Preview: Firebirds return home Saturday on three-game win streak
| Guelph Storm at Flint Firebirds | |
| Date | Time | Saturday, Jan. 25 | 7:00 p.m. |
| Location | Flint, Mich. | Dort Federal Event Center (Directions) |
| Tickets | Ticketmaster.com | (810) 744-0580 |
| Promotions | Backpack Night |
| TV | – OHL Action Pak: Live Cogeco ch. 467 & Rogers ch. 467 (Ontario) – Firebirds’ Broadcast Coverage |
| Video Stream | OHL Live |
| Radio | WQUS 103.1 FM (Flint & Mid-Michigan) | Pregame Show: 6:30p |
| Radio (Mobile) | US 103 App: Android | iPhone/iPad |
| Live Stats | Here |
| NHL Scouts Packet | Here |
| Next Home Game | Friday, January 31st: Firebirds Trading Card Giveaway |
| Social Media | @FlintFirebirds  | Facebook  | Instagram  |
Flint, Mich. – After playing five-consecutive road games, the Firebirds return home Saturday to complete the home-and-home series with the defending OHL Champion Guelph Storm. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. (ET) Saturday at the Dort Federal Event Center (capacity 4,400) in Flint.
Flint enters Friday’s contest having won their last three contests and earning points in five of their last six games. The Firebirds have picked up nine of a possible 12 points in that time.
Saturday night marks the third of four regular-season meetings between the two clubs, and the first of two in Flint. The Firebirds hold a 2-0-0-0 record against Guelph this campaign. All-time, Flint is 7-9-2-0 against the Storm. In home games, the Firebirds are 1-6-1-0.
Of note, seven members between the Firebirds and Storm have ties with the two cities. Three Flint Firebirds have ties to the Guelph region: Firebirds’ defenseman Jack Harper is a native of Guelph. Additionally, Firebirds’ defenseman Owen Lalonde and goaltender Anthony Popovich were part of the OHL Championship Guelph Storm squad a season ago. For Guelph, General Manager & Head Coach George Burnett was the General Manager of the Firebirds during the 2016-17 season and defenseman Michael Bianconi & Fedor Gordeev and forward Eric Uba were former Firebirds now playing with Guelph.
Guelph is currently on an eight-game skid. In their last ten contests, the ‘Birds are 6-2-1-1 and Guelph has gone 1-8-0-1. For the season, Flint ranks third in West Division and fifth in the Western Conference with a record of 25-17-1-1. The Storm are 22-16-1-4 on the season, ranking third in the Midwest Division and sixth in the Western Conference. The Storm is 9-8-0-3 in away games compared to the Firebirds’ home record of 14-8-1-0.
Last night, the ‘Birds wrapped up their five-game road trip by defeating the Storm 7 – 5. After trailing early in the third period, the ‘Birds scored four unanswered goals late to take game one of this weekend’s home-and-home series with the Storm. Ty Dellandrea (Dallas Stars) was named the game’s ‘First Star’ for his three-point game (2G, 1A). Ethan Keppen (Vancouver Canucks), Riley Piercey, Jake Durham, and Jack Wismer each recorded two points, and Anthony Popovich made 27 saves on 32 shots in a busy night between the pipes. Flint finished a perfect one-for-one on the power play and two-for-five on the penalty-kill. Former Firebird Eric Uba led the way for the storm with two markers and one helper.
On special teams this season, the Firebirds hold the third-best overall penalty kill (PK) in the league at 81.6%. Flint remains the OHL’s top PK on home ice with a success rate of 88.5%. Guelph’s penalty-killers rank seventh at an 79.7% efficiency. With the man-advantage the Storm ranks 12th, scoring at a 20.1% rate. The ‘Birds score at a rate of 17.3% on the power play.
Players to Watch:
Flint Firebirds (25-17-1-1, 3rd West Division):
Ty Dellandrea (Dallas Stars) has reclaimed the top spot on the stat sheet for Flint with 24 goals and 30 helpers in 34 games. In the past three games, Dellandrea has recorded 12 points (6G, 6A). Belarusian forward Evgeniy Oksentyuk sits second on the club with 21 goals and 28 assists for 49 points in 39 contests. Oksentyuk carried Flint’s longest-ever point-streak at 17 games (13G, 16A) until last Saturday night’s shutout in Peterborough.
