OHL Flint Firebirds

Last Home Game Tonight vs. Windsor at 7:00 PM

Published on March 17, 2018 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Flint, Mich. - The Flint Firebirds will wrap-up their 68-game season Saturday evening when the club hosts the defending CHL Memorial Cup champions Windsor Spitfires, for the final home game of the campaign. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. (ET) at the Dort Federal Event Center in Flint.

Saturday marks the sixth and final meeting between the two clubs this season. Flint is 2-3-0-0 against the Spitfires in the campaign and are looking to end the season on a positive note, to even the series on the final day in front of the home crowd. Windsor claimed the first victory on Oct. 22 in Flint before the Firebirds posted a 4-3 overtime triumph in Windsor on Dec. 3. That night, rookie netminder Luke Cavallin earned his first-career OHL win, making 30 saves on 33 shots. Then the Spitfires won a tight-fought defensive third meeting by a final score of 1 - 0, before the Firebirds evened the series on Jan. 28 with a 4 - 2 win on home ice. Game five went to the Spits in Windsor.

In their three seasons with the OHL, the Firebirds have five wins against the Spitfires. All-time, the Firebirds have a 5-11-1-0 record against the Spitfires and are 3-5-0-0 in the series at the Dort Federal Event Center.

Windsor enters the contest with a season record of 30-30-4-2, sitting tied for third in the West Division with the Saginaw Spirit. Likewise, Saginaw and Windsor are tied for seventh in the 10-team Western Conference. Saginaw and Windsor each have two games remaining to sort out their final playoff position, one tonight and one tomorrow. On the road, the Spitfires are 15-17-1-0 in the campaign.

Flint stands fifth in the West Division with a 20-42-3-2 record. Flint holds a home record of 13-19-1-0 this season. Last night, the Firebirds defeated the OHL's #1-ranked Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds for the second time this season. Fedor Gordeev (Toronto Maple Leafs) netted the overtime game-winner and picked up an assist, Jack Phibbs scored twice, C.J. Clarke lit-the-lamp, and Jake Durham added three assists. Garrett Forrest turned aside 34 of 37 shots from the league's top offense to pick up his 13th win between the pipes. The 4 - 3 overtime victory made Flint the only team to earn two wins over the 'Hounds, and it was only the Soo's third loss on home ice all season.

On special teams, the Spitfires have the 16th-ranked power play in the league, converting at a rate of 17.5%. On the road this season, however, they are only scoring on 16.0% of their opportunities. Flint converts on 17.1% of their chances with the man-advantage, ranking 17th in the OHL. On the penalty kill, Windsor ranks sixth-best at 80.9%, but again posts a lower success rate on the road at 77.8% efficiency. The Firebirds' penalty kill has found success 73.4% of the time.

Promotions:

Saturday marks the Firebirds' annual "Fan and Police Appreciation Night" featuring many free giveaways including 2,500 fan appreciation scratch-offs, 1,000 Firebirds' St. Patrick's Day koozies, Dort Federal Credit Union thunderstix and team posters (while supplies last) a t-shirt toss sponsored by Harmony Glass and more!

All law enforcement officers with valid ID will receive $5 off a Silver Level ticket at the Dort Federal Event Center Box Office.

Attention season ticket holders and team sponsors! Saturday is the final opportunity for unused ticket redemption. If you've missed any games this season, you can get one ticket for every unused season ticket this Saturday or in advance at the Dort Federal Event Center box office.

Single game tickets for all Firebirds games are $12 / Bronze, $16 / Silver, $20 / 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 Federal Event Center Box Office or online at ticketmaster.com here.

Players to Watch

Flint Firebirds (20-42-3-2, 5th West Division):

Maurizio Colella continues to lead all Firebirds on the scoresheet, earning 60 points in 66 games. His 37 assists are the most by any Flint player this season. In the previous five meetings with Windsor, Colella has one goal and three assists to lead the team in points in the series. He has also recorded 19 multi-point games in the campaign. Ty Dellandrea ranks second on the 'Birds roster with 59 points in 66 games. His 27 goals leads the team. Dellandrea has 14 multi-point games this season. Connor Roberts ranks third on the team with 18 goals and 17 helpers for 35 points this season.

