and first in the 10-team Western Conference with a 31-14-1-3 record. They've picked up points in their past 11 tilts and 15 of their last 16. The Otters carry an overall record of 19-24-1-2 and rank fifth in the Midwest Division. They're 4-6-0-0 in their past 10. On home ice this season the Firebirds carry a 12-9-0-1 record and the Otters have a road record of 11-14-1-1.

Friday marks the ninth of 12 meetings between these clubs this season, and the fifth of eight games to be played in Flint. This season, the Birds have defeated the Otters in all eight meetings. In that span, the Firebirds have outscored Erie 40-17, despite two games being settled by a single goal. All-time, the Firebirds are 14-7-2-3 against the Otters and have gone 8-3-0-2 at the Dort Financial Center.

Leading the way for Flint in the season series with Erie is Othmann with 10 goals and seven assists through the eight games thus far. Defenseman Tyler Deline (1 G, 7 A) and forward Amadeus Lombardi (4 G, 5 A) are next with nine points each. Coulson Pitre (4 G, 4 A) and Zacharie Giroux (3 G, 5 A) are close behind with eight points. For the Otters, it's Daniel D'Amato, the older brother of Flint's Luca D'Amato, leading the way with seven points (4 G, 3 A). Christian Kyrou is second in points with six assists and Brendan Hoffmann has three goals and two helpers.

The last time these teams met was February 12 in Erie. Luke Cavallin was the 'First Star' of the night, turning aside 38 of 39 shots-faced. A pair of Flint defenders sat atop the stat sheet with Dmitry Kuzmin (Winnipeg Jets) and Zach Terry each scoring once and assisting once. Erie rearguard Cameron Morton netted the only goal for the Otters.

On special teams this season Flint's penalty-kill ranks second in the league, shutting down the opposition at a rate of 84.8%. Erie's penalty-killers are ranked 18th at 73.6%. With the man-advantage, the Otters rank 16th in the league, converting at a rate of 16.5%. The Firebirds are 13th, scoring at a 19.7% clip.

Promotion: 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. The two free kid's tickets are only available for purchase at the Dort Financial Center Box Office.

Players to Watch:

Flint Firebirds (31-14-1-3, 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 38 assists for 73 total points in 47 games. He's tied for third in shorthanded goals (3), and he has the sixth-most points. His 1.55 points-per-game average ranks eighth in the OHL. Veteran forward Riley Piercey sits second in scoring and now has 25 goals and 27 helpers through 44 games. Piercey is tied for the sixth most game-winning goals in the league with six, and the eighth-most power-play goals with 10. Amadeus Lombardi ranks third with 16 tallies and 28 helpers through 48 contests.

Ethan Keppen (Vancouver Canucks) continues to pace ahead of a point-per-game, and now has 25 points (13 G, 12 A) in 23 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 two games shy of playing in his 200th OHL game.

Coulson Pitre remains atop Flint's freshman class with 17 goals and 17 assists through 38 games. Pitre ranks third among all OHL rookies with a 0.89 points-per-game average, and he's tied for the fifth-most goals of all first-year players in the OHL. He's also tied for the ninth in total points among league rookies. Pitre will become the all-time rookie scoring leader in franchise history with his next goal. Fellow first-year forward Gavin Hayes rides a five-game point streak (4 G, 3 A) into Saturday's contest, and now has eight multi-point games this season.

Tyler Deline paces the defensive unit with 33 points (5 G, 28 A) in 48 contests. His 16 power-play assists are tied for fifth-most among OHL defenders. Dmitry Kuzmin (Winnipeg Jets) has scored the most goals from the blue line, now with eight goals and 25 total points in 38 games. Kuzmin has four points (2 G, 2 A) in the past two tilts. First-year blue-liner Tristan Bertucci is tied for fifth among all OHL defensemen and second among OHL rookies with a plus/minus rating of '+22.'

In net, Luke Cavallin has appeared in 40 games this season, which is the second-most by any netminder in the OHL. He has 25 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 3.19 and his save percentage of (SV%) .909 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 and Erie's Nolan Lalonde are the only active OHL rookie goaltenders 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.

Erie Otters (19-24-1-2, 4th Midwest Division):

Third-year center Elias Cohen sits atop Erie's scoresheet with a point-per-game average, now carrying 45 points (19 G, 26 A) in 45 games. Erie's top-scoring defenseman is Christian Kyrou, who's lit the lamp 13 times and pitched in 29 assists through 46 games played. He's tied for second in the league among blue-liners for goals scored by a defender, second in shorthanded assists on defense, the fourth-most points, and the tenth-most total helpers. Daniel D'Amato, the older brother of Flint's Luca D'Amato, ranks third in scoring for the Otters with 15 goals and 24 helpers for 39 points in 41 games. The Otters' 2020 first-round draft pick (8th overall) Spencer Sova paces the freshman class on the team with 20 points (5 G, 15 A). Sova is tied for the fourth-most power-play assists among rookies with nine this year.

The Otters are backstopped by a pair of first-year netminders. Nolan Lalonde has played in 37 games this season and has earned 17 victories. He has posted a 3.66 goals-against average (GAA) and a save-percentage (SV%) of .877. His 37 appearances are the most by any first-year netminder, and the fifth-most overall. Marshall Nicholls has played in 13 contests, earned two victories, and carries a 4.25 GAA with a SV% of .852.

NHL: Connor Lockhart (Vancouver Canucks) is the lone player on Erie's roster with NHL ties. Additionally, Spencer Sova, Christian Kyrou, and netminder Nolan Lalonde were named to the NHL Central Scouting Midterm Rankings.

Notable Otters' alumni to play in the NHL are Connor McDavid, Alex DeBrincat, Connor Brown, Nikita Alexeev, Brad Boyes, Tim Connoly, Mike Rupp, Steve Montador, Carlo Colaiacovo, Chris Campoli, Jason Ward and Dylan Strome.

Broadcast Coverage:

Sunday afternoon's contest against the Erie Otters 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 1:45 p.m. (ET) Sunday afternoon.

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 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 embark on a 3-in-3 road trip next weekend starting next Friday night in Erie. They will play the Otters Friday and Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. (ET) before heading to Guelph to take on the Storm Sunday at 4:00 p.m. On Saturday, March 12, the Birds will return to home ice to host the Guelph Storm for a 7:00 p.m. (ET) battle. It will be Teacher Appreciation Night sponsored by PFCU. Complimentary tickets will be available to all Educational Professionals with valid school ID work badges at the Dort Financial Center office. Tickets are on sale NOW here: ETIX.

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from February 27, 2022


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