PREVIEW: Firebirds Return Home for Saturday Night Meeting with Guelph
FLINT, Mich. — The Firebirds returned to action after the holiday break with a 5-3 win over the Rangers in Kitchener on Friday night. Now their second game of a three-in-three weekend is on home ice against the Guelph Storm on Saturday. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. at the Dort Financial Center.
LAST TIME OUT: Flint snapped its six-game skid with a 5-3 win over the OHL’s league-leaders at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium on Friday night. Nolan Dann recorded his first two-goal game of the season and Coulson Pitre had a goal and two assists to lead the offense, while Nathan Day posted 23 saves on 26 to earn his 12th victory. The Birds also went 7-for-7 on the penalty kill against the league’s fourth-best power play.
SERIES HISTORY: Saturday marks the third of four meetings between these teams and is the second of two to be played in Flint. Guelph won both prior meetings by a single goal, starting with a 2-1 win in Flint in October followed by a 3-2 victory at the Sleeman Centre in November. The Birds’ all-time record versus the Storm stands at 18-11-2-0 with 11 games settled by a single tally.
SCOUTING THE STORM: (20-12-1-1, 3rd Midwest Division) –
Jett Luchenko tops the Storm in assists (25) and total points (35). His five power-play helpers are third-most in the league. Braeden Bowman is second with 34 points stemming from 16 goals and 18 assists. Washington Capitals prospect Jake Karabela (12 G, 17 A) and St. Louis Blues prospect defenseman Michael Buchinger (9 G, 20 A) are tied in third with 29 points each. Wolverine Lake, Mich. native Max Namestnikov tops Guelph in goals with 18 on the season.
In goal, Brayden Gillespie leads the league with the lowest goals-against average of 2.71. He’s earned 15 victories including one shutout in 28 appearances, and his save percentage is second-best in the OHL at .908. Damian Slavik has four wins in seven appearances and carries a 2.09 GAA and a .928 SV%.
The Storm rank eighth with the man advantage scoring on 22.7% of their opportunities this season. The penalty kill ranks fifth with an 82.5% success rate.
SCOUTING THE FIREBIRDS: (14-16-2-1, 3rd West Division) –
Gavin Hayes remains in Sweden with the U.S. National Junior Team where the Americans remain undefeated where he has one assist through three contests. Flint is also without Simon Slavicek, who is with Team Czechia on the extended roster as a potential injury replacement. Braeden Kressler, a Toronto Maple Leafs prospect, leads the squad with 36 total points from 15 goals and 21 helpers. Zacharie Giroux has 15 goals and 20 assists to rank second. Anaheim Ducks prospect Coulson Pitre ranks third with 33 points (15 G, 18 A). Pitre rides a five-game point streak (2 G, 5 A) into Saturday’s contest.
Edmonton Oilers prospect Nathan Day now has 12 wins through 28 appearances and carries a goals-against average of 3.96 with an .860 save percentage. Rookie Jacob Brown has two victories across seven appearances with a GAA of 4.26 and an .857 SV%.
The Birds have the 14th-best power play in the league, converting at a rate of 17.6%. The penalty kill is getting the job done 80.7% of the time which is the OHL’s eighth-best.
BROADCAST COVERAGE: This evening’s game against the Guelph Storm 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.
COMING UP: The Firebirds hit the road for a quick turnaround, visiting the London Knights for a 4:00 p.m. matinee battle on New Year’s Eve. Flint returns to home ice to face the Peterborough Petes on Friday with puck drop set for 7:00 p.m. Tickets for Friday’s tilt are available online now from ETIX.COM HERE.
Story: Brandon Mills // flintfirebirds.com
