Preview: Kitchener Rangers Visit Firebirds in Flint Saturday
| Kitchener Rangers (32-14-2-0) at Flint Firebirds (13-28-3-1) | |
| Date | Time | Saturday, Jan. 27 | 7:00 p.m. |
| Location | Flint, Mich. | Dort Federal Event Center (Directions) |
| Tickets | Ticketmaster.com | (810) 744-0580 |
| Promotions | – Backpack Night – ‘Firebirds’ Fight Hunger’ Month |
| TV | – OHL Action Pak: Rogers TV 445 & Cogeco TV 445 Live (Ontario) – Broadcast Information |
| 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 |
| Next Home Game | Sunday, Jan. 28 (Family 4 Pack) |
| Media Notes Packet | Here |
| Social Media | @FlintFirebirds  | Facebook  | Instagram  |
Flint, Mich. – The Flint Firebirds are set to play their second game of three this weekend Saturday night against the Kitchener Rangers. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. (ET) at the Dort Federal Event Center in Flint.
Saturday marks the final of four meetings between the two clubs this season. So far, Flint has a 1-1-1-0 record against the Rangers. Last season, the Firebirds posted a 2-1-1-0 record against Kitchener. The Rangers carry a five-game winning-streak into tonight’s game.
Kitchener is in first place in the Midwest Division with a 32-14-2-0 record and are tied for second overall in the Western Conference with 66 points. Flint is fifth in the West Division with a 13-28-3-1 record. The Firebirds last victory was a 4 – 2 win last Saturday night at the Dort Federal Event Center against the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, the top ranked club in the 60-team CHL. Kitchener is tied for second in the OHL and is listed at number-nine in the CHL Top 10 Rankings.
On special teams, the Rangers are ninth on the power-play, scoring at a 21.8% clip. Their penalty-kill ranks second in the OHL at 84.4%. Flint has shown recent improvement with the man-advantage at 16.6%. The Firebirds penalty-kill has found success 73.4% of the time.
Promotions:
Saturday is the third-annual “Firebirds Backpack Night.” In partnership with the Foodbank of Eastern Michigan, there will be a silent auction for 24 authentic custom Firebirds’ CCM player backpacks, which will be stitched with each Flint Firebirds player’s number, last name and the Firebirds’ logo. There will be a minimum cash value of $250 worth of donations inside each bag from local sponsors on the arena concourse and starting bids begin at $200. A donation of $100 can feed a child for an entire school year.
Help the Firebirds Fight Hunger during January. Also in partnership with the Foodbank of Eastern Michigan, fans can bring in five non-perishable food items to any Firebirds’ home game in the month of January to receive a complimentary Silver Level ticket, sponsored by Little Caesars and The View Newspaper Group, limit to four tickets per person.
Players to Watch
Flint Firebirds (13-28-3-1, 5th West Division):
On Thursday, Forward Ty Dellandreas scored two goals in 20 seconds, en-route to setting an event record for the ‘fastest two goals scored by a single player’ in a CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game. Dellandrea leads the Firebirds with 17 goals, and ranks second on the team with 37 points. Maurizio Colella continues to lead the team with 38 points and leads the Firebirds in assists with 22. Forward Connor Roberts recorded his first career two-goal game last night in Guelph, moving him to third in scoring for Flint. Overall Roberts has 12 goals and 22 points.
Rearguard and Firebirds’ team captain Jalen Smereck (Arizona Coyotes) leads all defenseman on the team with 16 points including six goals in just 23 games. Smereck has earned at least one point in ten of his last 12 games.
Eric Uba was called up from the Oakville Blades (OJHL) and made his third appearance in a Firebirds’ uniform Friday. He earned his first OHL point with an assist in the contest. Uba is a native of Kitchener, Ontario.
