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OHL Flint Firebirds

Preview: Firebirds Host Guelph for Final Game of the Season

March 19, 2016 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Flint Firebirds vs. the Guelph Storm
Flint Firebirds vs. the Guelph Storm
(Flint Firebirds, Credit: Rena Laverty/Flint Firebirds Hockey Club)

The Firebirds return home for the final game of the 2015-16 inaugural season Saturday night against the Guelph Storm. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Dort Federal Event Center and there are plenty of specials and fan giveaways planned throughout the game. Saturday's game is also billet recognition and fan appreciation night as well as sponsor appreciation night.

The Firebirds are 1-2 against the Guelph Storm through three games this season. Guelph earned a 5-3 victory in Flint on Nov. 7, before the Firebirds won 5-2 in Guelph on Nov. 20 (Highlights ). The Storm won the most recent contest 4-1 in Guelph on Jan. 10 (Highlights ).

Tickets for the final game of the season are on sale now and are $12/Bronze, $15/Silver, $19/Gold and $25/VIP. Tickets can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com or by visiting or calling the Dort Federal Event Center Box Office Monday thru Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. at (810) 744-0580. Saturday and Sunday game day box office hours begin at 10 a.m.

Radio & TV Coverage Fans unable to attend the game Friday can listen live in Flint and Mid-Michigan on 1330 AM and online on the 1330 AM WTRX Sports Radio app or the iHeartRadio App . Dominic Hennig will call the play-by-play action on the Flint Firebirds Hockey Radio Network with pregame coverage beginning at 7:00 p.m.

Saturday's game against the Storm will be televised live on Rogers Ch. 20 in Guelph and across the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pak on Rogers channel 461. 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, 64 of the Firebirds' 68 games throughout the 2015-16 season were televised live across the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pak.

All Flint Firebirds home and away games throughout the 2015-16 season can be watched anywhere in the world online on OHL Live and 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 2015-16 season.

Players to Watch:

Flint:

http://flintfirebirds.com/stats/player.php?idg84Will Bitten leads the Firebirds with 65 points in 66 games and has tallied five points in the last six games. Bitten has earned multi-point nights 16 times in this campaign and is considered a top prospect heading into the NHL Draft this June.

Ryan Moore is second on the Firebirds in points, scoring 24 goals and adding 23 assists for a total of 47 points in 67 games. Moore has three points in the last five games.

Luke Kirwan is on a two-game point streak after recording a goal and an assist against London on Wednesday and Flint's lone goal last night against the Greyhounds. Kirwan has 10 goals and six assists for 16 points in 62 games this season.

Stephan Seeger earned his first three-point game in Wednesday night's contest against London. Seeger was one goal shy of recording his first OHL hat-trick, racking up two goals and an assist in his most recent game.

Defenseman Vili Saarijärvi (Detroit '15) is third on the team with 12 goals and 43 points in 48 games this season. He is currently ranked 8th among all the defenseman in the OHL in points.

In net, Brent Moran (Dallas '14) holds a 3.86 goals against average (GAA) and a .881 save percentage (SAV%). Moran has a record of 13-25-4-0 in his 4th campaign in the OHL.

Flint's rookie netminder Kyle Keyser has a 4.31 GAA and a .881 SAV%. Rounding out the Firebirds' crease is rookie netminder Matthew Menna . Menna has a 4.72 GAA and a .862 SV%.

In addition, Will Bitten, Nicholas Caamano , Jacob Collins , Dane Johnstone , Matyáš Kantner , Luke Kirwan , Håkon Nilsen and Keenan Reynolds are eligible to be selected in the 2016 NHL Draft in Buffalo in June.

Guelph

James McEwan leads the Storm in points with 24 goals and 25 assists for a total of 49 points in 66 games this season. Giviani Smith is second on the Guelph roster with 40 points in 63 games and Garrett McFadden follows with 36 points in 66 games.

Michael Giugovaz is Guelph's primary goaltender. He holds a 14-20-5-2 record including a 3.64 GAA and a .898 SAV%. Giugovaz is tied with former Firebirds goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic for the fourth most saves in the OHL with 1,341 saves this season. Mississauga's Jack Flinn is first with 1,720 saves.

The Storm have five players that are eligible for the upcoming NHL Draft this June: Noah Carroll, Christian Mieritz, James McEwan, Nicholas Sicoly and Giviani Smith.

Special Teams: Flint is 20th in the OHL on the power play and is converting at a 14.1% success-rate , scoring 37 goals on 263 opportunities. On the penalty kill, the Firebirds are 19th in the OHL, currently operating at 76% . Flint has scored four shorthanded goals and has successfully killed 206 of 271 penalties this season. The Firebirds are near the middle of the pack with the 11th least minutes in the OHL recording an average of 11.9 minutes per game.

Guelph's power play is ranked 19th in the OHL, scoring 14.4% of the time and is 18th on the penalty kill at 76.5%. The Storm have registered the fourth most amount of penalty minutes in the OHL averaging 14.6 minutes in the box per game.

Firebirds Listed in NHL Draft Rankings Three Flint Firebirds players are listed on the NHL Central Scouting's Midterm list which ranks North American skaters eligible for the 2016 NHL Draft this June in Buffalo, NY.Flint's Will Bitten is ranked #42 among North American skaters. Nicholas Caamano is listed #148 and Luke Kirwan is the third current Firebirds player at #166. (Read More )

Firebirds Raise Over $100,000 For Non-Profit Organizations Since the Firebirds first major event in Flint, Michigan on February 20^th (Detroit Red Wings & Flint Generals Alumni Event), Flint's newest hockey team, in just their first year in the region has raised over $100,000 for various non-profit organizations in Genesee County. (Read More )

Flint Firebirds Dressing Room & Facilities Home of the Flint Firebirds, the Dort Federal Event Center received a multi-million dollar renovation in the summer of 2015 that provides the club a first class dressing room, facilities and other amenities to help the players and staff maximize their careers and goals to advance to the National Hockey League. Click here to see a photo album of the Flint Firebirds dressing room and facilities.

Group Ticket Packages Whether you're entertaining corporate clients, celebrating a special occasion, having a fun night out with the family and friends or rewarding employees...we have a fun, easy and affordable plan for you . It's more than a ticket, it's an experience! Contact the Dort Federal Event Center Box Office at (810) 744-0580 for more information today

Flint Firebirds Hockey Radio Coach's Show Join the Voice of the Firebirds Dominic Hennig from 6-7 p.m. for the FINAL coach's show this Tuesday night on 1330 WTRX Sports Radio and around the world online on the iHeartRadio App here . Hennig will recap the previous week of events, preview the upcoming games on the ice and take your phone calls, emails and tweets! Tune in Tuesday from 6-7 p.m. on 1330 AM WTRX Sports Radio.

Firebirds Gear Stop by the Flint Firebirds Merchandise Store at the Dort Federal Event Center, Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. to stock up on the best Firebirds' gear around. Jerseys, shirts, hats, hoodies, game pucks, mouse pads and other accessories and collectables are available at the Flint Firebirds Merchandise Store.

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics




Images from this story

Flint Firebirds vs. the Guelph Storm
Flint Firebirds vs. the Guelph Storm
(Rena Laverty/Flint Firebirds Hockey Club)		   



Ontario Hockey League Stories from March 19, 2016


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