Preview: Firebirds continue road trip Wednesday in Sault Ste. Marie
| Flint Firebirds at Soo Greyhounds | |
| Date | Time | Wednesday, January 22nd | 7:07 p.m. |
| Location | Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. | GFL Memorial Gardens (capacity 4,928) |
| Tickets | Online | (866) 775-9422 |
| TV | – None (1-of-3 games on the 68-game schedule) – Firebirds’ Broadcast Coverage |
| Video Stream | OHL Live |
| Radio | WQUS 103.1 FM (Flint & Mid-Michigan) | Pregame Show: 6:30p |
| Radio (Mobile) | US 103 App: Android | iPhone/iPad |
| Live Stats | Here |
| Next Home Game | Saturday, January 25th: Backpack Night |
| Social Media | @FlintFirebirds  | Facebook  | Instagram  |
Flint, Mich. – The Firebirds continue their five-game road trip Wednesday night in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. Puck drop versus the Greyhounds is set for 7:07 p.m. at GFL Memorial Gardens (cap. 4,928).
Wednesday marks the fifth of six regular-season meetings between these clubs this campaign, and the second of three in Sault Ste. Marie. Flint holds a 3-1-0-0 record against the Greyhounds this season and are 0-1-0-0 in Sault Ste. Marie.
In the very first regular-season game for both teams this campaign, the Greyhounds skated to a 6 – 3 victory in Sault Ste. Marie. Since then, the ‘Birds have defeated the ‘Hounds in Flint 4 – 1 on October 26, 3 – 2 on November 9 and 4 – 3 on November 22. For the first time in franchise history, the Firebirds won all three home games against the Greyhounds.
All-time, Flint is 9-18-1-0 against the Greyhounds and is 3-10-0-0 on the road vs. the Soo. Last season, the ‘Birds finished with a record of 2-4-0-0 against the ‘Hounds, but were winless in away games.
The Firebirds enter Wednesday’s contest in third place in the West Division and sixth in the Western Conference with a record of 23-17-1-1. The Greyhounds are currently fourth in the West Division and ninth in the Western Conference with a record of 20-21-2-0. Flint’s record in away games stands at 9-9-0-1 compared to Sault Ste Marie’s home-ice record of 11-10-2-0. In their last ten games the Firebirds have gone 4-4-1-1 and the Soo is 5-5-0-0 in that span.
Most recently, the Firebirds picked up three points in three days, capped by an 8 – 5 triumph over the Frontenacs in Kingston Sunday afternoon. Firebirds’ captain Ty Dellandrea (Dallas Stars) led the way with a five-point game (2G, 3A), Tyler Tucker (St. Louis Blues) lit-the-lamp for the first time since joining Flint at the trade deadline and Ethan Keppen (Vancouver Canucks) scored twice surpassing his 100th career point in the OHL. Anthony Popovich earned the victory in a relief effort making seven saves on eight shots. Flint has earned points in three of their last four tilts, and the Soo enters Wednesday on a three-game skid.
On special teams this season Flint’s penalty-kill is tied for second in the league, finding success at a rate of 81.9%. Sault Ste. Marie’s penalty-killers are ranked 18th at 75.1%. With the man-advantage, the Greyhounds rank ninth in the league, converting at a rate of 22.6% and the Firebirds are 20th, scoring at a 17.2% clip.
Players to Watch:
Flint Firebirds (23-17-1-1, 3rd West Division):
Belarusian forward Evgeniy Oksentyuk tops the club with 21 goals and 27 assists for 48 points in 37 contests. Oksentyuk carried Flint’s longest-ever point-streak at 17 games (13G, 16A) until Saturday night’s shutout in Peterborough. Ty Dellandrea (Dallas Stars) ranks second for Flint with 20 goals and 27 helpers in 32 games.
Defenseman Riley McCourt recently surpassed former Firebird Matt Henderson for most goals scored by a defenseman in a Firebirds’ uniform with 21 pots in the orange and navy blue. For this season, McCourt is third in total offense with 12 goals and a team-high 32 assists for 44 total points in 42 games. His total points are fourth-most among OHL rearguards, his 12 tallies are tied for fifth, and his 32 helpers are fourth. McCourt also has the fifth-highest points-per-game average among blue-liners at 1.05.
Second-year forward Riley Piercey appears to have found a home in Flint, scoring three times and adding three helpers for a point-per-game average in his six contests since joining the ‘Birds at the trade deadline. Similarly, recently-added defenseman Tyler Tucker (St. Louis Blues) has played six games with Flint, already scoring once and earning two assists.
Brennan Othmann leads the freshman class for the ‘Birds with 21 total points (9G, 12A) through 34 games. His point-total is tied for ninth among rookies in the league, his nine goals are eighth-most and his 12 helpers are tied for ninth. Othmann also ranks sixth among first-year players in the OHL with a .62 point-per-game average.
In net, Anthony Popovich has played in 30 games this season. He’s earned 16 victories, which are tied for the sixth-most in OHL. Popovich’s goals-against average (GAA) is 3.68 and he has the ninth-best save-percentage (SAV%) in the league at .899. Luke Cavallin has seven wins in 16 appearances and carries a 3.88 GAA along with a .894 SAV%.
