GAME PREVIEW: 67’s, Firebirds set for Saturday showdown

OTTAWA, ON – After making light work of the Saginaw Spirit, the Ottawa 67’s (40-14-1-2) continue their southern road trip with a stop to face off the Flint Firebirds (38-14-4-2) at 7:00 p.m. Fans can tune in via Flo Hockey, or listen to TSN 1200 for play-by-play from Kenny Walls.

The 67’s continue to be led by Cooper Foster, with 56 points on the season. Frankie Marrelli is coming off a big three-point night against the Saginaw Spirit, bringing himself to 18 points in 20 games since the turn of the new year. Additionally, the 67’s could get a big game out of Nic Whitehead, who sits third on the team in points with 50 on the year. The game is a big game for two members of the 67’s. Zach Houben will suit up in his 100th career OHL game tonight. Meanwhile, this is a return game for Sam McCue, who played for the Firebirds at the tail end of 2024-25, scoring 24 points in 20 games. McCue will look to add to his massive performance over the Spirit, where he picked up two goals.

On the other side, 6-foot-7 forward Nathan Aspinall is Flint’s most dominant forward, with 79 points on the year. Kevin He is the Firebirds’ most prolific deadline add, with 65 points on the year—34 of which since joining Flint from Niagara. On the back-end, Urban Podrekar has been a force, with 45 points in his rookie season.

This will be the final of two meetings, with Ottawa coming out on top with a 3-2 win in the first matchup in December. Ottawa relied on goals from Whitehead and Foster, while also benefitting from a 30-save performance from Ryder Fetterolf, who stopped all four in the shootout to guarantee the win.

Capital connections: 

The Firebirds have one player from the Ottawa-Gatineau region, Xavier Tessier (Ottawa).

By the numbers