GAME DAY: Game 18, Firebirds at Spirit – 5:30 p.m.
GAME 18 – Firebirds at Spirit
Dow Event Center
Saginaw, Michigan
5:30 p.m.
Watch | Listen | Game Center
LAST TIME OUT: The Soo Greyhounds scored four goals in the first period and never trailed as they beat the Firebirds, 6-2, on Saturday night at the Dort Financial Center. Noah Bender made 17 saves on 19 shots in relief and Flint got goals from Blake Smith and Kaden Pitre in the loss.
RIVALRY MATCH UP: The Firebirds visit their in-state rival Saginaw Spirit for the first time this season on Sunday evening. It’s the first of back-to-back games the Birds and Spirit will play as Saginaw will be in Flint on Wednesday, and the first of the eight-game season series. The Spirit took the Coors Light I-75 Divide Cup during the 2023-24 season, 6-2-0-0.
WATCH OUT FOR MISA: Saginaw forward Michael Misa is off to a hot start in the 2024-25 season as he leads the league with 21 goals in just 17 games. Misa had a hat trick during Saginaw’s 5-1 win over Windsor on Saturday night. The 2025 NHL draft eligible forward has 21 goals and 12 assists for the season.
CHANGING TIMES IN JUNIOR HOCKEY: The NCAA announced on Thursday that players who have played CHL hockey (OHL, WHL, QMJHL) will now be eligible to play in the NCAA, effective in advance of the 2025-26 season. Under the previous regulations, any player who played in a CHL game lost his NCAA eligibility. Newly-signed Firebirds forward Hayden Reid will now have the option to maintain his commitment to the University of Minnesota after playing for the Firebirds.
THREE-IN-THREE: The Firebirds are playing for the third time in the last three days, the second consecutive weekend in which they have had a three-in-three. Flint went 0-3-0-0 during last weekend’s three-in-three and thus far has split this weekend’s, 1-1-0-0.
ODDS AND ENDS: Cole Zurawski won a gold medal with Canada White at the 2024 U17 World Challenge on Saturday night…Flint allowed four goals in the first period on Saturday, the most it has allowed in a single period this season…Blake Smith scored on the power play in the first period and now has goals in back-to-back games for the first time in his OHL career.
UP NEXT: The Firebirds head back home on Wednesday night to again host the Saginaw Spirit. Puck drop at the Dort Financial Center is scheduled for 7 p.m.