Preview: Flint Hosts Hamilton For College Night Tuesday: $2 Beers & $2 Hot Dogs
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The Flint Firebirds are back in action at home Tuesday for the final time of the 2015 calendar year. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. (EST) against the Hamilton Bulldogs for the second college night of the season featuring $2 beers and $2 hot dogs for all fans in attendance. All college students with valid identification will also receive $2 off admission.
The Firebirds are in fourth place in the West Division with a 14-16-1-2 record while Hamilton is in 5th place in the East Division with a 13-17-3-0 record. Flint fell to the Bulldogs 4-2 in the first meeting between the two clubs on Dec. 19 in Hamilton. After scoring the first goal of the evening vs. the Bulldogs, Connor Chatham (New Jersey ’14) has now tallied a point in 12 of the last 15 games. (Highlights)
Tickets are $12 for bronze, $15 for silver and $19 for corporate/gold seating and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com, by visiting the Dort Federal Event Center Box Office Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. or by phone at (810) 744-0580.
Radio & TV Coverage
Fans unable to attend Tuesday’s game can listen live in Flint and Mid-Michigan on 1330 AM WTRX Sports Radio and around the world online on the iHeartRadio app. Dominic Hennig will call the play-by-play action on the Flint Firebirds Hockey Radio Network. Pregame coverage will begin one hour prior to puck drop on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m.
Tuesday’s game against the Bulldogs will be televised live in Hamilton on channel 14 for Cogeco TV, Rogers TV and Source Cable TV subscribers. In addition, the game will be televised live across the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pak on cable channel 462. 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 Saturday’s game, 64 of the Firebirds’ 68 games throughout the 2015-16 season are also scheduled to be televised live across the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pack.
All Flint Firebirds home and away games throughout the 2015-16 season can be watched anywhere in the world online on OHL Live and 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 2015-16 season.
Players to Watch:
Flint:
Will Bitten leads the Firebirds with 18 goals and 23 assists totaling 41 points in 33 games played this season. Bitten is also second in the OHL with a 24.7% shooting percentage. Connor Chatham (New Jersey ’14) had a goal and five shots in the Dec. 19 game vs. the Bulldogs and is second on the Firebirds with 28 points in 32 games played. Chatham has tallied a point in 12 of the last 15 games.
Goaltender Brandon Johnston started against the Hamilton Bulldogs in the most recent contest on Dec. 19, making 18 saves on 22 shots. Johnston has a 3.73 GAA and a .873 save percentage. Brent Moran (Dallas ’14) holds a 3.19 goals against average (GAA) and a .888 save percentage (SV%).
There are four players on the Flint Firebirds roster that are drafted in the National Hockey League. Firebirds captain Alex Peters and goaltender Brent Moran were both selected by the Dallas Stars in the 2014 NHL Draft. In the same draft, the New Jersey Devils nabbed Connor Chatham in the third round. Most recently, Vili Saarijärvi was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings this past June in the 2015 NHL Draft.
In addition, Will Bitten, Nicholas Caamano, Jacob Collins, Matyáš Kantner, Dane Johnstone and Håkon Nilsen are eligible to be selected in the 2016 NHL Draft in Buffalo in June.
Hamilton:
Stephen Harper leads the Bulldogs with 39 points (17 G, 22 A) in 33 games played this season, including five power play goals. Michael Cramarossa has nine goals and 18 assists in 29 games while Mason Marchment has eight goals and 18 assists for 26 points.
In net, the Bulldogs have starting goaltender Charlie Graham who holds a .890 save percentage and a 3.48 goals against average with a 10-12-3-0 record this season. Graham stopped 22 of 24 shots in the previous game against the Firebirds. Backup netminder, Connor Hicks has a .869 save percentage and a 4.23 GAA in nine games played.
NHL Central Scouting has identified Hamilton Bulldogs Cole Candella (Defenseman), Trent Fox (Center), Benjamin Gleason (Defenseman), Ondrej Kachyna (Defenseman) and Brandon Saigeon (Center) as players to watch for the upcoming 2016 NHL Draft in their November 2015 watch list.
