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OHL Flint Firebirds

Flint Sets Sights on Steelheads for Friday Night Battle

January 27, 2023 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Mississauga, Ont. - The Firebirds will play the second of this weekend's three consecutive games tonight versus the Steelheads in Mississauga. In the one prior meeting this season, the Fish stole a 2-1 victory at the Dort Financial Center. Flint looks to even the series tonight on the road. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. tonight at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre.

This game marks the second of only two meetings between these teams this season, and the only time they'll play in Mississauga. On October 30, James Hardie and Luca DelBelBelluz, who is now with the Sarnia Sting, scored for the Steelheads and Alessio Beglieri thwarted 26 of Flint's 27 shots to secure the road win over the Firebirds. The Birds' all-time record versus Mississauga stands at an even 5-5-0-0, with an even 2-2-0-0 mark in road contests. However, Flint's record against Central Division opponents this year is an underwhelming 0-7-0-0.

The Firebirds rank fourth in the West Division and sixth in the ten-team Western Conference with a record of 22-19-2-1 in the campaign to date. The Steelheads are 21-18-4-0, seeding them third in the Central Division and fifth in the Eastern Conference. The Birds have three wins in their past four games, and the Fish come in on a three-game winning streak.

Flint comes in with a 22-19-2-1 record for the season, ranking fourth in the West Division and sixth in the Western Conference. The Steelheads are third in the Central Division and fifth in the Eastern Conference with a 21-18-4-0 mark. Flint is 13-9-1-0 in road games this season, compared to Mississauga's comparable home record of 12-9-1-0.

On special teams, the Firebirds are now 18th on the power play with a 19.3% conversion rate. Mississauga has scored 21.9% of the time on the man-advantage, good for tenth. When shorthanded, Flint kills penalties at a rate of 77.8% which is 12th-best in the league. The Steelheads rank 19th on the penalty kill with a 72.3% rate of success.

Players to Watch

Flint Firebirds (22-19-2-1, 4th West Division):

Amadeus Lombardi continues to lead the Firebirds with 56 total points, stemming from 27 goals and 29 assists through 44 games. He's tied for sixth in goal-scoring in the OHL. Gavin Hayes ranks second on the club with 24 tallies and 20 helpers for 44 points. Braeden Kressler holds the third spot with 42 total points (20 G, 22 A) in only 33 contests. Kressler's 58.9% win percentage on faceoffs is the league's second-best among players with more than 300 draws. He also carries a six-game point streak with two goals and six assists in that span.

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 is heating up with 1 G and 13 A in his last 15 GP.

Between the pipes, Will Cranley has now appeared in 32 games for Flint this season, which is tied for the second-most among all netminders in the league. He's tied for the OHL's sixth-most victories with 15, and he holds a 3.58 goals-against average (GAA) with a .893 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.

Mississauga Steelheads (21-18-4-0, 4th East Division):

Overage forward James Hardie tops the offensive stats for the Steelheads with 57 total points (28 G, 29 A) in 41 games this season. He carries a ten-game point streak (7 G, 13 A) into tonight's tilt, which is the longest active streak in the OHL. Hardie also ranks fifth for goals scored and is tied for the eighth-most points. Third-year defender Chas Sharpe ranks second with four tallies and 24 helpers through 43 contests. Zander Veccia is in third with 12 goals and 13 assists in the campaign.

In goal, Mississauga carries two netminders with 23 appearances each for the season. Alessio Beglieri has 14 wins with a 3.49 goals-against average (GAA) and a save percentage (SV%) of .868. Rookie goaltender Ryerson Leenders carries a 3.65 GAA and a .869 SV% with seven victories to date.

NHL: Kai Schwindt (Florida Panthers) is the lone member of the Steelheads with NHL ties. Angus MacDonell and Adam Zidlicky were also listed on the NHL Central Scouting's 2023 Midseason Rankings.

Mississauga alumni to play in the NHL include Trevor Carrick, Dylan DeMelo, Spencer Martin, Michael McLeod, Stuart Percy, Alexander Nylander, Owen Tippett, and Thomas Harley.

Broadcast Coverage:

This afternoon's game against the Mississauga Steelheads 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).

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: Flint returns home Saturday evening to host the Barrie Colts. The Firebirds have never defeated the Colts on home ice, but are looking to break that trend this weekend with the help of a packed Dort Financial Center. More than 3,000 fans have attended each of the last four Saturday-night home games. Puck drop for this Saturday's contest is set for 7:00 p.m. (ET), and great seats are still available from ETIX.

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from January 27, 2023


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