OHL Flint Firebirds

Preview: Firebirds Look to Continue Winning-Ways Thursday vs. Niagara

February 19, 2020 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Flint Firebirds at Niagara IceDogs

Date | Time Thursday, February 20th | 7:00 p.m.

Location St. Catharines, Ont. | Meridian Centre (capacity 5,580)

Tickets Buy Online | (905) 687-3641

TV - Cogeco TV channel 10 | 700 HD Live (Niagara)

- OHL Action Pak: Rogers TV 466 & Cogeco TV 466 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, Feb. 22: UAW / United Way Night

Social Media @FlintFirebirds   | Facebook | Instagram

St. Catharines, Ont. - The Firebirds will ride two franchise-best winning streaks into the Niagara area Thursday night. Flint is on both a 13-game overall winning streak and a nine-game road winning streak. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. (ET) at the Meridian Centre (cap. 5,580) in downtown St. Catharines.

In addition to extending the club's longest overall and road-game winning streaks earlier this week, several other new milestones were set. Flint scored 12 goals against the Sting in Sarnia Monday afternoon, the most ever scored in a single game by the organization. They also won their 35th regular-season game, which is the most in a season, and their 17th away game, another record. Brennan Othmann became the all-time leader is goals-scored (14) and points (30) by a rookie for the team. Tyler Tucker (St. Louis Blues) set new records for points in a single game by a defender (7), and the highest plus/minus rating in a game at plus-8. Anthony Popovich also recorded his franchise-high 24th win in a single season between-the-pipes.

All-time, Flint holds a record of 2-6-1-0 in games against Niagara, but they've yet to win a game in St. Catharines. Thursday marks the second of two regular-season meetings between these clubs this campaign, and the only away game in the series. The Firebirds won the prior contest against the IceDogs this season, which was Flint's home-opener back on September 28. It went to a shootout before the 'Birds claimed the 3 - 2 victory. Evgeniy Oksentyuk and Connor Roberts potted the regulation goals, and Ty Dellandrea (Dallas Stars) connected in the shootout. Popovich made 35 saves on 37 shots to backstop the victory.

The Firebirds enter Thursday's contest in second place in the West Division and fourth in the Western Conference with a record of 35-17-1-1. The 'Birds are currently the second-highest scoring team in the 20-team OHL, having found the back of the net 241 times. The IceDogs are 17-33-4-1 on the season, ranking fourth in the Central Division and eighth in the Eastern Conference. On home ice this year, Niagara carries a record of 11-16-1-0 compared to Flint's road record of 17-9-0-1.

On special teams this season, the Firebirds hold the fourth-best overall penalty kill (PK) in the league at 81.8%. Niagara's penalty-killers rank 20th at an 70.5% efficiency. With the man-advantage the IceDogs rank eighth, scoring at a 22.0% rate. The 'Birds score at a rate of 19.2% on the power play, which ranks 16th. However, Flint's power-play unit has improved to seventh-best on the road this season, now converting at a 24.1% clip.

Players to Watch:

Flint Firebirds (35-17-1-1, 2nd West Division):

Ty Dellandrea (Dallas Stars) remains in the top spot on the stat sheet for Flint with a team-high 31 goals and 36 helpers in 67 points in 44 games. The captain has logged 18 multi-point games in that span, and is tied for the seventh-most game-winning tallies in the OHL with six. Belarusian forward Evgeniy Oksentyuk sits second with 28 goals and a team-high 37 assists for 65 points in 49 contests. Earlier this season, Oksentyuk carried Flint's longest-ever point-streak at 17 games (13G, 16A). In his past five games, he's scored five goals and collected 15 total points.

Defenseman Riley McCourt set the record for the most assists by a defenseman in Flint history this past weekend, and now holds the franchise records for most points (98), assists (71) and goals (27) by a Flint rearguard. For this season, he's third in total offense with 17 goals and 36 assists for 53 total points in 54 games. He ranks fifth among OHL blue-liners in points, is tied for fifth in goals and sixth in assists, and is tied for ninth with a .98 points-per-game average.

Tyler Tucker (St. Louis Blues) joined the Firebirds at the trade deadline this season. Since then, he has 20 points (7G, 13A) in 18 games. For the season, he has 15 tallies and 34 helpers for 49 points in 46 games. He ranks fourth among OHL rearguards with a 1.07 points-per-game average. He's also in the top-10 for points (7th), goals (T-8th) and assists (6th).

Several of the 'Birds have shown increased production of late. Jack Wismer has 11 goals and five assists for 16 total points in his last 11 games. Cody Morgan has 12 points (3G, 9A) in has past ten contests. Connor Roberts now has points in nine of his last 10, and Emmet Pierce has four points (1G, 3A) in his last three. Overage team leader Jack Phibbs logged four points (3G, 1A) in his last two appearances.

Brennan Othmann continues to lead Flint's freshman class with a new franchise-high 30 points, including a record 14 goals. Ty Dellandrea held the previous record for rookie-scoring with 13 tallies his freshman year in the league. Among all OHL rookies, Othmann is currently sixth in goals (14) and ninth in both total points (30) and points-per-game (.65).

In net, Anthony Popovich has played in 38 games this season. He's earned 24 victories, which are the most by any Flint netminder in a single season and fifth-most among OHL netminders this season. Popovich's goals-against average (GAA) is 3.71 and his save-percentage (SAV%) sits at .895. Luke Cavallin continues his breakout season, and now has 11 wins in 20 appearances. He carries a 3.68 GAA and a .895 SAV%. Cavallin recently became Flint's all-time leader in victories (26), minutes-played (4,482) and saves (2,317) by a Firebirds' netminder.

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.

Niagara IceDogs (17-33-4-1, 4th Central Division):

Novi, Michigan native Ivan Lodnia tops the 'Dogs in goals (23) and total points (54) through 33 games-played. Oliver Castleman ranks second with 21 tallies and a team-high 32 helpers for 53 points through 54 games. Jake Uberti is third with 29 points (16G, 13A) in 49 contests.

The Niagara rearguards are topped by Adrien Beraldo who has four goals and 15 assists through 42 games. The rookies are led by Cameron Snow who has 13 points (7G, 6A).

In goal, Port Huron, Michigan native Andrew MacLean has played in 32 games for the IceDogs this season, earning victories in 12 of them. He holds a 4.47 goals-against average (GAA) along with a .863 SAV%. Christian Sbaraglia has three victories in 22 appearances, along with a 4.97 GAA and a SAV% of .883.

NHL: Ivan Lodnia (Minnesota Wild) is lone player on Niagara's roster with NHL ties. Cameron Butler and Jake Uberti were also named to the NHL Central Scouting's Midterm Rankings for the upcoming 2020 NHL Draft.

Notable IceDogs' alumni to play in the NHL include Alex Pietrangelo, Ryan Strome, Dougie Hamilton, Tom Kuhnhackl, Jamie Oleksiak, Brett Ritchie, and Andrew Shaw.

Broadcast Coverage:

Thursday evening's contest against the Niagara IceDogs 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 Mike Karafilidis will provide color commentary on the Firebirds Hockey Radio Network. Pregame coverage will begin 30 minutes prior to puck drop at 6:30 p.m.

The game will be televised live in Niagara on channel 10 / 700 (HD) for Cogeco TV cable subscribers and across the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pak on channel 466 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 Thursday'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, $149.99 for all 68 home and away Firebirds games and $179.99 for all 1,360 OHL games throughout the 2019-20 season.

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics



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