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OHL Flint Firebirds

Preview: Firebirds Host Windsor Sunday on Family 'FUN'Day

December 29, 2019 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Flint, Mich. - The Firebirds return to action Sunday afternoon for the club's final Family "FUN"day of the season as they host the Windsor Spitfires. Puck drop is set for 2:00 p.m. (ET) at the Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center (cap. 4,400) in Flint.

The Firebirds enter Sunday's contest in third place in the West Division with a record of 19-13-0-0. The Spitfires are currently in second in the West with a 19-8-4-0 record. On home ice this year, the 'Birds are 12-6-0-0 compared to Windsor's road record of 7-6-1-0. In their past 10 games, Flint has gone 5-5-0-0 and the Spit's are 5-4-1-0. Both clubs played Saturday night. Windsor dropped a 4 - 1 decision to the Spirit in Saginaw and the Firebirds defeated the Sarnia Sting 4 - 1 at the sold-out Dort Federal Event Center in Flint.

The last time these clubs met was October 17 in Windsor when The Firebirds dropped a 7 - 5 decision to the Spitfires. Despite leading three different times during the game, Windsor's three power-play goals proved to be the difference in the contest. Flint rearguard Owen Lalonde, who hails from Windsor, played his first game as a member of the Firebirds and scored his first goal plus earned an assist for a two-point night. Evgeniy Oksentyuk picked up four assists and Riley McCourt logged three helpers. Egor Afanasyev (Nashville Predators) and Tyler Angle (Columbus Blue Jackets) each earned three points that night to lead the offense for the Spit's.

Sunday marks the second of six meetings between the two clubs, and the first of three in Flint. All-time, Flint holds a record of 9-15-1-0 versus the Spitfires. The series is tied at six wins each in Flint. Last season the 'Birds went 4-2-0-0 in the series, winning all three home games.

On special teams this season, the Firebirds have the league's best penalty-kill (PK) on home ice, finding success 85.3% of the time. Overall, Flint's PK is killing penalties at a rate of 79.8%, which is 7th-best in the OHL. Windsor's penalty-killers are ranked 12th at 77.0%. With the man-advantage, the 'Spits rank second in the league, converting at a rate of 30.1% and the Firebirds are 20th, scoring at a 16.9% clip.

Promotions:

Sunday afternoon's game versus the Windsor Spitfires is the third and final Firebirds' Family "FUN"day of the season. Firebirds' Sunday "FUN"day games feature up to two free kids' tickets (12 & under) with the purchase of an adult ticket, as well as a post-game 'skate with Firebirds players and autograph signing session after the game. Additionally, there will bounce houses prior to game in the Dort Federal Event Center lobby for the kids and all fans in attendance will receive a pair of thunderstix, compliments of Dort Federal Credit Union!

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 (19-13-0-0, 3rd West Division):

Flint will be missing their captain Ty Dellandrea (Dallas Stars) and six other players. Dellandrea is representing Canada in the prestigious 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ostrava and Trinec, Czech Republic, Dec. 26-Jan. 5. Flint is also expecting to be missing Ryan Bangs, Zacharie Giroux, Peyton Grainer, Braeden Kressler, Vladislav Kolyachonok (Florida Panthers) and Evan Vierling.

After last night's goal to get the Firebirds' going, Oksentyuk ranks second (behind Dellandrea) on the team with 14 goals and 20 assists for 34 points in 27 contests. He is also on a nine-game point streak (6G, 9A). Defenseman Riley McCourt ranks third with ten goals and a team-high 24 assists for 34 total points in 32 games. His total points are sixth-most among OHL rearguards, his ten tallies rank fifth, and his 24 helpers are tied for sixth. Jake Durham ranks fourth in scoring for the 'Birds with 14 goals and 16 assists on the season. He currently has 67 career goals, tying him with former Firebirds' forward Nick Caamano for third-most in franchise history. Durham and Ethan Keppen (Vancouver Canucks) ride a four-game point streaks into Sunday's contest. Durham has two goals and two helpers in that span, and Keppen has three tallies with two assists.

Brennan Othmann remains red-hot in his first OHL season, topping the Firebirds' rookie class and ranking inside the top-10 among all rookies in several categories. His eight goals are tied for seventh-most, his ten assists are tied for seventh, and his 18 total points are fifth among the OHL's freshman class. Othmann is on a three-game point streak (3G, 2A).

