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Preview: Firebirds Face-Off in Peterborough Saturday

January 18, 2020 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Peterborough, Ont. - The Firebirds will play game two of three consecutive road games Saturday night against the Petes. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m. at the Peterborough Memorial Centre (cap. 4,329) in Peterborough, Ontario.

The Firebirds enter Friday's contest in third place in the West Division and sixth in the Western Conference with a record of 22-16-1-1. The Petes are currently second in the East Division and third in the Eastern Conference with a record of 26-13-2-1. Flint's record in away games stands at 8-8-0-1 compared to Peterborough's home-ice record of 11-3-2-1. In their last ten games the Firebirds have gone 4-4-1-1 and the Petes are 3-6-1-0 in that span.

Saturday marks the second of two meetings between the two clubs, and the only contest in Peterborough this season. All-time the Firebirds hold a record of 3-6-0-0 versus the Petes, and have yet to win a game in Peterborough. Last season, the Petes won both contests.

The last time these teams met was October 12 in Flint. That night, the 'Birds skated to a 6 - 2 victory backstopped by a 26-save performance from Anthony Popovich.  Dennis Busby (Arizona Coyotes), Brennan Othmann and Cody Morgan each had a two-point game to lead the 'Birds' offensively. Declan Chisholm led Peterborough in scoring with one goal and one assist.

Firebirds' defenseman Tyler Deline hails from Peterborough. His family is the current billet (host) family for Petes' forward Zach Gallant, a former Detroit Red Wings draft pick and now San Jose Sharks prospect. (Read article from Peterborough Examiner Newspaper)

Quinn Yule is expected to play his first game in a Firebirds' sweater Saturday. Since being acquired in a trade with Ottawa last week, Yule has served the final three games of a carry-over four-game suspension. He's a 6-foot-6, 215-pound power-forward that comes to Flint in the midst of his third season in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and Saturday will be his 150th career regular-season OHL contest. For the season, Yule has five points (1G, 4A) and 25 penalty minutes in 34 games.

On special teams this season Flint's penalty-kill ranks third in the league, finding success at a rate of 81.2%. Peterborough's penalty-killers are ranked seventh at 79.9%. With the man-advantage, the Petes rank eighth in the league, converting at a rate of 23.4% and the Firebirds are 20th, scoring at a 17.3% clip.

Players to Watch:

Flint Firebirds (22-16-1-1, 3rd West Division):

Belarusian forward Evgeniy Oksentyuk tops the club with 21 goals and 27 assists for 48 points in 35 contests. He currently rides the longest active point streak in the OHL and in Firebirds' franchise history at 17 games (13G, 16A). Ty Dellandrea (Dallas Stars) carries a six-game point-streak (7G, 9A) in OHL play. For the season, he ranks third for Flint with 18 goals and 24 helpers in 30 games.

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. McCourt's 88 total points with Flint are just two-shy of tying the record for all-time points by a Firebirds' rearguard. For this season, McCourt is second in total offense with 11 goals and a team-high 32 assists for 43 total points in 40 games. His total points are fourth-most among OHL rearguards, his 11 tallies are tied for sixth, and his 32 helpers are fourth.

Brennan Othmann leads the freshman class for the 'Birds with 21 total points (9G, 12A) through 32 games. His point-total is tied for eighth among rookies in the league, his nine goals are eighth-most and his 12 helpers are tied for ninth.

In net, Anthony Popovich has played in 28 games this season. He's earned 15 victories, which are tied for the sixth-most in OHL. His goals-against average (GAA) is 3.76 and he's tied with goaltending partner Luke Cavallin for the eighth-best save-percentage (SAV%) in the league at .897. Cavallin has seven wins in 15 appearances and carries a 3.75 GAA.

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.

Peterborough Petes (31-7-0-0, 2nd East Division):

Semyon Der-Arguchintsev (Toronto Maple Leafs) leads Peterborough in scoring with 52 points in 37 contests. His 46 assists are third-most in the OHL and his 18 power-play helpers are tied for third. Newly acquired centerman Akil Thomas (Los Angeles Kings) is second for the Petes with 49 points (16G, 33A) in 29 games. Thomas is averaging 1.69 points-per-game, which ranks 10th in the league. Thomas has five points (1G, 4A) in two games since joining Peterborough. Rearguard Declan Chisholm (Winnipeg Jets) tops the defense and ranks third on the team with 48 points in 41 games. His point-total is tied for second-best among the OHL blue-liners and his 41 assists are the most by any defender in the league.

Young centerman Mason McTavish leads Peterborough's freshman class with 33 total points, which are tied for the most by any rookie in the league. His 25 tallies are the most by any first-year player.

In goal, Hunter Jones (Minnesota Wild) has played in 32 games for the Petes, earning 22 victories including two shutouts. Only one netminder in the league has more wins. He ranks fifth with a 2.85 goals-against average (GAA) and his .909 save-percentage (SAV%) is sixth. Sophomore netminder Tye Austin has four wins in 12 appearances and carries a 4.37 GAA with a .864 SAV%.

NHL: Peterborough features eight players with NHL ties, including Zach Gallant (San Jose Sharks), Liam Kirk (Arizona Coyotes), Nick Robertson (Toronto Maple Leafs), Semyon Der-Arguchintsev (Toronto Maple Leafs), Akil Thomas (Los Angeles Kings), Jacob Paquette (Nashville Predators), Declan Chisholm (Winnipeg Jets) and Hunter Jones (Minnesota Wild). Additionally, Tye Austin was named to the NHL Central Scouting's Midterm Rankings for the upcoming 2020 NHL Draft.

The Petes have more than 200 alumni that have played in the NHL. Four former Petes' players that were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame are Steve Yzerman, Bob Gainey, Larry Murphy, and Chris Pronger. Other notable players from Peterborough to play in the NHL include Tie Domi, Keith Crowder, Steve Downie, Danny O'Shea, Jamie Langenbrunner, Steve Montador, Mickey Redmond, Mike Ricci, Luke Richardson, and Eric Staal.

Broadcast Coverage:

Saturday 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 with pre-game coverage beginning 35 minutes prior to puck drop at 6:30 p.m.

Saturday's game will be televised live in Peterborough on Channel 10 / 700 (HD) for Cogeco TV cable subscribers. The game will also be televised live across the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pak on channel 468 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 Saturday'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.

Flint Firebirds at Peterborough Petes

Date | Time Saturday, Jan. 18 | 7:05 p.m.

Location Peterborough, Ont. | Peterborough Memorial Centre (4,329)

Tickets Online | (705) 743-3561

TV - Cogeco TV ch. 10 / 700 HD Live (Peterborough)

- OHL Action Pak: Cogeco TV 468 & Rogers TV 468 Live (Ontario)

Video Stream OHL Live

Radio WQUS 103.1 FM (Flint & Mid-Michigan) | Pregame Show: 6:30p

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

Next Home Game Saturday, January 25th: Backpack Night

Social Media @FlintFirebirds   | Facebook | Instagram


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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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