PREVIEW: Firebirds Host Greyhounds in Opening Night Rematch Saturday
FLINT, Mich. – The Firebirds will host the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds on Saturday. This West Division rivalry needed no time to get red-hot this season, as these clubs met at the GFL Memorial Gardens one week ago for Game 1 of the 68-game regular season. The Hounds took the home-ice win in the first of six meetings between the teams. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. (ET) tonight at the Dort Financial Center.
SERIES HISTORY
The Greyhounds have been a staple in Junior Hockey in Ontario for more than six decades. They’ve produced NHL superstars such as Wayne Gretzky, Paul Coffey, Trevor Daley, Ray Emery, Adam Foote, Ted Nolan, Bob Probert, Wayne Simmons, Joe Thornton, and John Vanbiesbrouk, to name a few. The Firebirds are entering their ninth season, and have already produced 16 players to appear in the NHL. These players include alumni Will Bitten, Nicholas Caamano, Ty Dellandrea, Kyle Keyser, Ethan Keppen, Vladislav Kolyachonok, Amadeus Lombardi, Brennan Othmann, Riley Piercey, ViliSaarijarvi, Cole Sherwood, Jalen Smereck, and Tyler Tucker. Current players to appear in NHL Preseason games this year are Ethan Hay (Anaheim Ducks) and Gavin Hayes (Chicago Blackhawks).
Flint’s all-time record versus Sault Ste. Marie in regular-season play stands at 20-19-1-2, with 15 games being settled by a single goal. They’ve gone 10-9-0-1 on home ice in the series. A season ago, the Birds were 6-0 against the Hounds, including a 3-0 record at the Dort Financial Center.
PROMOTIONS
The game is the club’s annual Dort Financial Family Night, where Dort Financial Credit Union Members were eligible to receive up to 4 FREE silver level tickets. The first 3,000 fans in the building will receive a FREE sublimated Flint Firebirds replica jersey, courtesy of Dort Financial Credit Union. Limited seats and standing-room only tickets are still available online at ETIX.com or at the Dort Financial Center Box Office.
WINDS OF CHANGE:
Paul Flache will be coaching his first game as the team’s head coach on Saturday. Flache joined the staff prior to the season for his second stint in Flint. He was an associate head coach for the Firebirds during the 2017-18 season. Prior to returning he spent his last three years with the Atlanta Mad Hatters of the USPHL, serving as the team’s Head Coach and General Manager. Flache’s playing career included a combined 535 professional games across 10 seasons, including the AHL, ECHL and DEL, the top professional league in Germany.
In addition to the change in bench boss duties, the Birds welcome Gavin Hayes home from his first NHL experience with the Chicago Blackhawks. Hayes finished second on the 2022-23 squad in both goals and points, scoring 41 times and assisting on another 40 markers across 66 games played. A season ago he became just the third player in franchise history to hit the 40-goal mark.
SCOUTING THE GREYHOUNDS:
Since hosting Flint for their home opener eight days ago, the Greyhounds have played three more games. Their record stands at 3-1-0-0, giving them the early lead in the OHL’s West Division. The Soo is averaging more than six goals per game. Leading the squad in scoring is Detroit Red Wings’ prospect Andrew Gibson with eight points (2 G, 6 A). Rookie winger Travis Hayes ranks second on the club with four tallies and three helpers. Hayes is the younger brother of Flint’s Gavin Hayes, both of whom hail from nearby Westland, Michigan.
On special teams Sault Ste. Marie ranks third with the man advantage, converting on 35.3% of their chances. Their 70% success rate on the penalty kill is currently 17th-best in the OHL. The Greyhounds have allowed two shorthanded markers against, both by Flint in the first meeting of the campaign.
SCOUTING THE FIREBIRDS:
The Firebirds have five players with NHL affiliations, including forwards Gavin Hayes (Chicago Blackhawks), Coulson Pitre (Anaheim Ducks), and Ethan Hay (Tampa Bay Lightning), defenseman Tristan Bertucci (Dallas Stars), and goaltender Nathan Day (Edmonton Oilers). Rearguard Blake Smith was also a free-agent invite to the Boston Bruins Prospects Camp this year. Overage forward Zacharie Giroux was named the fifth Captain in franchise history during the preseason and the Firebirds announced Hayes, Pitre, Hay and Bertucci as alternate captains on Saturday morning.
A focal point for the coaching staff will be finding success on the power play, as the Birds are the lone team in the league yet to convert with the extra man. Despite scoring two shorthanded goals on opening night in Sault Ste. Marie last week, Flint’s penalty-kill rate of 63.6% ranks them 19th on special teams.
BROADCAST COVERAGE:
This evening’s game against the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 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. Brian Gardner will call the play-by-play action on the Firebirds Hockey Network starting with the pre-game show at 6:45 p.m.
All of the Flint Firebirds home and away games throughout the 2023-24 season can be watched anywhere in the world online at https://watch.chl.ca/ohl. CHL TV is the league’s video streaming platform that delivers high-quality live and on-demand coverage of all regular season and playoff games annually. Fans can get access to OHL Live on CHL TV with a special, limited time discounted offer of $79 for the full season pass, or Firebirds Season Members can get it for $59 by visiting the Dort Financial Center or The Bird’s Nest during business hours.
COMING UP: The Firebirds will visit in-state rival Saginaw for the first time this season on Wednesday with puck drop set for 7:05 p.m. (ET) at the Dow Event Center. On Friday the team heads to Sarnia, Ont. for a battle with the Sting. Flint’s next home game will be one week from tonight when they host the Guelph Storm on Hockey Fights Cancer Night, sponsored by the McLaren Flint Foundation. The team will be wearing specialty Hockey Fights Cancer jerseys during gameplay, with a live jersey auction following the contest. All proceeds will benefit the McLaren Flint Foundation.
Story: Brandon Mills / flintfirebirds.com