Between the pipes, Anthony Popovich has played in 23 games this season. He's earned 13 victories, which are tied for the fourth-most in OHL. His goals-against average (GAA) is 3.58 and he's tied for sixth-best save-percentage (SAV%) in the league at .902. Luke Cavallin has six wins in 12 appearances, and he carries a 3.79 GAA with a .898 SAV%.

NHL: The Firebirds have four players with NHL ties consisting of Dennis Busby (Arizona Coyotes), Ty Dellandrea (Dallas Stars), Ethan Keppen (Vancouver Canucks), and Vladislav Kolyachonok (Florida Panthers). In addition, Evan Vierling was named to the November 2020 NHL Central Scouting 'Players to Watch' list.

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 17 drafted or signed NHL players in that short time.

Windsor Spitfires (19-8-4-0, 2nd West Division):

Fourth-year forward Tyler Angle (Columbus Blue Jackets) leads the Spitfires in goals and total points. He has 19 goals and 19 helpers through 31 games-played. Egor Afanasyev (Nashville Predators) leads the club with 21 assists and has 34 points in 31 games. Afanasyev rides a six-game point streak (5G, 4A) into Sunday's tilt. Daniel D'Amico ranks third with 11 goals and 17 helpers.

Connor Corcoran (Vegas Golden Knights) leads the blue-line unit with 11 tallies and 16 helpers in 31 games. First-year defenseman Ruben Rafkin has one goal and 16 assists to top the Spit's rookie class with 17 points through 29 contests.

The Spit's will be without starting netminder Kari Piiroinen, as he is representing his home country of Finland in the 2020 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship. Rookie netminder Xavier Medina has appeared in 14 contests, earning seven wins along with a 3.82 GAA and a .870 SAV%. Matt Tovell is the backup to Medina until Piiroinen returns, and he has yet to play in the OHL.

NHL: Windsor's roster features four players with NHL ties, consisting of defenseman Connor Corcoran (Vegas Golden Knights) and forwards Tyler Angle (Columbus Blue Jackets), Egor Asanasyev (Nashville Predators) and Curtis Douglas (Dallas Stars). Additionally, Will Cuylle, Jean-Luc Foudy, Kyle McDonald, Ruben Rafkin and Dylan Robinson were all listed on the 2019 NHL Central Scouring November 'Players to Watch' list for the upcoming 2020 NHL Draft.

Notable Windsor alumni to play in the NHL include Ed Jovanovski, Matt Cooke, Cory Stillman, Jason Spezza, Steve Ott, Jason York, Josh Bailey, Tim Gleason, Mike Rupp, Cam Fowler, Taylor Hall, Adam Henrique, Kyle Wellwood, Todd Warriner, Steve Downie, Jamie Allison, Ryan Ellis and current Firebirds' head coach Eric Wellwood.

Broadcast Coverage:

Sunday afternoon'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 on the Firebirds Hockey Network (FHN). Pregame coverage will begin 30 minutes prior to puck drop at 1:30 p.m. New this season, fans can watch the FHN TV Pregame Show live on Facebook and Twitter, also beginning at 1:30 p.m.

Sunday's game will also be televised live in Windsor on YourTV channel 11 / 700 (HD) for Cogeco TV cable subscribers. Additionally, the game will be televised live throughout the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pak on channel 467 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 Sunday'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.

Windsor Spitfires at Flint Firebirds

Date | Time  Sunday, Dec. 29 | 2:00 p.m.

Location  Flint, Mich. | Dort Federal Event Center (Directions)

Tickets  Ticketmaster.com | (810) 744-0580

Promotions - Family FUNday Sunday

- Up to 2 FREE kid's tickets with paid adult

- Postgame skate with the team

- Thunderstix giveaway (Dort Federal Credit Union)

TV - YourTV channel 11 / 700 HD Live (Windsor)

- OHL Action Pak: Cogeco ch. 467 & Rogers ch. 467 Live (Ontario)

- Firebirds' Broadcast Coverage

Video Stream - TV Pregame Show (1:30pm)

- OHL Live

Radio  WQUS 103.1 FM (Flint & Mid-Michigan) | Pregame Show: 1:30p

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

Social Media  @FlintFirebirds   | Facebook  | Instagram 

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from December 29, 2019


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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