OHL Flint Firebirds

Preview: Firebirds Conclude Five-Game Road Trip in Guelph Friday

Published on January 24, 2020 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Guelph, Ont. - The Firebirds will wrap up their five-game road trip Friday in the first game of a home-and-home series with the defending OHL Champion Guelph Storm.  Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. (ET) Friday at the Sleeman Centre (capacity 4,715) in Downtown Guelph.

Flint enters Friday's contest having won their last two contests and earning points in four of their last five games. The Firebirds have picked up seven of a possible 10 points in that time.

Friday night marks the second of four regular-season meetings between the two clubs, and the second of two in Guelph. All-time, Flint holds a record of 6-9-2-0 against the Storm. In road games, the Firebirds are 5-3-1-0. Last season, Flint went 0-3-1-0 in the series, with a 0-1-1-0 record away from home.

Of note, seven members between the Firebirds and Storm have ties with the two cities. Three Flint Firebirds have ties to the Guelph region: Firebirds' defenseman Jack Harper is a native of Guelph and has the opportunity to be playing in his second-ever OHL game in his hometown Friday. Additionally, Firebirds' defenseman Owen Lalonde and goaltender Anthony Popovich were part of the OHL Championship Guelph Storm squad a season ago. For Guelph, General Manager & Head Coach George Burnett was the General Manager of the Firebirds during the 2016-17 season and defenseman Michael Bianconi & Fedor Gordeev and forward Eric Uba were former Firebirds now playing with Guelph.

Guelph is currently on a seven-game skid. In their last ten contests, the 'Birds are 5-3-1-1 and Guelph has gone 2-7-0-1. For the season, Flint ranks third in West Division and fifth in the Western Conference with a record of 24-17-1-1. The Storm are 22-15-1-4 on the season, ranking third in the Midwest Division and sixth in the Western Conference. Entering the two-game series with Guelph, Flint leads Guelph by a single point in the conference standings. The Storm is 13-7-1-1 on home ice compared to the Firebirds road record of 10-9-0-1.

The last time these two teams met was October 5 in Guelph. Down 2-0 in the second period, Flint fought back to post a 4-3 overtime victory over the Storm and set a franchise record with four-straight wins in front of 3,425 fans at the Sleeman Centre. Connor Roberts (1G, 1A), Evgeniy Oksentyuk (1G, 1A) and Brennan Othmann (2A) each recorded a two-point game to lead the 'Birds on the scoresheet. Daniil Chayka's two-goal night led the Storm.

Most recently, Flint defeated the Greyhounds 7 - 4 in Sault Ste. Marie Wednesday night. Both Ty Dellandrea (Dallas Stars) and Riley Piercey recorded four-point games and former Guelph Storm netminder Anthony Popovich made 28 saves on 32 shots to propel the Firebirds to the victory. Guelph most recently skated to a 5 - 4 defeat to the Rangers in Kitchener on Sunday.

On special teams this season, the Firebirds hold the second-best penalty kill in the OHL at 82.3%. Flint has been perfect on the penalty-kill in five of their last six games. Guelph's penalty-killers rank seventh at an 80.3% efficiency. With the man-advantage the Storm ranks 14th, scoring at a 19.5% rate. The 'Birds score at a rate of 16.9 on the power play.

Players to Watch

Flint Firebirds (24-17-1-1, 3rd West Division):

Ty Dellandrea (Dallas Stars) has reclaimed the top spot on the stat sheet for Flint with 22 goals and 29 helpers in 33 games. In the past two games, Dellandrea has recorded nine points (4G, 5A). Belarusian forward Evgeniy Oksentyuk sits second on the club with 21 goals and 27 assists for 48 points in 38 contests. Oksentyuk carried Flint's longest-ever point-streak at 17 games (13G, 16A) until last Saturday night's shutout in Peterborough.