NHL: The Firebirds have five players with NHL ties consisting of Dennis Busby (Arizona Coyotes), Ty Dellandrea (Dallas Stars), Ethan Keppen (Vancouver Canucks), Vladislav Kolyachonok (Florida Panthers) and Tyler Tucker (St. Louis Blues). Additionally, Evgeniy Oksentyuk was named to the NHL Central Scouting’s Midterm Rankings for the upcoming 2020 NHL Draft.
Despite Flint being in the midst of just their fifth OHL season, three former Firebirds have already played in NHL regular-season games: Nick Caamano (Dallas Stars), Alex Nedeljkovic (Carolina Hurricanes) and Kole Sherwood (Columbus Blue Jackets). Ty Dellandrea (Dallas Stars), Ethan Keppen (Vancouver Canucks), Vili Saarijarvi (Arizona Coyotes) and Jalen Smereck (Arizona Coyotes) have played in NHL pre-season contests. In total, the team has produced an impressive 18 drafted or signed NHL players in that short time.
Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (20-21-2-0, 4th West Division):
Zack Trott leads the ‘Hounds with 16 goals and 26 assists for 42 points in 41 contests. Rory Kerins is tied with Cole MacKay with 38 total points. Both forwards have 20 tallies and 18 helpers, and they’ve each played 43 games on the season.
Billy Constantinou leads the blue-line corps with 36 points (9G, 27A) in 42 contests. Among defenders, Constantinou ranks eighth in points-total and tenth in assists.
First-year forward Tanner Dickinson leads the ‘Hounds’ freshman class with 25 total points, which is tied for fourth-most among the league’s rookies. His 21 assists have him atop the league in the same category.
For the season, Bailey Brkin has appeared in 22 games this season. He’s earned 13 wins, and carries a 3.52 GAA with a .882 SAV%. Ethan Taylor has made 12 appearances and has a GAA of 3.67 along with a .861 SAV%. Taylor has three victories this season.
NHL: The Greyhounds have just one player with NHL ties, defenseman Jacob LeGuerrier (Montreal Canadiens). However, they lead the OHL with seven players listed on the NHL Central Scouting’s Midterm Rankings for the upcoming 2020 NHL Draft. Those who made the list are, Ryan O’Rourke, Jaromir Pytlik, Tanner Dickinson, Rory Kerins, Robert Calisti, Tye Karytye and netminder Nick Malik.
25 notable Greyhounds’ alumni to play in the NHL are Wayne Gretzky, Jeff Beukeboom, Bob Boughner, Jeff Carter, Dan Clouthier, Paul Coffey, Trevor Daley, Ray Emery, Adam Foote, Ron Francis, Craig Hartsburg, Ric Jackman, Dustin Jeffrey, Tyler Kennedy, Denny Lambert, Greg Millen, Ted Nolan, Nathan Perrott, Bob Probert, Wayne Simmons, Brad Staubitz, Steve Sullivan, Joe Thornton, Rick Tocchet, John Vanbiesbrouk, and Josef Vasick.
Broadcast Coverage:
Wednesday evening’s contest 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 here. Firebirds’ broadcaster Dominic Hennig will call the play-by-play action with pre-game coverage beginning 30 minutes prior to puck drop at 6:30 p.m.
The game is one of three games this season that will not have television coverage.
All Flint Firebirds home and away games throughout the 2019-20 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, $149.99 for all 68 home and away Firebirds games and $179.99 for all 1,360 OHL games throughout the 2019-20 season.
Next Home Game:
After visiting the Soo Greyhounds Wednesday, Flint will play a home-and-home series against the Guelph Storm. Friday night is the away game at the Sleeman Centre in Guelph. The ‘Birds return home Saturday to host the Storm for the club’s annual ‘Backpack Night.’ Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. at the Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center in Flint.
The Firebirds are raising funds to feed children at risk of hunger throughout Eastern Michigan. In partnership with the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan, there will be a silent auction for 10 authentic custom Firebirds’ player backpacks, which will be stitched with select Flint Firebirds players’ last name, number and the Firebirds’ logo. There will be a minimum retail value of $250 worth of products or services inside each bag from local sponsors on the arena concourse. A donation of $100 can feed a child for an entire school year. All 50/50 proceeds on this night will benefit The School Backpack Program.
The goal of the Backpack Program is to provide children at risk of hunger with easy access to healthy, non-perishable food items that meet their weekend nutritional needs during the school year. The program fills the gap in the federally funded feeding programs already in place at the schools.
The Food Bank of Eastern Michigan Backpack Program currently serves over 160 schools in 22 counties and over 8,000 children every weekend. In Genesee County there are 24,000 children who are food insecure. Currently there is only funding for 2,000 children to participate in the Backpack Program. The backpacks contain 2 Breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners and several snacks every weekend. The food is kid friendly, shelf stable, nutritious and easy for the child to prepare themselves.
Single game tickets for all Firebirds games are $12 Bronze, $16 Silver, $20 Gold and $26 VIP seating (Seating Chart). All seats are reserved / assigned seating. Fans can purchase tickets by calling (810) 744-0580, in-person at the Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center Box Office or online at ticketmaster.com here.
For more information:
Dominic Hennig
Director of Broadcasting & Communications
Flint Firebirds Hockey Club
[email protected]
(810) 519-9347
