Preview: Firebirds Wrap-up Eastern Roadtrip Sunday in Ottawa
Ottawa, Ont.- The Firebirds wrap-up their three-game Eastern road trip when they face the Ottawa 67’s for the final time this season Sunday, Oct. 30. Puck drop is set for 2 p.m. at the TD Place Arena (capacity 9,500).
The Firebirds lost their third straight game after the Kingston Frontenacs shut them out 3-0 on Friday night. Flint has outshot their past three opponents despite losing each contest. The Firebirds record on the road is now 1-5-0-1, but hold an impressive 6-2-0-0 record on home ice. The 67’s won their last game against the Hamilton Bulldogs 5-4 and earned their first win on home ice (1-5-0-0). Ottawa’s power-play is third in the league, clicking at 24.3%.
In their most recent match-up (Oct. 2), Luke Kirwan ended the contest with a goal in overtime to seal the victory for Flint 5-4 at the Dort Federal Event Center.
After Sunday night’s game in Ottawa, Flint will travel to Kitchener for an evening contest against the Rangers Friday. The Firebirds return home to the Dort Federal Event Center Saturday, Nov. 5 against the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.
Players to Watch:
Flint Firebirds (7-7-0-1, 8th in Western Conference):
Ryan Moore (NHL draft eligible) leads the team in points with 23 (11G, 12A) and is 4th on the league scoring list. Second on the team is Nicholas Caamano (Dallas Stars) who has racked-up six goals and 12 assists in 15 games played. Defenseman Mathieu Henderson has scored three goals in the past three games and is third on the team in points with 5 goals and 10 assists in 15 games played. Kole Sherwood (Columbus Blue Jackets) has five goals and eight assists in 11 games played. Luke Kirwan (Detroit Red Wings) is second on the team in goals with seven and has 10 points in 12 games.
Rookies Ty Dellandrea and Dennis Busby are not with the team on the Eastern trip this weekend as the two are representing Canada at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. From Oct.27-Nov.5.
In net, Connor Hicks played in Flint’s last game Thursday night vs. Kingston. Hicks has a 3-3-0-1 record with a 4.05 GAA and a .856 SAV%. Garrett Forrest is 3-3-0-0 with a 2.44 GAA, and a .920 SAV%.
NHL: The Firebirds currently have two players that have signed contracts with NHL clubs. Forward Kole Sherwood signed a three-year NHL contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets (July 2015) and defenseman Jalen Smereck signed a three-year NHL contract with the Arizona Coyotes (October 2016). Flint’s Nicholas Caamano was drafted by the Dallas Stars in the most recent NHL Draft in June 2016. Along with Caamano, Sherwood and Smereck, four more Flint Firebirds competed in NHL training camps this fall: Everett Clark (St. Louis Blues), Connor Hicks (Detroit Red Wings), Luke Kirwan (Detroit Red Wings) and Alex Peters (Carolina Hurricanes).
Samuel Duchesne, Jake Durham, Fedor Gordeev and Jack Phibbs are first-time eligible players to be selected in the NHL Draft in June 2017.
Ottawa 67’s (5-7-2-0, 9th in Eastern Conference):
Artur Tyanulin scored a goal in his last game for Ottawa against the Hamilton Bulldogs and is now sixth on the league scoring list with 22 points (6G, 16A) in 14 games played. Second on the 67’s scoring list is Austen Keating who had a two-point night against the Bulldogs. Keating has six goals and 11 assists on the season. Drake Rymsha racked-up three assists last game and leads the team with seven goals and 13 points in 14 games.
Between-the-pipes, Olivier Lafreniere is 1-2-2-0 with a 3.28 GAA, and a .904 SAV%. Leo Lazarev is 4-5-0-0 and played in the 67’s last game against Hamilton. Lazarev made 26 saves on 30 shots and has a 4.31 GAA, along with a .876 SAV%.
NHL: Ottawa’s Travis Barron (Colorado Avalanche) and Jacob Middleton (Los Angeles Kings) have been drafted by NHL clubs. Drake Rymsha attended the Boston Bruins rookie camp while Barron, Stepan Falkovsky (Calgary Flames), Middleton (San Jose Sharks) and Dante Salituro (Columbus Blue Jackets) attended NHL Main Camps.
Broadcast Coverage:
Sunday afternoon’s contest against the 67’s can be heard live around the world online on the Sports Xtra 1330 Radio app here. Pregame coverage with Dominic Hennig will begin 30 minutes prior to puck drop at 1:30 p.m. Additionally, the game will be televised live in Ottawa on channel 22 / 510 (HD) for Rogers TV cable subscribers and throughout the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pak on channel 461 for cable TV subscribers. Fans can also watch the game live online at www.ohllive.com or on the OHL Live App.
