OHL Flint Firebirds

Preview: Flint, Saginaw Continue Battle for I-75 Divide Cup Wednesday

Published on December 16, 2015 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


The Flint Firebirds (13-14-1-2) square off against the Saginaw Spirit (13-16-1-1) Wednesday night for game six of the I-75 Divide Cup, presented by Coors Light. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m. (EST) at the Dow Event Center in Saginaw, Mich.

The Flint Firebirds currently hold a 3-2 series lead over Saginaw but the Spirit won the most recent contest, 4-3 in a shootout at the Dort Federal Event Center on Friday, Dec. 4. (Watch Highlights)

Tickets are $15 for upper level, $17 for lower level and $19 for executive level seating and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com or by phone at (989) 497-7747.

Radio & TV Coverage

Fans unable to attend Wednesday's game can listen live in Flint and Mid-Michigan on 1330 AM WTRX Sports Radio and around the world online on the iHeartRadio app. Dominic Hennig will call the play-by-play action on the Flint Firebirds Hockey Radio Network. Pregame coverage will begin at 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday's game against Saginaw will be televised live across the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pak on cable channel 457. 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 Wednesday afternoon's game, 64 of the Firebirds' 68 games throughout the 2015-16 season are also scheduled to be televised live across the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pack.

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:

Will Bitten leads the Firebirds with 15 goals and 22 assists. Connor Chatham (New Jersey '14) has tallied points in 9 of his last 12 games and is second on the Firebirds with 24 points in 29 games this season while Ryan Moore is third with 23 points in 30 games. Chatham leads the Firebirds against Saginaw with three goals and two assists vs. the rival this season.

Goaltender Brent Moran (Dallas '14) holds a 3.07 goals against average (GAA) and a .890 save percentage (SV%). Moran was also a member of the Canada U18 team that participated in the 2014 IIHF World Hockey Championship in Finland.

There are four players on the Flint Firebirds roster that are drafted in the National Hockey League. Firebirds captain Alex Peters and goaltender Brent Moran were both selected by the Dallas Stars in the 2014 NHL Draft. In the same draft, the New Jersey Devils nabbed Connor Chatham in the third round. Most recently, Vili Saarijärvi was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings this past June in the 2015 NHL Draft.

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

Saginaw:

Artem Artemov leads the Spirit in points with 10 goals and 15 assists in 30 games played this season while Dyan Sadowy (San Jose '14) leads Saginaw in goals with 14 scored in 27 games played. After returning from injury on Dec. 4 against Flint, Mitchell Stephens (Tampa Bay '15) has recorded 5 points in two games.

Evan Cormier is Saginaw's primary goaltender with an 11-11-1-1 record including a .896 save percentage and a 3.40 goals against average.

NHL Central Scouting has identified Saginaw's Evan Cormier (goaltender), Keaton Middleton (defenseman), Markus Niemelainen (defenseman) and Tye Felharber (center) as players to watch in their November 2015 watch list for the 2016 NHL Draft.

The Saginaw Spirit saw five players attend NHL training camps this fall: Artem Artemov (New York Rangers), Marcus Crawford (Ottawa), Dylan Sadowy (San Jose), Mitchell Stephens (Tampa Bay) and Chase Stewart (Arizona).

Special Teams

The Flint Firebirds power play ranks 15th out of 20 teams in the OHL converting at a 15.9% success-rate scoring 20 goals on 126 opportunities. On the penalty kill, the Firebirds are currently 15th in the OHL, operating at 77.7%. Flint has scored two shorthanded goals and has successfully killed 101 of 130 penalties this season. The Firebirds are recording the 11th least penalty minutes in the OHL with an average of 12.9 per game.

Saginaw is 19th on the power play, scoring 14% of the time and 17th on the penalty kill at 76.3%.

Next Home Game: College Night

Featuring $2 beers and $2 hot dogs, every home Firebirds game Monday through Thursday is college night! The Firebirds host the Hamilton Bulldogs on Tuesday, December 29th in the final home game of the 2015 calendar year at 7 p.m. All college students with valid I.D. receive $2 off their admission on college nights!

Tickets are $12 for bronze, $15 for silver and $19 for corporate/gold seating and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com, by visiting the Dort Federal Event Center Box Office Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. or by phone at (810) 744-0580.

Saarijärvi Named to Finnish National Team WJC Selection Camp Roster

Firebirds' defenseman Vili Saarijärvi is among the 27 players that have been selected to Team Finland's World Junior selection camp roster for the 2016 World Junior Championship to be held in Helsinki, Finland from December 26th to January 5th.

The IIHF Ice Hockey World Junior Championships (WJC), commonly known simply as the World Juniors, is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for national under-20 ice hockey teams from around the world. It is traditionally held in late December, ending in the first week of January.

The main tournament features the top ten ranked hockey nations in the world, comprising the 'Top Division', from which a world champion is crowned. Canada is the defending champion of the tournament, after having beaten Russia to win the 2015 edition on January 5th.

Firebirds Give Back Throughout Holiday Season

The Flint Firebirds commitment to making an impact on the Flint and Genesee County Community is in full swing this holiday season. The Firebirds are partnering with numerous non-profit organizations to give back to the community that has showed great support for the club in its inaugural season in the OHL.

Check out the Flint Firebirds Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from December 16, 2015


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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