Preview: Firebirds & Greyhounds Set for Game Five Tonight in the Soo
| Game 5: Flint Firebirds (1-3) at Soo Greyhounds (3-1) | |
| Date | Time | Friday, March 31 | 7:07 p.m. |
| Location | Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. | Essar Centre (capacity 4,928) |
| Tickets | Online | (866) 775-9422 |
| TV | – WNEM My 5 TV LIVE (Michigan) – Comcast ch. 4 – Charter ch. 199 – Over The Air ch. 5.2 – Rogers ch. 463 & Cogeco ch. 463 (Ontario) |
| Video Stream | OHL Live |
| Radio | WTRX 1330-AM (Flint & Mid-Michigan) | Pregame Show: 6:30p |
| Radio (Mobile) | Sports Xtra 1330 App: Android | iPhone/iPad |
| Live Stats | Here |
| Next Home Game | Sunday, April 2 vs. Soo (Tickets) |
| Social Media | @FlintFirebirds  | Facebook  | Instagram  |
Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. – The Flint Firebirds Hockey Club is on the road tonight, Friday, Mar. 31, for game five of the best-of-seven first-round playoff series against the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. The Firebirds trail 3-1 in the series and look to rebound Friday night with puck drop set for 7:07 p.m. at the Essar Centre.
Friday evening’s contest against the Greyhounds can be watched live throughout Michigan on My-5 TV beginning at 7 p.m. The game will be televised live on channel 4 for Comcast Cable subscribers, channel 199 for Charter Cable Subscribers and channel 5.2 ‘over the air’ for non cable TV subscribers.
Flint fell 5-2 in game one of the best-of-seven series on Thursday, but the Firebirds posted a commanding 6-3 victory in game two on Saturday to tie the series. The Greyhounds held-off Flint in game three 3-1, and won game four 5-2 to earn a 3-1 series lead heading back to Sault Ste. Marie.
The two clubs split the six-game regular-season series, 3-3, with the road team winning each contest. Three of the six games were separated by one goal, while five of the six games were two-goal differences.
On special teams in the playoffs, Flint is 4-for-21 (19%) on the power-play and 20-for-22 (90.9%) on the penalty kill through three games against the Greyhounds. The Firebirds also scored a short-handed goal in Sault Ste. Marie in game two on Saturday.
Game Four:
Sault Ste. Marie jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first frame with goals by Morgan Frost and Otto Makinen. The Greyhounds doubled their two-goal lead less than three minutes into the second period after Boris Katchouk (Tampa Bay Lightning) and David Miller found twine. Everett Clark notched his first goal of the playoffs 6:58 into the middle period to cut the deficit to three goals after 40 minutes of play. Bobby MacIntyre notched his first of the playoffs 4:50 into the third period, but Kole Sherwood (Columbus Blue Jackets) scored four minutes later on the power-play to make it a 5-2 contest. Sault Ste. Marie held-off Flint in the last half of the third period to seal a 5-2 victory to earn the 3-1 series lead.
Players to Watch:
Flint Firebirds (1-3, 7th-Seed Western Conference):
Nick Caamano (Dallas Stars), Maurizio Colella, Kole Sherwood (Columbus Blue Jackets) and Jalen Smereck (Arizona Coyotes) are four Flint Firebirds to watch Friday night.
Kole Sherwood has recorded a point in each of the Firebirds’ first four playoff games and scored in game four. Sherwood finished ninth in the OHL with 85 points (33G, 52A) in 60 games during the regular season and recorded a 14-game point-streak from Dec. 30, 2016 to Feb. 12, 2017.
Nicholas Caamano (Dallas Stars) tallied an assist on Wednesday and finished third on the Firebirds’ roster with 35 goals and 29 assists in 66 games played.
Additionally, Jalen Smereck (Arizona Coyotes) recorded an assist against Sault Ste. Marie in game four and has tallied three points in his last three games. Smereck had nine goals and 36 assists in 60 games during the regular season. Alex Peters has three points in four games this post-season and recorded 34 points in 68 games this campaign. Everett Clark notched his first playoff goal on Wednesday and recorded 16 goals and 23 assists in 65 games. Maurizio Colella picked-up an assist in game four and tallied 18 goals and 23 assists in 65 games this season. Jacob Collins, Ty Dellandrea and Fedor Gordeev recorded their first playoff point in game four.
C.J. Clarke, Samuel Duchesne, Jake Durham, Fedor Gordeev and Jack Phibbs are five first-time eligible players to be selected in the NHL Draft in June 2017.
In net, Connor Hicks finished the regular season with an 18-13-1-3 record and was statistically the 12th-best goaltender in the OHL with a 3.21 GAA and a .886 SAV%. Hicks made 31 saves on 36 shots in the Firebirds’ 5-2 loss against the Greyhounds in game four on Wednesday. Garrett Forrest ended the regular season with a 13-14-2-2 record and was statistically the 17th-best goaltender in the OHL with a 3.51 GAA along with a .889 SAV%.
