Preview: Firebirds & Sting Battle in Sarnia Friday
| Flint Firebirds (0-2-0-0) at Sarnia Sting (1-0-0-0) | |
| Date | Time | Friday, Sep. 28 | 7:05 p.m. |
| Location | Sarnia, Ont. | Progressive Auto Sales Arena (capacity 5,500) |
| Tickets | Online | (519) 541-1717 ext. 1 |
| TV | – Cogeco TV channel 6 / 700 HD Live (Sarnia) – OHL Action Pak: Rogers TV 457 & Cogeco TV 488 Live (Ontario) |
| Video Stream | OHL Live |
| Radio | – None (2nd-of-3 conflicts in 68-game season) |
| Radio (Mobile) | – None (2nd-of-3 conflicts in 68-game season) |
| Live Stats | Here |
| Next Home Game | Saturday, Sep. 29 vs. London (Tickets) |
| Social Media | @FlintFirebirds  | Facebook  | Instagram  |
Sarnia, Ont. – The Flint Firebirds will play their third consecutive road game this Friday against West Division rival Sarnia Sting before coming home for Opening Night tomorrow (Saturday) against the London Knights. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m. (ET) at the Progressive Auto Sales Arena (capacity 5,500).
For the Sting, this will be the second game of the season. A closing of the Mackinac Bridge last Friday caused a postponement of what should have been their first game in Sault Ste. Marie. Instead, their first regular season game was a 6-2 victory against the Spirit in Saginaw on Saturday night.
All-time, the Firebirds are 13-11-0-0 against the Sting and are 6-6-0-0 at the Progressive Auto Sales Arena. Last season, Flint posted a 3-5-0-0 record against Sarnia, who spent part of the year ranked as the first place team in the OHL, but finished second in total points.
On the backend for the Firebirds, the Toronto Maple Leafs reassigned defenseman Fedor Gordeev to Flint Wednesday night and the Firebirds acquired defenseman Ryan Bangs in a trade with the London Knights Tuesday.
Flint’s Garrett Rutledge will make his first visit to his hometown of Sarnia as an assistant coach in the Ontario Hockey League.
Players to Watch:
Flint Firebirds (0-2-0-0, 5th West Division):
The leading returning scorers for the Firebirds are newly appointed captain Ty Dellandrea (Dallas Stars), Connor Roberts and assistant captain Jake Durham. Dellandrea, who was selected in the first-round 13th overall by the Dallas Stars in this past NHL Draft, recorded 59 points (27G, 32A) in 67 games with Flint last season. He was signed to a three-year NHL entry-level contract with Dallas last week.
Connor Roberts finished the 2017-18 season with 35 points (18G, 17A) in 66 games and Jake Durham tallied 30 points (8G, 22A) in 68 games. Additionally, Two of Jack Phibbs’ five goals in the Ontario Hockey League have come against the Sting in Sarnia.
Defenseman Hakon Nilsen leads the Firebirds with two points on the season, earning two assists in two games. In addition, Hunter Holmes, Ethan Keppen, Jack Wismer, Jake Durham, Kyle Harris, and Conner Roberts have each recorded one point.
In net, Emanuel Vella returned to the Firebirds’ line-up last Friday night after spending the previous three weeks with the New York Islanders. Vella made 32 appearances a season ago, finishing with a 3.27 GAA and a .896 SAV%. The London Knights originally drafted Vella 47th overall (3rd round) in the 2014 OHL Priority Selection. Luke Cavallin appeared in 31 games last season and posted a 4.19 goals-against average (GAA) and a .872 save percentage (SAV%). Evan Morrison is the third goaltender for Flint this pre-season. He played more than 32 minutes against the Windsor Spitfires on Sep. 2, making nine saves on 13 shots. He also split time with Cavallin in the Firebirds’ last pre-season game in Saginaw on Sep. 15.
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). Additionally, 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).
Sarnia Sting (1-0-0-0, 2nd West Division):
Adam Ruzicka (Calgary Flames), Anthony Salinitri (Philadelphia Flyers) and Sean Josling are the three top returning point-getters for the Sting. Ruzicka finished second in goals and third in points on a potent offense in the 2017-18 season, earning 72 points (36G, 36) in 63 games played. Salinitri finished last season with 58 points (27G, 31A) in 67 games during his fourth season in the league. On Saturday, he finished with two goals and an assist in Saginaw. Josling picked up 38 points in 68 games in just his second OHL season.
Newcomer Jacob Perreault. hails from Hinsdale, IL. He picked up two goals in the game against Saginaw, including the game-winner. The defenders for the Sting are led by a returning veteran from Bloomfield Hills, Mich., Theo Calvas. He stands 6-foot-5 and scored three goals and added 20 assists a season ago.
In net, the Sting also carry a trio of goaltenders. Aiden Hughes got the nod on Saturday night, allowing just two goals on 30 shots, and logging a .933 save-percentage (SAV%). Blair Coffin made three pre-season appearances, posting a 4.70 goals-against average (GAA) and a .874 SAV%. Ethan Langevin made one pre-season appearance and posted a SAV% of .923.
NHL: The Sting feature three players with NHL ties, including Adam Ruzicka (Calgary Flames), Anthony Salinitri (Philadelphia Flyers) and Ryan McGregor (Toronto Maple Leafs). Theo Calvas and Mitch Eliot both attended the Carolina Hurricanes camp.
13 notable Sting’s alumni to play in the NHL are Reid Boucher, Eric Boulton, Daniel Carcillo, Jakob Chychrun, Alex Galchenyuk, Matt Martin, Connor Murphy, Dalton Prout, Brett Ritchie, Steven Stamkos, Ryan Spooner, Nail Yakupov and Pavel Zacha.
Broadcast Coverage:
Friday evening’s contest in Sarnia is the second of three conflicts that there will not be a live radio broadcast available in Michigan. Radio coverage will resume on Saturday, when the Firebirds play their first home game of the 2018-19 season at the Dort Federal Event Center. Dominic Hennig will have the play-by-play action on US 103.1 FM and online at www.us103.com. Pre-game coverage starts 30 minutes prior to puck drop at 6:30 p.m. (ET).
The game will be televised live across the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pak on channel 457 for Rogers TV cable subscribers and 488 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.
Upcoming Home Game:
The Firebirds will return to the Dort Federal Event Center for the 2018-19 OHL regular season Opening Night this Saturday, Sep. 29. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. against the London Knights. The Firebirds are encouraging all fans to wear orange as everyone in attendance will receive an orange rally towel, compliments of Dort Federal Credit Union.
Opening night and all 34 individual game tickets for the Firebirds’ 2018-19 season are on sale now and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com here. Single game tickets are $12 for bronze, $16 for silver, $20 for gold and $26 for VIP seating.
Photo Credit: Metcalfe Photography
For more information:
Dominic Hennig
Director of Broadcasting & Communications
Flint Firebirds Hockey Club
[email protected]
(810) 519-9347