Defenseman Riley McCourt recently surpassed former Firebird Matt Henderson for most goals scored by a defenseman in a Firebirds' uniform with 21 pots in the orange and navy blue. For this season, McCourt is third in total offense with 12 goals and a team-high 32 assists for 44 total points in 43 games. His total points are fifth-most among OHL rearguards, his 12 tallies are tied for sixth, and his 32 helpers are fifth. McCourt also has the sixth-highest points-per-game average among blue-liners at 1.02.

Overage forward Jake Durham is fourth on the squad with 18 goals and 24 assists. He already owns the record for most games-played by any Flint Firebirds' player. Durham ranks third all-time in goals-scored for the franchise with 71. Ryan Moore is the former Firebird who ranks second (behind Dellandrea) with 72.

Recently-acquired forward Riley Piercey is flourishing thus far in Flint, scoring five times and adding five helpers for ten points in just seven games with the Firebirds. Similarly, recently-added defenseman Tyler Tucker (St. Louis Blues) has also played seven games with Flint, already scoring twice and earning three assists.

Brennan Othmann leads the freshman class for the 'Birds with 21 total points (9G, 12A) through 35 games. His point-total is tied for tenth among rookies in the league and his nine goals are eighth-most. Othmann is also tied for fifth among first-year players in the OHL with a .60 point-per-game average.

In net, Anthony Popovich has played in 31 games this season. He's earned 17 victories, which are tied for the fifth-most in OHL. Popovich's goals-against average (GAA) is 3.70 and he has the ninth-best save-percentage (SAV%) in the league at .898. Luke Cavallin has seven wins in 16 appearances and carries a 3.88 GAA along with a .894 SAV%.

NHL: The Firebirds have five players with NHL ties consisting of Dennis Busby (Arizona Coyotes), Ty Dellandrea (Dallas Stars), Ethan Keppen (Vancouver Canucks), Vladislav Kolyachonok (Florida Panthers) and Tyler Tucker (St. Louis Blues). Additionally, Evgeniy Oksentyuk was named to the NHL Central Scouting's Midterm Rankings for the upcoming 2020 NHL Draft.

Despite Flint being in the midst of just their fifth OHL season, three former Firebirds have already played in NHL regular-season games: Nick Caamano (Dallas Stars), Alex Nedeljkovic (Carolina Hurricanes) and Kole Sherwood (Columbus Blue Jackets). Ty Dellandrea (Dallas Stars), Ethan Keppen (Vancouver Canucks), Vili Saarijarvi (Arizona Coyotes) and Jalen Smereck (Arizona Coyotes) have played in NHL pre-season contests. In total, the team has produced an impressive 18 drafted or signed NHL players in that short time.

Guelph Storm (22-15-1-4, 3rd Midwest Division):

Pavel Gogolev leads the offense for Guelph with 67 points (32G, 35A) in 42 games. His 32 pots are tied for fourth-most in the OHL, and he's tied for sixth in point-total. Gogolev is also tied for the league-lead for having scored the first goal of the game seven times this season. Cam Hillis (Montreal Canadians) ranks second with 16 tallies and 41 helpers through 41 games-played. Hillis' assists are tied for seventh-most in the league. Former Firebird Eric Uba sits third on the scoresheet with 36 points (17G, 19A) in 42 contests.

Guelph defenseman Daniil Chayka (7G, 15A) leads the blue-line troops for his club. First-year forward Andrei Bakanov has 41 games and tops the freshman class with 16 total points (8G, 8A).

In goal, Nico Daws is expected to return to the ice this weekend after missing most of the past two weeks with an oblique muscle strain in his ribcage. He has appeared in 21 games this season. He's earned 13 victories including a league-high four shutouts. Daws carries the leagues lowest goals-against average (GAA) of 2.21 and the highest save-percentage (SAV%) of .935. Freshman goaltender Owen Bennett has played in 22 games and posted a .886 SAV% with a 3.76 GAA. Bennett has been credited with nine victories in the campaign thus far.

