GAME DAY: Game 6, Firebirds vs Generals – 7 p.m.
GAME 6 – Firebirds vs Generals
Dort Financial Center
Flint, Michigan
7 p.m.
Watch | Listen | Game Center | Tickets
LAST TIME OUT: Kaden Pitre netted his third goal of the season and Matthew Wang scored his first but the Firebirds allowed three unanswered goals and were beaten by the Kitchener Rangers, 3-2, on Wednesday night at the Dort Financial Center.
WAITING: Flint was one of just two teams in the OHL that did not have a game on Friday night. The Birds and the Saginaw Spirit both took the evening off while the 18 reamining teams were in action. Oshawa was in Sarnia and beat the Sting in a shootout, 4-3.
REVERSE SPLITS: The Firebirds are now 1-2-0-0 on home ice this season as opposed to 2-0-0-0 on the road. Flint is continuing the trend from the 2023-24 season, during which it went 12-19-2-1 on home ice and 18-14-2-0 on the road. The Firebirds will play four of their next five games on the road following Saturday’s meeting with Oshawa.
WORKHORSE: Nathan Day has started each of Flint’s first five games in net and owns a record of 3-2-0-0 with a 2.79 GAA and a .895 save percentage. Day has played 301 minutes, trailing only Saginaw’s Andrew Oke (305) and Sarnia’s Nick Surzycia (313) Day and Oke are the only goaltenders who have played every one of their team’s games thus far this season.
ASSESSING OSHAWA: The Generals’ 4-3 shootout win over Sarnia on Friday night improved their record to 2-3-1-0. Oshawa, the OHL’s defending Eastern Conference champions, was ranked number three in the OHL’s preseason power rankings. The Generals made a splash last when they acquired Winnipeg Jets 2023 first-round pick Colby Barlow from Owen Sound for David Bedkowski, Tristan Delisle and six draft picks. Barlow put 11 shots on goal on Friday night in Sarnia and while he has yet to record a point in three games for Oshawa, he did score in the second round of Friday’s shootout.
ODDS AND ENDS: Max Anderson recorded an assist on Matthew Wang’s goal on Wednesday night, giving him his first career OHL point…Oshawa’s Calum Ritchie remains in the NHL with the Colorado Avalanche, where he made his NHL Debut on Wednesday. Ritchie is not eligible to play in the AHL this season and will either stick in the NHL or be returned to the Generals.
UP NEXT: The Firebirds will hit the road for a Sunday afternoon bout with the Sarnia Sting. Puck drop at Progressive Auto Sales Arena is scheduled for 2:05 p.m.