NHL: The Firebirds currently have two players that have signed contracts with NHL clubs. Forward Kole Sherwood signed a three-year NHL contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets (July 2015) and defenseman Jalen Smereck signed a three-year NHL contract with the Arizona Coyotes (October 2016). Flint’s Nicholas Caamano was drafted by the Dallas Stars in the most recent NHL Draft in June 2016. Along with Caamano, Sherwood and Smereck, four more Flint Firebirds competed in NHL training camps this fall: Everett Clark (St. Louis Blues), Connor Hicks (Detroit Red Wings), Luke Kirwan (Detroit Red Wings) and Alex Peters (Carolina Hurricanes).
Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (3-1, 2nd-Seed Western Conference):
Bobby MacIntyre scored and picked-up an assist against Flint on Wednesday and led the Greyhounds in scoring with 28 goals and 52 assists in 63 games in the regular season. Zachary Senyshyn, a first-round NHL draft pick to the Boston Bruins, tallied an assist in game four and finished the regular season with 42 goals and 23 assists in 59 games. Boris Katchouk (Tampa Bay Lightning) has scored in all three games this post-season and has racked-up 35 goals and 29 assists in 66 games this season. Despite being injured for most of the season, Blake Speers was over a point per-game this season and has tallied four points in his previous four contests. Hayden Verbeek has recorded four points in his last four games and tallied 31 points in 64 games this season. Tim Gettinger (New York Rangers) scored a goal in game three and recorded 31 goals and 23 assists in 62 games during the regular season. Morgan Frost scored on Wednesday and finished the regular season with 20 goals and 42 assists in 67 games. Jack Kopacka (Anaheim Ducks) tallied two assists in his last game and racked-up 49 points in 65 games this season.
MacIntyre, Senyshyn and Katchouk recorded a combined total of 29 points in 35 games throughout the 2016 playoffs for the Greyhounds last season.
Between-the-pipes, Rookie Matthew Villalta entered the post-season with a 25-3-0-0 record and was statistically the fifth-best goaltender in the OHL with a 2.41 GAA along with a .918 SAV%. Joseph Raaymakers finished the regular season with a 23-13-3-1 and was the 15th-ranked goaltender in the OHL with a 3.38 GAA and a .889 SAV%. Raaymakers made 28 saves on 30 shots in the Greyhounds 3-1 lead over the Firebirds on Wednesday. After relieving Villalta late in game two, Raaymakers has been stellar, making 68 saves on 71 shots (95.7%) and allowing only three goals in his past three outings.
Three Greyhounds are rated among the top North American Skaters for the upcoming NHL Draft which takes place June 23-24 in Chicago: Conor Timmins (#26), Morgan Frost (#29) and Anthony Demeo (#161). Matt Villalta is ranked 14th among North American Goaltenders.
NHL: Eight players on the Greyhounds roster have been drafted by NHL teams consisting of Gustav Bouramman (Minnesota Wild), Noah Carroll (Carolina Hurricanes), Tim Gettinger (New York Rangers), Boris Katchouk (Tampa Bay Lightning), Jack Kopacka (Anaheim Ducks), Zachary Senyshyn (Boston Bruins), Blake Speers (New Jersey Devils) and Colton White (New Jersey Devils).
Along with currently having eight players on their roster signed and/or drafted in the NHL, more than 100 former Greyhounds have gone on to play in the National Hockey League.
25 notable Greyhound’s alumni to play in the NHL are Jeff Beukeboom, Bob Boughner, Jeff Carter, Dan Clouthier, Paul Coffey, Trevor Daley, Ray Emery, Adam Foote, Ron Francis, Wayne Gretzky, Craig Hartsburg, Ric Jackman, Dustin Jeffrey, Tyler Kennedy, Denny Lambert, Greg Millen, Ted Nolan, Bob Probert, Wayne Simmons, Brad Staubitz, Steve Sullivan, Joe Thornton, Rick Tocchet, John Vanbiesbrouk, and Josef Vasick.
Broadcast Coverage:
Friday evening’s contest against the Greyhounds can be watched live throughout Michigan on My-5 TV beginning at 7 p.m. The game will be televised live on channel 4 for Comcast Cable subscribers, channel 199 for Charter Cable Subscribers and channel 5.2 ‘over the air’ for non cable TV subscribers. Fans can also listen to the game live on 1330 AM WTRX Sports Radio in Flint & Mid-Michigan and around the world online on the Sports Xtra 1330 Radio app here. Pregame coverage with Dominic Hennig will begin 37 minutes prior to puck drop at 6:30 p.m. Additionally, the game will be televised live in Sault Ste. Marie on channel 10 for Shaw TV cable subscribers and province-wide throughout Ontario on the OHL Action Pak on channel 463 for Rogers TV and Cogeco TV cable subscribers. Fans can also watch the game live online at www.ohllive.com or on the OHL Live App.
Upcoming Home Playoff Game:
In the event of a Firebirds’ victory Friday night, Flint will host the Greyhounds for game six this Sunday Apr. 2 at 4 pm (Buy Tickets Online Here). Tickets start as low as $14. Come #CatchTheFire as the Flint Firebirds make their first run in the OHL Playoffs. Flint Firebirds home playoff games will feature $2 beers and $2 hot dogs for all fans in attendance.
For more information, contact Kevin Mays at (810) 744-0580 ext. 210 or email [email protected].
For media inquiries, contact:
Dominic Hennig
Director of Broadcasting & Communications
Flint Firebirds Hockey Club
[email protected]
(810) 519-9347