Defenseman Riley McCourt holds the franchise record for most goals scored by a defenseman in a Firebirds’ uniform with 23 tallies in the orange and navy blue. With his 23rd goal of the season last night, McCourt hit 100 career OHL points. For this season, he’s tied for third in total offense with 13 goals and a team-high 32 assists for 45 total points in 44 games. His total points are fifth-most among OHL rearguards, his 13 tallies are tied for fifth, and his 32 helpers are fifth. McCourt also has the sixth-highest points-per-game average among blue-liners at 1.02.
Overage forward Jake Durham is tied with McCourt for third on the squad with 18 goals and 27 assists. He already owns the record for most games-played by any Flint Firebirds’ player. Durham ranks third all-time in goals-scored for the franchise with 71. Ryan Moore is the former Firebird who ranks second (behind Dellandrea) with 72.
Recently-acquired forward Riley Piercey is flourishing thus far in Flint, scoring six times and adding six helpers for 12 points in just eight games with the Firebirds. Similarly, recently-added defenseman Tyler Tucker (St. Louis Blues) has also played eight games with Flint, already scoring twice and earning three assists.
Brennan Othmann leads the freshman class for the ‘Birds with 22 total points (10G, 12A) through 36 games. His point-total is tied for ninth among rookies in the league and his ten goals are eighth-most. Othmann is also tied for sixth among first-year players in the OHL with a .61 point-per-game average.
In net, Anthony Popovich has played in 32 games this season. He’s earned 18 victories, which are sixth-most in OHL. Popovich’s goals-against average (GAA) is 3.74 and he has the ninth-best save-percentage (SAV%) in the league at .897. Luke Cavallin has seven wins in 16 appearances and carries a 3.88 GAA along with a .894 SAV%.
NHL: The Firebirds have five players with NHL ties consisting of Dennis Busby (Arizona Coyotes), Ty Dellandrea (Dallas Stars), Ethan Keppen (Vancouver Canucks), Vladislav Kolyachonok (Florida Panthers) and Tyler Tucker (St. Louis Blues). Additionally, Evgeniy Oksentyuk was named to the NHL Central Scouting’s Midterm Rankings for the upcoming 2020 NHL Draft.
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 18 drafted or signed NHL players in that short time.
Guelph Storm (22-16-1-4, 3rd Midwest Division):
Pavel Gogolev leads the offense for Guelph with 69 points (33G, 36A) in 43 games. His 33 pots are tied for third-most in the OHL, and he’s tied for fifth in point-total. Gogolev is also tied for the league-lead for having scored the first goal of the game seven times this season. Cam Hillis (Montreal Canadians) ranks second with 17 tallies and 43 helpers through 42 games-played. Hillis’ assists are sixth-most in the league. Former Firebird Eric Uba sits third on the scoresheet with 39 points (19G, 20A) in 43 contests.
Guelph defenseman Daniil Chayka (7G, 16A) leads the blue-line troops for his club. First-year forward Andrei Bakanov has played 42 games and tops the freshman class with 17 total points (9G, 8A).
In goal, Nico Daws has appeared in 22 games this season. He’s earned 13 victories including a league-high four shutouts. Daws carries the league’s lowest goals-against average (GAA) of 2.39 and the highest save-percentage (SAV%) of .929. Freshman goaltender Owen Bennett has played in 22 games and posted a .886 SAV% with a 3.76 GAA. Bennett has been credited with nine victories in the campaign thus far.
NHL: Cam Hillis (Montreal Canadians) and Fedor Gordeev (Minnesota Wild) are the two players on the current Guelph roster with NHL ties. In addition, forwards Pavel Gogolev and Andrei Bakanov join defender Luke Profaca and both goaltenders on the NHL Central Scouting’s Midterm Rankings for the upcoming 2020 NHL Draft. Nico Daws is ranked the top overall goaltender in North America and Owen Bennett is ranked 13th across North America and second among draft-year netminders in the OHL.
12 notable Guelph Storm skaters to play in the NHL are Craig Anderson, Todd Bertuzzi, Tyler Bertuzzi, Dustin Brown, Ryan Callahan, Dan Cloutier, Drew Doughty, Aaron Downey, Robby Fabbri, Daniel Girardi, Manny Malhotra and Richard Panik.
Broadcast Coverage:
Saturday evening’s contest 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 and Jack Sznewajs will provide color commentary on the Firebirds Hockey Network. Radio pre-game coverage begins 30 minutes prior to puck drop at 7:00 p.m.
The game will be televised live 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 Saturday’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, $179.99 for all 68 home and away Firebirds games and $279.99 for all 1,360 OHL games throughout the 2019-20 season.
For more information:
Dominic Hennig
Director of Broadcasting & Communications
Flint Firebirds Hockey Club
[email protected]
(810) 519-9347
