OHL Flint Firebirds

Preview: Firebirds Wrap-Up Decade in Windsor Tuesday

Published on December 31, 2019 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Windsor, Ont. - The Firebirds complete the home-and-home-series with the Spitfires Tuesday afternoon in Windsor. Puck drop is set for 2:05 p.m. (ET) at the WFCU Centre (cap. 6,450).

The Firebirds enter Tuesday's contest in third place in the West Division with a record of 19-14-0-0. The Spit's are currently in second in the West with a 20-8-4-0 record. On the road this year, the 'Birds are 7-7-0-0 compared to Windsor's home record of 12-2-3-0. In their past 10 games, Flint has gone 4-6-0-0 and the Spit's are 5-4-1-0. Sunday marks the third of six meetings between the two clubs, and the second of three in Windsor. All-time, Flint holds a record of 9-16-1-0 versus the Spitfires, and a record of 3-9-1-0 at the WFCU Centre. Last season the 'Birds went 4-2-0-0 in the series, winning one of three games on the road.

Flint was unable to overcome the Windsor Sunday, falling 5-2 in front of more than 3,500 fans at the Dort Federal Event Center. For Flint, Evgeniy Oksentyuk extend his point streak to ten games (7G, 10A) with a goal and an assist, Durham's streak grew to five games (2G, 3A) and Dennis Busby (Arizona Coyotes) lit the lamp. Flint outshot Windsor 44-32. Luke Cavallin made 27 saves on 31 shots between the pipes. Connor Corcoran (Vegas Golden Knights) led the Spitfires' offense with a goal and two assists.

On special teams this season, the Overall, Flint's PK is killing penalties at a rate of 80.3%, which is 7th-best in the OHL. Windsor's penalty-killers are ranked 13th at 77.5%. With the man-advantage, the 'Spits rank second in the league, converting at a rate of 29.1% and the Firebirds are 20th, scoring at a 16.8% clip.

Players to Watch:

Flint Firebirds (19-14-0-0, 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.

Belarusian forward Evgeniy Oksentyuk ranks second (behind Dellandrea) on the team with 15 goals and 21 assists for 36 points in 28 contests. He is also on a ten-game point streak (7G, 10A). Defenseman Riley McCourt ranks third with ten goals and a team-high 26 assists for 36 total points in 33 games. His total points are tied for fourth-most among OHL rearguards, his ten tallies rank sixth, and his 26 helpers are tied for fourth. Jake Durham ranks fourth in scoring for the 'Birds with 14 goals and 17 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 rides a five-game point streak (2G, 3A) into Tuesday's contest.

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 eighth, and his 18 total points are tied for sixth among the OHL's freshman class.

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 13 appearances, and he carries a 3.83 GAA with a .896 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 (20-8-4-0, 2nd West Division):

Fourth-year forward Tyler Angle (Columbus Blue Jackets) leads the Spitfires in goals and total points. He has 19 goals and 20 helpers through 32 games-played. Egor Afanasyev (Nashville Predators) leads the club with 22 assists and has 36 points in 32 games. Afanasyev rides a seven-game point streak (6G, 5A) into Tuesday's tilt. Defenseman Connor Corcoran (Vegas Golden Knights) ranks third on the club and leads the blue-line unit with 12 tallies and 18 helpers in 32 games.

First-year defenseman Ruben Rafkin has one goal and 16 assists to top the Spit's rookie class with 17 points through 30 contests. His 16 helpers are the second-most among all first-year players in the league.

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 15 contests, earning eight wins along with a 3.70 GAA and a .878 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:

Tuesday afternoon's contest against the Windsor Spitfires 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 Radio Network. Pregame coverage will begin 30 minutes prior to puck drop at 1:30 p.m.

Tuesday's game will also be televised live in Windsor on YourTV channel 11 / 700 (HD) for Cogeco TV cable subscribers, and across 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 Tuesday'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.

Next Home Game:

The Firebirds return to the friendly confines of the Dort Federal Event Center Friday to host the Oshawa Generals, and Saturday when the London Knights are in town. The games are both part of the Firebirds Fight Hunger Can Drive. In partnership with the Foodbank of Eastern Michigan, fans can bring in five non-perishable food items to the Firebirds' merchandise store, The Birds Nest, at the Dort Federal Event Center for a complimentary sponsored Silver Level ticket, courtesy of Dort Federal Credit Union.

Friday's game also marks another one of the 'Firebirds 4 Pack Fridays,' featuring 4 tickets, 4 hot dogs and 4 sodas starting as low as $60, sponsored by Little Caesars Pizza!  Join us on Friday nights to catch entertaining OHL hockey at the Dort Federal Event Center in Flint, Michigan.

Firebirds 4 Pack packages are only available for Friday games in advance of game day. For more information, contact the Dort Federal Event Center Box Office by calling (810) 744-0580 or email mary@dorteventcenter.com.

Flint Firebirds at Windsor Spitfires

Date | Time Tuesday, Dec. 31 | 2:05 p.m.

Location Windsor, Ont. | WFCU Centre (capacity 6,450)

Tickets Online | (519) 254-5000

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

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

Video Stream OHL Live

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

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

Next Home Game Friday, Jan. 3 vs. Oshawa (Promotions)

Social Media @FlintFirebirds   | Facebook  | Instagram 

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from December 31, 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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