Defensively, Flint is lead by pair of veterans with NHL ties. The Firebirds' Captain and Detroit, Mich. native Jalen Smereck (Arizona Coyotes) leads all defensemen on the squad with 33 points in just 45 games played. He picked up an assist in last night's victory, and now has 103 career points in the OHL. Fedor Gordeev (Toronto Maple Leafs) has 25 points on the season after scoring the overtime game-winning goal in Sault Ste. Marie last night. He ranks third in the league with 106 penalty minutes.

Rearguard Riley McCourt leads all rookies on the team with 22 points in 55 games played. His 17 assists are also top among first-year players for the Firebirds. Ethan Keppen leads the Flint rookies in goals with nine this season.

Jacob Collins is expected to play his 199th career OHL game Saturday. He is the only remaining Firebirds' player of the Plymouth Whalers organization that moved to Flint after the 2014-15 season. Saturday would be Collins' 177th game in a Firebirds' sweater, the most by any player in franchise history.

Between-the-pipes, Garrett Forrest has played in 45 games. His stellar performance last night against the Greyhounds earned him 'First-Star' honors. He has a 4.70 goals-against average (GAA) and a .867 save percentage (SAV%). Forrest has backstopped Flint to 13 of 20 wins in net. Rookie goaltender Luke Cavallin has appeared in 30 games this season. He has a 4.21 GAA and a .872 SAV%. Two of Cavallin's seven wins this season have been against the Spitfires, and he has made a total of 131 saves on 140 shots across four appearances versus Windsor.

NHL: The Firebirds have two players with NHL ties consisting of Jalen Smereck (Arizona Coyotes) and Fedor Gordeev (Toronto Maple Leafs). Additionally, Dennis Busby, Ty Dellandrea, Hunter Holmes, Ryan Littlejohn, Riley McCourt, Connor Roberts and Jack Wismer are seven first-time eligible players to be selected in the NHL Entry Draft in June 2018.

Windsor Spitfires (30-30-4-2, T-3rd West Division):

Cole Purbo leads all players for Windsor with 20 goals and 28 assists for 48 points in 66 games this season. He comes to Flint on a three-game point streak, having earned two goals and two assists in that span. Curtis Douglas ranks second on the Windsor squad with 45 total points. Douglas has two goals and three assists against the Firebirds this campaign. Curtis Douglas sits third in points with 45 this season. He has earned five points against Flint in the prior five meetings.

In net, Michael DiPietro (Vancouver Canucks) ranks fourth in the OHL with a goals-against average of 2.81. He has the fifth-best save percentage at .910. DiPietro has backstopped the 'Spits to 28 of the team's 30 wins this season. His seven shutouts are the most by any goaltender in the OHL this season. In four meetings with Flint, DiPietro has made 119 saves on 124 shots and recorded two shutouts. Back-up netminder Brock Baier has appeared in nine games and holds a 5.48 GAA and a .830 SAV%. Lucas Patton has appeared in six games between the pipes with a 3.24 GAA and a .894 SAV%.

NHL: After winning the 2017 CHL Memorial Cup, Windsor now has just one player with NHL ties, goaltender Michael DiPietro (Vancouver Canucks). Forward Igor Larionov hails from Detroit and is the son of the former NHL star and Detroit Red Wing of the same name. Additionally, the Spitfires have two players listed among NHL Central Scouting's November 'Players to Watch' list for the upcoming 2018 NHL Draft: Connor Corcoran and Matthew MacDougall.

19 notable Spitfires' alumni to play in the NHL are Bryan Bickell, Jack Campbell, Matt Cooke, Peter DeBoer, Steve Downie, Ryan Ellis, Cam Fowler, Adam Graves, Taylor Hall, Adam Henrique, Ed Jovanovski, Claude Julien, Michael Leighton, Eddie Mio, Michal Neuvirth, Steve Ott, Richard Panik, Joel Quenneville and Jason Spezza.

Broadcast Coverage:

Saturday evening's contest against the Windsor Spitfires 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 Join us for Police & Fan Appreciation Night. Great seats are still available!

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from March 17, 2018


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