Between the pipes, Garrett Forrest has appeared in 33 of 43 games this season. Last night, Forrest set a new franchise record for saves in a single season by a Flint netminder, surpassing the record of 896 set by Connor Hicks last season. Forrest has a 4.66 goals-against average (GAA) and a .863 save percentage (SAV%). Rookie Luke Cavallin, who was the highest selected goaltender in the 2017 OHL Priority Draft, has backstopped the Firebirds to three wins and has a played in 17 games. Cavallin has a 4.06 goals-against average (GAA) and a .871 save percentage (SAV%).
NHL: The Firebirds have two players with NHL ties consisting of Jalen Smereck (Arizona Coyotes) and Fedor Gordeev (Toronto Maple Leafs). Additionally, Dennis Busby, Ty Dellandrea, Hunter Holmes, Ryan Littlejohn, Riley McCourt, Connor Roberts and Jack Wismer are seven first-time eligible players to be selected in the NHL Entry Draft in June 2018.
Kitchener Rangers (32-14-2-0, 1st Midwest Division):
The Rangers are led up front by Adam Mascherin (Florida Panthers), who is fifth in the OHL with 64 points (31G, 33A) in 48 games this season. He collected one goal and three assists for his second four-point night this season in last night’s 6 – 2 win over the Saginaw Spirit. Joseph Garreffa averages just under a point-per-game and ranks second on the club. He has seven goals and 40 assists in 48 games played. Connor Bunnaman (Philadelphia Flyers) has 38 points in 46 games, earning him the third spot. Former Firebird Kole Sherwood (Columbus Blue Jackets) ranks fourth on the team after tallying a hat-trick and earning four points against the Spirit last night.
In net, Luke Richardson has played in 32 games and has 19 wins and one shutout this season. He is 11th in the OHL with a 3.17 GAA and a .901 SAV%. Mario Culina made his 16th appearance last night, earning his eighth win. He holds a 2.61 GAA and a .921 SAV%.
NHL: The Rangers have seven players with NHL ties, including Logan Brown (Ottawa Senators), Connor Bunnaman (Philadelphia Flyers), Connor Hall (Pittsburgh Penguins), Adam Mascherin (Florida Panthers), Kole Sherwood (Columbus Blue Jackets), Givani Smith (Detroit Red Wings) and Logan Stanley (Winnipeg Jets). Additionally, Giovanni Vallati, Adam Liska, Rickard Hugg, and Riley Damiani appear in NHL Central Scouting’s Midterm Rankings for the 2018 NHL Draft.
21 notable Kitchener Rangers’ alumni to play in the NHL are Brian Bellows, Andre Benoit, Shawn Burr, David Clarkson, Paul Coffey, Boyd Devereaux, Steve Downie, John Gibson, Dale Hunter, Nazem Kadri, Jakub Kindl, Gabriel Landeskog, Matt Lashoff, Al MacInnis, Don Maloney, Wayne Presley, Mike Richards, Larry Robinson, Derek Roy, Jeff Skinner and Scott Stevens.
Broadcast Coverage:
Saturday evening’s contest against the Kitchener Rangers 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. Dominic Hennig will call the play-by-play action on the Flint Firebirds Hockey Radio Network. Pregame coverage will begin 30 minutes prior to puck drop at 6:00 p.m.
The game will be televised live province-wide throughout Ontario on the OHL Action Pak on channel 445 for both Rogers TV and Cogeco 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 2017-18 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 2017-18 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 2017-18 season.
Blue Line Club Menu:
Presented by Great Lakes Sandwich Co & Cafe, Saturday evening’s dinner menu for the Blue Line Club features barbecue chicken wings, spaghetti with meat sauce, meatballs, pulled pork sliders, red skinned potatoes, macaroni and cheese, green beans, corn, tossed salad, dinner rolls with butter and assorted desserts.. Saturday’s menu is available to all sponsors and season ticket holders for $15 per person. Dinner RSVPs are encouraged by emailing Karla Turner at [email protected].
For more information:
Dominic Hennig
Director of Broadcasting & Communications
Flint Firebirds Hockey Club
[email protected]
(810) 519-9347
