Previewing the Firebirds’ First Round Series Against London
FLINT FIREBIRDS: 30-33-4-1, 65 points, 3rd West Division, 8th Western Conference
Leading scorer: Oliver Peer, 80 points (37 G, 43 )
Top goaltender: Nathan Day, 54 GP, 25-26-1-1, 3.73 GAA, .868 SV%
GPG: 3.41 (16th)
GAPG: 4.03 (T-14th)
PP%: 16.6% (17th)
PK%: 78.7% (T-11th)
Head Coach: Paul Flache (1st season)
LONDON KNIGHTS: 50-14-1-3, 104 points, 1st Midwest Division, 1st Western Conference
Leading scorer: Denver Barkey, 102 points (35 G, 67 A)
Top goaltender: Michael Simpson, 48 GP, 34-10-1-1, 2.61 GAA, .905 SV%
GPG: 4.74 (2nd)
GAPG: 2.90 (1st)
PP%: 32.6% (1st)
PK%: 85% (1st)
Head Coach: Dale Hunter (22nd season)
SEASON SERIES: Knights won season series, 3-1-0-0.
Friday, November 17 – Flint 7, London 4
Game Summary: In their first trip of the season to Budweiser Gardens, the Firebirds jumped out to a 4-0 lead and cruised to a 7-4 win over the Knights. Markas Samenas started the scoring early in the first period with his first career OHL goal and Coulson Pitre scored a natural hat trick as he struck for a goal in the first then two more in the second period. It was Pitre’s first career OHL hat trick. Nolan Dann had two assists and Simon Slavicek put up a goal and an assist in the win, who also got a goal and two assists from since traded forward Braeden Kressler in the win. Nathan Day made 26 saves on 30 shots and London starting goaltender Michael Simpson was chased in the second period after allowing three goals on 22 shots. Owen Willmore replaced him and made 14 saves on 17 shots the rest of the way.
Sunday, December 31 – London 5, Flint 3
Game Summary: Flint returned to London on New Year’s Eve, playing the final of a stretch of three games in three days. In a similar fashion to their first visit to Budweiser Gardens, the Birds grabbed an early lead thanks to first period goals from London-area native Matthew Jenken and a shorthanded tally by Coulson Pitre. London then tied the game with a pair of goals but Nolan Dann put Flint back on top with a power play tally in the second. Ultimately, however, the Knights rattled off three unanswered goals from that point and went on to win it, 5-3. Jacob Julien paced London with a goal and three assists while Ruslan Gazizov added a goal and two assists to help the Knights even the season series.
Wednesday, February 7 – London 9, Flint 2
Game Summary: The Knights exploded for five goals in the second period and went on to beat the Firebirds, 9-2, in their first visit for the Dort Financial Center this season. Ruslan Gazizov led the way with five points, including a hat trick, while Kasper Halttunnen pitched in with three assists and Denver Barkey put up a goal and two assists. Nathan Aspinall and Nolan Dann scored the Flint goals and Michael Simpson stopped 23 of the 25 shots that he faced in the London net.
Saturday, March 2 – London 4, Flint 3
Game Summary: London scored the game’s first three goals and led, 3-0, early in the second period before Gavin Ewles got the Firebirds on the board. Connor Clattenburg then added another goal for the Firebirds to make it 3-2 but Easton Cowan set up Max McCue for a shorthanded goal late in the second to push London’s lead back to two. Simon Slavicek struck in the third period and brought Flint back within one but the Firebirds ultimately ran out of time and fell to the Knights, 4-3. Clattenburg led the Birds with a goal and two assists and the Knights went 3-for-5 on the power play in their win. Jacob Brown made his first appearance against London and stopped 33 of the 37 shots that he faced in the loss.
FIREBIRDS TO WATCH:
Coulson Pitre: Pitre led the Firebirds with seven points on four goals and three assists in the four games against London during the regular season. All four of his goals were scored in the two games at Budweiser Gardens. Flint’s captain and an Anaheim Ducks prospect, Pitre finished the season with 27 goals and 28 assists in 55 games played. He missed the final five games of the regular season with an injury and the Birds went 1-3-1-0 in his absence.
Tristan Bertucci: Bertucci was named the team’s Top Defenseman at the annual awards banquet on Sunday after he led Flint blueliners with 10 goals and 34 assists in 61 games played. He was signed by the Dallas Stars to an NHL entry-level contract on March 15, less than a year after they selected him in the second round on the 2023 NHL Draft. Bertucci did not play in the most lopsided game of the season series; he missed Flint’s 9-2 loss on February 7 with an injury. He had two assists and was +1 in the three games he played against the Knights.
Simon Slavicek: Slavicek set career highs this season with 15 goals and 31 assists over 55 games played during his third season with the Firebirds. He played in three of Flint’s four games against London and recorded a point in each, scoring two goals along with two assists. Slavicek gets points in bunches, he finished the year with 12 multi-point games, the third-most by a Firebird this season.
KNIGHTS TO WATCH:
Easton Cowan: Cowan finished the regular season on a record-setting, 36-game point streak. Not only was it the longest streak in the OHL this season, it set a new franchise record for the Knights, eclipsing the 34-game point streak Dave Gilmore recorded during the 1993-94 season. Cowan put up 25 goals and 43 assists during his streak, the third-longest in the CHL since 2000. Overall he totaled 34 goals and 62 assists in 54 games played. Cowan was selected in the first round by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2023 NHL Draft and in three games against the Firebirds this season he had one goal and four assists.
Ruslan Gazizov: Gazizov erupted for five points including a hat trick during London’s 9-2 win in Flint on February 7 and managed at least one point in every game against the Firebirds in the regular season. In four games against the Birds he totaled four goals and six assists. The Russian-born forward set new career-highs in his third OHL season with 36 goals and 45 assists in 63 games played and his 81 points were the third most on the team. Gazizov’s hat trick against the Firebirds was one of three he recorded this season.
Sam Dickinson: Dickinson is one of the headliners of a deep defensive corps for the Knights. An NHL draft-eligible prospect, he finished second in the OHL in plus/minus at +56, 15th in the league with 52 assists, which also placed him second among defensemen. Dickinson is a consensus first-round NHL draft prospect according to various scouting publications and services as he totaled 70 points during his second OHL season. Dickinson had two goals and five assists in four games against the Firebirds this season.
ODDS & ENDS:
The Knights finished the regular season on a seven-game winning streak…Flint went 18-14-2-0 on the road this season. Its 18 wins were tied for the seventh-most in the OHL…London lost only eight times on home ice this season, including the 7-4 loss to the Firebirds on November 17…the Knights had the second-highest goal-scoring offense (4.74 GPG) and best goal-scoring defense (2.90 GAPG) in the OHL this season…Nathan Day was fourth among OHL goaltenders with 3,124 minutes played in the regular season…the Firebirds have qualified for the postseason for the fourth time in franchise history and the third consecutive season.
SERIES SCHEDULE:
GAME 1: Friday, March 29 – Flint at London, 7 p.m.
GAME 2: Sunday, March 31 – Flint at London, 2 p.m.
GAME 3: Tuesday, April 2 – London at Flint, 7 p.m. (TICKETS)
GAME 4: Thursday, April 4 – London at Flint, 7 p.m. (TICKETS)
GAME 5: Friday, April 5 – Flint at London, 7 p.m.*
GAME 6: Sunday, April 7 – London at Flint, 4 p.m. *
GAME 7: Tuesday, April 9 – Flint at London, 7 p.m.*
* – if necessary