The Hamilton Bulldogs saw three current players attend NHL training camps this fall: Trent Fox (St. Louis Blues), Stephen Harper (San Jose Sharks) and Justin Lemcke (Detroit Red Wings).
Special Teams
The Flint Firebirds power play ranks 18th out of 20 teams in the OHL converting at a 14.6% success-rate scoring 20 goals on 137 opportunities. On the penalty kill, the Firebirds are currently 14th in the OHL, operating at 78.3%. Flint has scored two shorthanded goals and has successfully killed 108 of 138 penalties this season. The Firebirds are recording the 8th least penalty minutes in the OHL with an average of 12.2 per game.
Hamilton is 12th on the power play, scoring 19.4% of the time and is 12th on the penalty kill at 78.5%.
Next Home Games:
Following Tuesday evening’s game against Hamilton, Flint will host the Windsor Spitfires for the first time at the Dort Federal Event Center on Saturday, January 2nd. All Flint Firebirds games in the month of January are food drive nights where fans can bring in two cans of food to receive $2 off their tickets.
On Sunday, January 3rd the Firebirds host the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and it’s another Dort Federal Credit Union family night. Free thunderstix for the first 2,000 fans that enter the building and there will be Face painters, balloon twisters and bounce houses for the kids.
Tickets are $12 for bronze, $15 for silver and $19 for corporate/gold seating and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com, by visiting the Dort Federal Event Center Box Office Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. or by phone at (810) 744-0580.
Saarijärvi To Play For Finland in World Junior Championship
Firebirds’ Vili Saarijärvi is among the 23 players that have been selected to Team Finland’s World Junior roster for the 2016 World Junior Championship to be held in Helsinki, Finland from December 26th to January 5th.
The IIHF Ice Hockey World Junior Championships (WJC), commonly known simply as the World Juniors, is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for national under-20 ice hockey teams from around the world. It is traditionally held in late December, ending in the first week of January.
The main tournament features the top ten ranked hockey nations in the world, comprising the ‘Top Division’, from which a world champion is crowned. Canada is the defending champion of the tournament, after having beaten Russia to win the 2015 edition on January 5th.
Flint Firebirds Dressing Room & Facilities
Home of the Flint Firebirds, the Dort Federal Event Center received a multi-million dollar renovation in the summer of 2015 that provides the club a first class dressing room, facilities and other amenities to help the players and staff maximize their careers and goals to advance to the National Hockey League. Click here to see a photo album of the Flint Firebirds dressing room and facilities.
Group Ticket Packages
Whether you’re entertaining corporate clients, celebrating a special occasion, having a fun night out with the family and friends or rewarding employees…we have a fun, easy and affordable plan for you. It’s more than a ticket, it’s an experience! Contact Shane Stout to book your group outing today: (810) 742-2004 or via email at [email protected].
Flint Firebirds Hockey Radio Coach’s Show
Join the Voice of the Firebirds Dominic Hennig and Head Coach John Gruden from 6-7 p.m. every Tuesday night on 1330 WTRX Sports Radio and around the world online on the iHeartRadio App here. Hennig and Gruden recap the previous week of events, preview the upcoming games on the ice and take your phone calls, emails and tweets! Tune in each Tuesday from 6-7 p.m. on 1330 AM WTRX Sports Radio.
Firebirds Gear
Stop by the Flint Firebirds Merchandise Store at the Dort Federal Event Center, Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. to stock up on the best Firebirds’ gear around. Jerseys, shirts, hats, hoodies, game pucks, mouse pads and other accessories and collectables are available at the Flint Firebirds Merchandise Store.
Social Media
Stay connected with the Flint Firebirds 24-7-365. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Vine, YouTube, etc. Find all of the Firebirds social media handles online at www.flintfirebirds.com/socialmedia
For media inquiries, contact:
Dominic Hennig
Director of Broadcasting & Communications
Flint Firebirds Hockey Club
[email protected]
(810) 519-9347