NHL: Cam Hillis (Montreal Canadians) and Fedor Gordeev (Minnesota Wild) are the two players on the current Guelph roster with NHL ties. In addition, forwards Pavel Gogolev and Andrei Bakanov join defender Luke Profaca and both goaltenders on the NHL Central Scouting's Midterm Rankings for the upcoming 2020 NHL Draft. Nico Daws is ranked the top overall goaltender in North America and Owen Bennett is ranked 13th across North America and second among draft-year netminders in the OHL.

12 notable Guelph Storm skaters to play in the NHL are Craig Anderson, Todd Bertuzzi, Tyler Bertuzzi, Dustin Brown, Ryan Callahan, Dan Cloutier, Drew Doughty, Aaron Downey, Robby Fabbri, Daniel Girardi, Manny Malhotra and Richard Panik.

Broadcast Coverage:

Friday evening's contest 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. Firebirds' broadcaster Dominic Hennig will call the play-by-play action and Andy Clark will provide color commentary on the Flint Firebirds Radio Network. Radio pre-game coverage begins 30 minutes prior to puck drop at 7:00 p.m.

The game will be televised live in Guelph on channel 20 / 510 (HD) for Rogers TV cable subscribers. It will also be televised live across the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pak on channel 470 for both Cogeco TV and Rogers 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. Along with Friday's game, 65 of the Firebirds' 68 games throughout the 2019-20 season are also scheduled to be televised live across the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pak.

All Flint Firebirds home and away games throughout the 2019-20 season can be watched anywhere in the world online on www.ohllive.com or on the OHL Live app. OHL Live is a league 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 per game, $69.99 for Flint Firebirds away games only, $179.99 for all 68 home and away Firebirds games and $279.99 for all 1,360 OHL games throughout the 2019-20 season.

Next Home Game:

After visiting the Soo Greyhounds Wednesday, Flint will play a home-and-home series against the Guelph Storm. Friday night is the away game at the Sleeman Centre in Guelph. The 'Birds return home Saturday to host the Storm for the club's annual 'Backpack Night.' Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. at the Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center in Flint.

The Firebirds are raising funds to feed children at risk of hunger throughout Eastern Michigan. In partnership with the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan, there will be a silent auction for 10 authentic custom Firebirds' player backpacks, which will be stitched with select Flint Firebirds players' last name, number and the Firebirds' logo. There will be a minimum retail value of $250 worth of products or services inside each bag from local sponsors on the arena concourse. A donation of $100 can feed a child for an entire school year. All 50/50 proceeds on this night will benefit The School Backpack Program.

The goal of the Backpack Program is to provide children at risk of hunger with easy access to healthy, non-perishable food items that meet their weekend nutritional needs during the school year. The program fills the gap in the federally funded feeding programs already in place at the schools.

The Food Bank of Eastern Michigan Backpack Program currently serves over 160 schools in 22 counties and over 8,000 children every weekend. In Genesee County there are 24,000 children who are food insecure. Currently there is only funding for 2,000 children to participate in the Backpack Program. The backpacks contain 2 Breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners and several snacks every weekend. The food is kid friendly, shelf stable, nutritious and easy for the child to prepare themselves.

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 Credit Union Event Center Box Office or online at ticketmaster.com here.

Flint Firebirds  at Guelph Storm

Date | Time Friday, Jan. 24 | 7:30 p.m.

Location Guelph, Ont. | Sleeman Centre (capacity 4,715)

Tickets Online | (519) 837-9690

TV - Rogers TV ch. 20 / 510 HD Live (Guelph)

- OHL Action Pak: Cogeco TV 470 & Rogers TV 470 Live (Ontario)

- Broadcast Coverage

Video Stream OHL Live

Radio WQUS 103.1 FM (Flint & Mid-Michigan) | Pregame Show: 7:00p

Radio (Mobile) US 103 App: Android | iPhone/iPad

Next Home Game Saturday, January 25th: Backpack Night

Social Media @FlintFirebirds   | Facebook | Instagram

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from January 24, 2020


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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