Firebirds Hit the Road for First Time this Year, Take on West Division Foe in the Soo Tonight
October 5, 2022 – Ontario Hockey League (OHL) – Flint Firebirds News Release
Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. – The 9th-ranked Firebirds will cross Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to invade Sault Ste. Marie and battle the Greyhounds tonight. This is Flint’s first road game of the new season, and home game number three for the Soo. Puck drop is set for 7:07 p.m. (ET) at the GFL Memorial Gardens.
On Saturday, the Firebirds surrendered a 3-2 defeat to the visiting Niagara IceDogs. Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers) netted both Flint goals, once at even strength and once on the man-advantage. Will Cranley (St. Louis Blues) made his regular-season debut with Flint. He turned aside 27 of 30 shots in an impressive performance, earning him credit with the Canadian Superstore Save of the Night. The Hounds played back-to-back home games versus the North Bay Battalion last weekend, splitting the series with a 4-1 loss followed by a 6-4 victory.
The last time the Birds and Greyhounds met was in the second round of last season’s OHL Playoffs. Flint won the best-of-four series in five games, launching the Firebirds into the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history. In regular-season play, these teams have met 35 times. Flint holds an all-time record of 14-18-1-2 against the Greyhounds, and a 7-9-0-1 at the GFL Memorial Gardens. Last year, the Birds went 2-1-0-2 in the series with Sault Ste. Marie with three of the five contests being settled by a single goal.
So far in the small sample size of the regular season so far, the Firebirds come in T-10th in the OHL on the powerplay at 20% (1-for-5) with the Greyhounds (2-for-10). Flint ranks 17th on the penalty kill at 66.7% (2-for-3) and the Hounds come in 72.7% (8-for-11).
Players to Watch
Flint Firebirds (0-1-0-0, West Division):
Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers) led the team on the scoresheets all season, logging a franchise-best 50 goals and pitching in 47 assists for 97 points in 66 games. Othmann scored both Flint goals in the regular-season home-opener last Saturday against the Niagara IceDogs. Amadeus Lombardi (Detroit Red Wings) finished second with 59 points (18 G, 41 A) in 67 contests, followed by Riley Piercey with 58 points (27 G, 31 A) in 59 games played.
The Red Wings drafted Lombardi in the most recent NHL Draft, and Piercey was invited to play for the Red Wings in their prospect tournament in Traverse City, MI where he scored four goals in his first game. He also played in a preseason contest with Detroit against Flint teammate Gavin Hayes with the Chicago Blackhawks at Little Ceasars Arena on September 28. Both Piercey and Hayes earned an assist in game one on Saturday.
Hayes topped last year’s freshman class with 49 points (19 G, 30 A), followed by Coulson Pitre’s 44 points (23 G, 21 A). Dmitry Kuzmin (Winnipeg Jets) led the blue-line group with 18 goals and 26 assists, followed by Tyler Deline with 38 points (7 G, 31 A).
Flint carries a trio of netminders, led by overage veteran Will Cranley (St. Louis Blues) who comes in with a 3.00 GAA and .900 SV% after saving 27 of 30 on Saturday. Second-year goalie Nathaniel Day carried the heftiest exhibition workload, making three appearances and recording a 3.62 GAA with a .898 SV% and one victory. Rookie goaltender Boe Piroski was acquired via trade from the Niagara IceDogs prior to pre-season play, and sports a 3.07 GAA and a .923 SV% through one pre-season game.
NHL: The Firebirds have six players with NHL ties consisting of Will Cranley (St. Louis Blues), Gavin Hayes (Chicago Blackhawks), Braeden Kressler (Toronto Maple Leafs), Dmitri Kuzmin (Winnipeg Jets), and Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers).
Despite Flint playing in just seven OHL seasons thus far, Alex Nedeljkovic (Detroit), Kole Sherwood (Columbus), and Ty Dellandrea (Dallas) are three former Firebirds to play in the NHL. Brennan Othmann (NY Rangers), Riley Piercey (Detroit), and Gavin Hayes (Chicago) all played in NHL Preseason contests this year, joining Firebirds’ alumni Ethan Keppen (Vancouver), Vili Saarijarvi (Detroit), and Jalen Smereck (Arizona). In total, the team has produced 24 signed or drafted players into the NHL.
Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (1-1-0-0, West Division):
The Soo return only three from their top-10 in points from a year ago. Bryce McConnell-Barker (New York Rangers) played in all 68 games last season as a rookie, scoring 23 times and adding 26 assists for 49 total points. Kalvyn Watson finished second of the three with 41 points (15 G, 26 A) in 47 games. Defenseman Kirill Kudtryavtsev (Vancouver Canucks) also played in all 68 games in his freshman year and had the third-most points of the three. He lit the lamp five times and chipped in 34 helpers in the campaign.
Jordan D’Intino generated the most offense for the Hounds in preseason play this year with six points (2 G, 4 A) in four games. McConnell-Barker only played in two contests, but scored twice and earned an assist to finish second. Newcomer Alex Kostov was one of several Sault Ste. Marie players with two points, but the only player out of the group with two goals.
The Hounds’ netminders are led by second-year goalie Samuel Ivanov, the club’s first-round pick (4th overall) of the 2020 OHL U-18 Draft. He appeared in 35 games last season, earning 20 wins while posting a 3.51 goals-against average (GAA) and a .875 save percentage (SV%). Fellow sophomore Charlie Schenkel played in seven contests during the 2021/22 campaign, winning twice and posting a 3.51 GAA with a SV% of .843. Schenkel played back-to-back nights last weekend, winning one of the games and earning a .907 SV% and a 3.58 GAA.
NHL: Bryce McConnell-Barker (New York Rangers) and Kirill Kudryavtsev (Vancouver Canucks) are the two Greyhounds with NHL ties.
Notable Greyhounds alumni to play in the NHL are Wayne Gretzky, Jeff Beukeboom, Jeff Carter, Paul Coffey, Trevor Daley, Adam Foote, Ron Francis, Bob Probert, Wayne Simmons, Joe Thornton, Rick Tocchet and John Vanbiesbrouk.
Broadcast Coverage:
Tonight’s contest against the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 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. Jack Sznewajs will call the play-by-play action on the Firebirds Hockey Network (FHN), starting with the pre-game show at 6:45 p.m. (ET).
All Flint Firebirds’ home and away games throughout the 2022-23 regular season can be watched anywhere in the world online on https://watch.chl.ca/ohl. CHL TV is the league’s new and improved video streaming platform that delivers high-quality live and on-demand coverage of all regular season and playoff games annually. The cost is $7.99 for 24-hour access, $29.99 for monthly access, $119.99 for all-access to the 2022-23 Firebirds and OHL season, or $179.99 for all-access to the entire 2022-23 CHL season.
Next Up: Flint will travel to Guelph to battle the Storm Friday night. The Birds will return to Dort Financial Center for a Saturday night tilt with the Sudbury Wolves. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. (ET) in Flint and tickets are available now from Etix.
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