Firebirds Kick off 3 Games in 3 Days by Hosting Kingston Tonight
November 4, 2022 – Ontario Hockey League (OHL) – Flint Firebirds News Release
Flint, Mich. – After enjoying a few days off, the Firebirds are back in action tonight to launch a three-games-in-three-days weekend. First up is the Kingston Frontenacs for a Friday night tilt in Flint. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. (ET) at the Dort Financial Center.
Flint enters tonight’s contest with a record of 7-6-0-0, ranking them fourth in the West Division. The Fronts sit at a 7-5-0-1 record, placing them third in the East Division. Tonight marks the first of two meetings with Kingston and is the only contest scheduled in Flint between these clubs. This season, Flint is 1-0 in their lone contest against an East Division foe. The last time these teams met was February 29, 2020, at the Dort Financial Center. That night, the Fronts skated off with a 6-1 victory. All-time, Flint is 3-7-0-0 against Kingston and has gone 1-4-0-0 at home in the series.
The Firebirds’ most recent tilt was on home ice Sunday afternoon when the first-place Mississauga Steelheads escaped with a narrow 2-1 victory at the Dort Financial Center. Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers) netted his OHL-leading tenth goal of the season, which would stand as the lone marker for the home team. Will Cranley (St. Louis Blues) turned aside 33 of the 35 shots he faced in an impressive outing to ensure Flint stayed within striking distance. Kingston played in Saginaw last night, surrendering a 3-2 decision to the Spirit after leading 2-0 with only five minutes remaining in regulation. Paul Hughes and Matthew Soto scored the two tallies for the Frontenacs, and Mason Vacarri made 21 saves between the pipes.
On special teams, the Firebirds have converted on 20.3% of their power-play chances, ranking them 13th in the league. The Frontenacs have found success 21.0% of the time, which is currently 11th-best in the OHL. Flint has killed off 77.2% of their penalties, the 12th-best rate in the league. Kingston has the league’s top penalty-kill rate at 88.9%.
Tickets and Promotions:
Tonight’s game is Flint’s annual ‘Pucks for Paws’ Night, benefiting the Humane Society of Genesee County. Fans can bring one dog (6 months or older) to the game per each adult. No cats or other animals will be allowed, and please don’t bring any aggressive dogs. All dogs must be on a leash no longer than six feet, and the leashes can’t be retractable. Fans must bring up-to-date dog license paperwork with rabies vaccine information. A minimum donation of $10 in dog/cat pet products or a $10 dog ticket is required. All of the details and requirements for Pucks for Paws Night are available HERE. Tickets for Friday’s contest are available from ETIX HERE.
Players to Watch
Flint Firebirds (7-6-0-0, 4th West Division):
Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers) remains atop the scoresheet for the Birds, now with 10 goals and 13 assists in 13 games. He was recently named the OHL Player of the Month for October, and he ranks second in the league in points, third in assists, and sits in a three-way tied for the second-most goals in the league in a group that includes Frontenacs’ forward Francesco Arcuri (Dallas Stars).
Three Flint players are tied for the second-most points on the club, each with 16 points through 13 contests. Riley Piercey has seven goals and nine helpers, Gavin Hayes (Chicago Blackhawks) has eight goals and eight assists and Amadeus Lombardi (Detroit Red Wings) has five tallies plus 11 assists.
Braeden Kressler (Toronto Maple Leafs) has only played five games this season but has already pitched in nine points, stemming from six goals and three assists. His points-per-game average of 1.80 is currently the fourth-highest in the OHL. Dmitry Kuzmin (Winnipeg Jets) tops the defensive unit with ten points, which are all assists thus far. He’s tied for third among all OHL blue-liners in helpers to date.
Flint carries a trio of netminders, led by overage veteran Will Cranley (St. Louis Blues). Cranley has played in ten games and comes in with a 3.25 goals-against average (GAA) and a .912 save percentage (SV%) with five wins so far. His save percentage is the fourth-highest in the league. Second-year goalie Nathan Day has now appeared in five games this season, posting a 4.76 GAA and .830 SV% with two victories. Boe Piroski made 10 saves on 11 shots in a 20-minute appearance thus far.
NHL: The Firebirds have six players with NHL ties consisting of Will Cranley (St. Louis Blues), Amadeus Lombardi (Detroit Red Wings), Gavin Hayes (Chicago Blackhawks), Braeden Kressler (Toronto Maple Leafs), Dmitri Kuzmin (Winnipeg Jets), and Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers). Additionally, Coulson Pitre, Tristan Bertucci, Ethan Hay, and goaltender Nathan Day were listed on NHL Central Scouting’s 2023 Preliminary Draft Rankings.
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.
Kingston Frontenacs (7-5-0-1, 3rd East Division):
Francesco Arcuri (Dallas Stars) tops the stats for the Fronts with 14 points (10 G, 4 A) through 13 games. As previously mentioned, Arcuri is in a three-way tie with Flint’s Othmann and Michael Misa (Saginaw) for the second-most goals in the league. He also ranks second with six power-play tallies and shares the league lead with three game-winning markers. Linus Hemstrom is one point behind in second with five goals and eight assists. Matthew Soto maintains third place with nine total points (4 G, 5 A).
The top defender on the scoresheet is Alec Belanger with five total points (2 G, 3 A). Topping Kingston’s rookie class in goals-scored is Adam Cavallin, the younger brother of Flint’s longest-tenured netminder all time Luke Cavallin. Adam’s three goals are also tied for seventh-most out of all OHL freshmen.
Between the pipes, Ivan Zhigalov (Colorado Avalanche) has played in nine contests and earned four victories. His goals-against average (GAA) stands at 2.65 and he has a .919 save-percentage (SV%). Rookie Mason Vaccari has three wins and one shutout through four appearances, and sports a 2.26 GAA with a SV% of .923.
NHL: The Frontenacs have five players NHL ties, including forwards Francesco Arcuri (Dallas Stars) and Paul Ludwinski (Chicago Blackhawks), defensemen Braden Hache (Florida Panthers) and Ben Roger (Ottawa Senators), and goaltender Ivan Zhigalov (Colorado Avalanche). Kingston also has four players listed on the NHL Central Scouting’s 2023 Preliminary Draft Rankings, including Quinton Burns, Linus Hemstrom, Owen Outwater, and Matthew Soto.
A few notable former Kingston Frontenacs to play in the NHL are Shane Wright, Sean Avery, Sam Bennett, Phil Bourque, Paul Coffey, Lawson Crouse and Philipp Grubauer.
Broadcast Coverage:
This evening’s contest against the Kingston Frontenacs 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).
Today’s game will also air live across the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pak on channel 463 for both Rogers TV and Cogeco 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.
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 2021-22 Firebirds and OHL season, or $179.99 for all-access to the entire 2021-22 CHL season.
Next Up: The Firebirds are right back in action at the Dort Financial Saturday night as they host the Guelph Storm for the first time this season. Saturday’s game marks the Firebirds’ annual Autism Awareness Night, sponsored by Genesee Health Systems. Flint will host a sensory-friendly game, and puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. (ET). Tickets for Saturday’s contest are available from ETIX.
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