OHL Flint Firebirds

Flint Seeks First-Ever Win over Colts on Home Ice Tonight

Published on January 28, 2023 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Flint, Mich. - The only team that the Firebirds are winless against on home ice in franchise history is the Barrie Colts. They look to change that tonight while seeking redemption for a 6-1 defeat in Barrie earlier this month. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. (ET) at the Dort Financial Center.

Tonight marks the second of two games between these clubs this season, and the only game to be played in Flint. On January 12, the Colts defeated the Firebirds 6-1 at the Sadlon Arena in Barrie. The Birds have an all-time record of 2-9-0-0, with both victories coming in away games. On home ice, Flint has lost all five meetings in regulation. In addition, the Central Division hasn't been kind to Flint this season as they have a record of 0-8-0-0 when facing opponents from the Central.

The Firebirds currently rank fourth in the West Division and sixth in the ten-team Western Conference with a record of 22-20-2-1 in the campaign to date. The Colts are 23-13-4-2, seeding them second in the Central Division and third in the Eastern Conference. On home ice this year, Flint's gone 9-10-1-1 while the Colts are 11-6-3-1 on the road.

On special teams, the Firebirds are now 17th on the power play with a 19.4% conversion rate. Barrie has scored 24.3% of the time on the man-advantage, good for second-best. When shorthanded, Flint kills penalties at a rate of 77.6% which is 13th-best in the league. The Colts rank eighth on the penalty kill with an 80.0% rate of success.

Players to Watch

Flint Firebirds (22-20-2-1, 4th West Division):

Amadeus Lombardi continues to lead the Firebirds with 58 total points, stemming from 28 goals and 30 assists through 45 games. He's tied for sixth in goal-scoring in the OHL. Gavin Hayes ranks second on the club with 24 tallies and 21 helpers for 45 points in 44 tilts. Braeden Kressler holds the third spot with 42 total points (20 G, 22 A) in only 34 contests. Kressler's 58.8% win percentage on faceoffs is the league's best among players with more than 300 draws. Coulson Pitre has been red-hot of late, earning nine points (5 G, 4 A) during his current six-game points streak. Nolan Dann has seven points (4 G, 3 A) in six games with Flint since being acquired at the trade deadline.

Defenseman Dmitry Kuzmin tops the blue-line crew with nine goals and a team-leading 31 assists for 40 total points. He ranks fourth among all OHL defensemen for both assists and points. Second-year defenseman Tristan Bertucci has also been hot lately, now with a goal and 13 helpers in his last 16 games.

Between the pipes, Will Cranley has now appeared in 33 games for Flint this season, earning 15 victories. He holds a 3.73 goals-against average (GAA) with a .889 save percentage (SV%). Rookie netminder Nathan Day has seven wins in 17 appearances. His GAA is 4.28 and he carries an SV% of .855. He earned two wins in three consecutive starts last weekend.

NHL: The Firebirds have six players with NHL ties consisting of Will Cranley (St. Louis Blues), Amadeus Lombardi (Detroit Red Wings), Gavin Hayes (Chicago Blackhawks), Braeden Kressler (Toronto Maple Leafs), Dmitri Kuzmin (Winnipeg Jets), and Artem Guryev (San Jose Sharks). Additionally, Coulson Pitre, Tristan Bertucci, Ethan Hay, Blake Smith, and goaltender Nathan Day were listed on the NHL Central Scouting's 2023 Midseason Rankings.

Despite Flint playing in just seven OHL seasons thus far, Alex Nedeljkovic (Carolina/Detroit), Kole Sherwood (Columbus), Ty Dellandrea (Dallas), Tyler Tucker (St. Louis), and Will Bitten (St. Louis) are five former Firebirds to play in the NHL. Riley Piercey (Detroit) and Gavin Hayes (Chicago) played in NHL preseason contests this year, joining Firebirds' alumni Ethan Keppen (Vancouver), Vili Saarijarvi (Detroit), and Jalen Smereck (Arizona). The team has produced 24 signed or drafted players into the NHL.

Barrie Colts (23-13-4-2, 2nd Central Division):

Former Firebirds' forward Evan Vierling leads the Colts in scoring with 52 points (19 G, 33 A) through 36 games this season. His eight goals on the power play are tied for eighth-most in the league, and he's tied for fourth for scoring the first goal of the game five times this season. Ethan Cardwell has the most goals for the team (22) and is second in point total (48) through 37 contests. Jacob Frasca ranks third with 18 goals and 23 assists in 42 games played. Sophomore forward Beau Jelsma rides a five-game points streak (2 G, 5 A) into tonight's game.

Beau Akey tops the defensive unit with seven goals and 27 helpers in the campaign. He ranks tenth among league rearguards for assists and is tied for ninth in total points. Connor Punnett leads Barrie's defense in goals-scored with nine and has 32 points this season.

Between the pipes, Anson Thornton has appeared in 26 contests, earning 15 victories while posting a 3.33 goals-against average (GAA) and the league's fifth-highest save percentage (SV%) of .903. Ben West has seven wins across 18 appearances, and sports a 3.88 GAA with a .892 SV%.

NHL: The Colts have seven players with NHL ties, including Ethan Cardwell (San Jose Sharks), Declan McDonnell (Tampa Bay Lightning), Evan Vierling (New York Rangers), Braden Hache (Florida Panthers), Brandt Clarke (LA Kings), Artur Cholach (Vegas Golden Knights), and goaltender Anson Thornton (Arizona Coyotes). Additionally, defenseman Beau Akey was named to the NHL Central Scouting's 2023 Midseason Rankings.

Notable Colts' alumni to play in the NHL include Dan Girardi, Marin Skoula, Alex Pietrangelo, T.J. Brodie, Mike Weber, Aaron Ekblad, Dalton Prout, Andreas Athanasiou, Brian Lashoff, Dan LaCosta, Givani Smith, and Andrei Svechnikov.

Broadcast Coverage:

This evening's game against the Barrie Colts 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), starting with the pre-game show at 6:40 p.m. (ET).

The game will be televised live across the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pak on channel 469. 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.

All Flint Firebirds' home and away games throughout the 2022-23 regular season can be watched anywhere in the world online at 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 $7.99 for 24-hour access, $29.99 for monthly access, $119.99 for all-access to the 2022-23 Firebirds and OHL season, or $179.99 for all-access to the entire 2022-23 CHL season.

Up Next: The Firebirds will make the short drive up I-75 North for Game 7 of the I-75 Divide Cup series, presented by Coors Light. The Spirit hold a 4-2 lead in the eight-game series, with Flint still having a shot to keep the coveted trophy home with two more wins over Saginaw. The Birds' next home game is Friday night when the OHL-leading Ottawa 67's are in town for a 7:00 p.m. (ET) tilt. Tickets for Friday's home contest are available from ETIX.

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from January 28, 2023


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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