GAME DAY, Game 67, Firebirds vs Spirit – 7 p.m.
GAME 67 – Firebirds vs Spirit
Dort Financial Center
Flint, Michigan
7 p.m.
Watch | Listen | Game Center
LAST TIME OUT: Artem Frolov had a goal and an assist and Josh Colosimo scored his third goal of the season but the Firebirds lost to the Sarnia Sting, 5-2 on Friday night at Progressive Auto Sales Arena. The loss was Flint’s fourth in a row.
THE BIRDS ARE IN: Flint officially clinched a spot in the OHL Playoffs on Thursday night when the Sarnia Sting lost to the Windsor Spitfires, 5-0, mathematically eliminating Sarnia from surpassing Flint. After the Owen Sound Attack lost to the Kitchener Rangers on Friday night, they can also no longer catch the Firebirds. Flint can finish no lower than seventh and no higher than sixth. The Firebirds can clinch the sixth seed with a win in either of their two remaining games. They lead the Soo Greyhounds by one point with one game in hand. If the Birds finish sixth, they will take on the Kitchener Rangers in the first round of the OHL Playoffs. If they finish seventh, they will face the Windsor Spitfires.
CLOSING WITH YOUR RIVALS: The Firebirds and Saginaw Spirit will finish their respective seasons with back-to-back games against one another. Flint hosts Saginaw on Saturday then visits the Spirit on Sunday evening at 5:30 p.m. The Spirit lead the Coors Light I-75 Divide Cup, 4-2-0-0. Flint has gone 1-2-0-0 at home and on the road.
THE OTHER GUYS: Saginaw is locked into the fourth seed in the Western Conference and will take on the Erie Otters in the first round. The Spirit score 4.73 goals per game, second in the OHL behind only the London Knights. Saginaw is led by Michael Misa, who netted his 60th goal of the season on Friday night in Sault Ste. Marie and leads the OHL with 128 points, and Zayne Parekh, who leads all OHL defensemen with 104 points and has become the 10th OHL defenseman and the first in 14 years to cross the 100 point plateau.
ODDS AND ENDS: Artem Frolov recorded his first multi-point game as a Firebird on Friday and the third of his OHL career…Flint allowed a power play goal in the first period on Friday, snapping a streak of 25 consecutive successful penalty kills… Chris Thibodeau has scored five of his 20 goals this season against the Spirit.
UP NEXT: The Firebirds will head to Saginaw on Sunday evening for the final game of the 2024-25 regular season. Puck drop at the Dow Event Center is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
