Preview: Firebirds Face-Off Against Niagara for “Trick-or-Treat at the Rink” Sunday
| Niagara IceDogs at Flint Firebirds | |
| Date | Time | Sunday, Oct. 28 | 2:00 p.m. |
| Location | Flint, Mich. | Dort Federal Event Center (Directions) |
| Tickets | Ticketmaster.com | (810) 744-0580 |
| Promotions | – ‘Trick-or-Treat at the Rink’ – ‘Family “FUN”day’ Sunday |
| TV | – YourTV channel 10 / 700 HD Live (Niagara) – OHL Action Pak: Rogers ch. 456 & Cogeco ch. 486 Live (Ontario) – Firebirds’ Broadcast Coverage |
| Video Stream | OHL Live |
| Radio | WQUS 103.1 FM (Flint & Mid-Michigan) | Pregame Show: 1:30p |
| Radio (Mobile) | US 103 App: Android | iPhone/iPad |
| Live Stats | Here |
| Media Notes Packet | Here |
| Social Media | @FlintFirebirds  | Facebook  | Instagram  |
Flint, Mich. – The Flint Firebirds return back to action Sunday afternoon when the club takes on the Niagara IceDogs. Sunday’s puck drop is set for 2 p.m. (ET) at the Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center.
Last night, the Firebirds rallied from a 3-0 deficit to tie the Sarnia Sting in the third period and eventually force overtime, earning their first point of the season. Connor Roberts recorded two goals and two assists, Ty Dellandrea (Dallas Stars) picked up three assists, and Ethan Keppen lit-the-lamp twice en-route to the 6-5 overtime defeat. Luke Cavallin made 38 saves on 44 shots in goal. The IceDogs defeated the Spirit in Saginaw in a shootout by a final score of 3-2 yesterday.
The Firebirds and IceDogs are in opposite conferences, which means they only meet twice in the regular season each year. All-time, Flint has a home record of 1-1-1-0 against Niagara. A season ago, the IceDogs skated to a 6-4 victory in the only meeting at the Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center. Jack Wismer had a goal and an assist to highlight Flint’s efforts.
On special teams, the IceDogs rank seventh on the power play, both overall and on the road. They convert 20.8% of their opportunities with the man advantage. Flint ranks 17th with the extra man on home ice, scoring 8.3% of the time. Last night, Ethan Keppen scored the Firebirds’ second power-play goal of the season on home ice against Sarnia. When shorthanded on the road, Niagara ranks 15th best in the OHL with a 70.4% kill rate. Flint is killing penalties on home ice at a 61.3% clip.
Promotions:
Join the Firebirds Sunday afternoon trick-or-treating in a fun, safe and dry environment. The Firebirds host the Niagara IceDogs at 2 p.m. and special Halloween festivities are slated for the contest. All fans are encouraged to dress up for the costume contest and on-ice costume parade, there will be trick-or-treating throughout the arena, bounce houses and other fun promotions will take place during the duration of the game. Sunday is also a Firebirds’ Family “FUN”day featuring up to two free kids’ tickets with the purchase of an adult ticket, as well as a post-game ‘skate with Firebirds players,’ and an autograph signing session with Firebirds’ players following the game.
Players to Watch:
Flint Firebirds (0-12-1-0, 5th West Division):
Firebirds’ captain Ty Dellandrea (Dallas Stars) leads Flint on the scoresheet with 11 points (3G, 8A) in 13 games played. He is currently on a three-game point streak, having picked up three assists against the Sting last night. Ethan Keppen ranks second in points for the ‘Birds with five goals and three assists. Last night, Keppen scored twice, including the game-tying goal with 1:17 remaining in regulation that eventually forced overtime. First-year forward Jacob Winterton is third in points for the ‘Birds with five tallies and two helpers in 13 contests.
Connor Roberts had his first career four-point night in the OHL yesterday, scoring twice and assisting on two additional tallies. He now sits fourth in points with six (3G, 3A).
In net, Emanuel Vella has appeared in nine games this season, posting a 5.36 goals-against average (GAA) and a .851 save percentage (SAV%). Second-year netminder Luke Cavallin has a 5.65 GAA and a .857 SAV% across eight appearances. Yesterday, Cavallin made 38 saves on 44 shots.
NHL: The Firebirds have three players with NHL ties consisting of Dennis Busby (Arizona Coyotes), Ty Dellandrea (Dallas Stars) and Fedor Gordeev (Toronto Maple Leafs). Five other Firebirds’ players attended NHL Camps: Hunter Holmes (Philadelphia Flyers), Riley McCourt (Dallas Stars), Hakon Nilsen (New York Islanders), Connor Roberts (Pittsburgh Penguins) and Emanuel Vella (New York Islanders). Additionally, goaltender Luke Cavallin, forward Ethan Keppen and defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok, were named to NHL Central Scouting’s North American ‘Players to Watch’ list for the upcoming NHL Draft, released Oct 1.
Niagara IceDogs (8-4-2-0, 1st Central Division):
Akil Thomas (Los Angeles Kings) leads the ‘Dogs in points with 21 (7G, 14A) in 14 games played. He scored once in regulation and netted another in shootout last night in Niagara’s 3-2 shootout victory of the Spirit in Saginaw. Kirill Maksimov (Edmonton Oilers) ranks second in points with 19. He leads Niagara in goals with 11 in 14 games played. Novi, Mich. native Ivan Lodnia (Minnesota Wild) has 15 points (5G, 10A) in 14 games to round out the top three scorers on the team.
In net, Stephen Dhillon has carried the heavy workload, appearing in 10 contests and posting six wins with one shutout. He has a 2.75 goals-against average (GAA) and save percentage (SAV%) of .916. Yesterday, Dhillon made 36 saves on 38 shots through 65 minutes of play, and stonewalled both Spirit shootout opportunities en-route to the 3 – 2 victory. Colton Incze has appeared between the pipes five times this season, posting a 3.29 GAA and a .901 SAV%. Incze has two wins on the campaign.
NHL: The IceDogs feature five players with NHL ties, including Ben Jones (Vegas Golden Knights), Ivan Lodnia (Minnesota Wild), Kirill Maksimov (Edmonton Oilers), Akil Thomas (Los Angeles Kings), and Daniel Bukac (Boston Bruins). Additionally, William Constantinou and Philip Tomasino were also listed on the NHL Central Scouting’s North American ‘Players to Watch’ list for the upcoming NHL Draft, released Oct 1.
Notable IceDogs’ alumni to play in the NHL include Alex Pietrangelo, Ryan Strome, Dougie Hamilton, Tom Kuhnhackl, Jamie Oleksiak, Brett Ritchie, and Andrew Shaw.
Broadcast Coverage:
Sunday afternoon’s contest against the Niagara IceDogs 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 1:30 p.m.
The game will also be televised live in Niagara on channel 10 / 700 (HD) for Cogeco TV cable subscribers. Additionally, the game will be televised live across the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pak on channel 456 for both Rogers TV cable subscribers and 486 for 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 Friday’s game, 65 of the Firebirds’ 68 games throughout the 2018-19 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 2018-19 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 2018-19 season.
For more information:
Dominic Hennig
Director of Broadcasting & Communications
Flint Firebirds Hockey Club
[email protected]
(810) 519-9347
