Preview: Firebirds host Sarnia Sting Saturday in Flint
| Sarnia Sting (15-16-2-0) at Flint Firebirds (18-13-0-0) | |
| Date | Time | Saturday, Dec. 28 | 7:00 p.m. |
| Location | Flint, Mich. | Dort Federal Event Center (Directions) |
| Tickets | Ticketmaster.com | (810) 744-0580 |
| Promotions | – Thunderstix giveaway (Dort Federal Credit Union) |
| TV | – YourTV channel 6 / 700 HD Live (Sarnia) – OHL Action Pak: Cogeco ch. 467 & Rogers ch. 467 Live (Ontario) – Firebirds’ Broadcast Coverage |
| Video Stream | – TV Pregame Show (6:30pm) – 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 |
| Media Notes Packet | Here |
| Social Media | @FlintFirebirds  | Facebook  | Instagram  |
Flint, Mich. – The Firebirds return from the holiday break to host back-to-back division rivals this weekend. The action begins Saturday when the Firebirds host the Sarnia at the Dort Federal Event Center (cap. 4,400) for an expected capacity crowd. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. (ET).
The Firebirds are off to their best year in franchise history after starting with a franchise-best 10-3-0-0 record and a 6-0 record on home ice in Flint. The Firebirds enter Saturday’s contest in third place in the West Division with a record of 18-13-0-0. Sarnia is currently in fifth place with a 15-16-2-0 record.
Saturday also marks the sixth of eight regular-season meetings between these clubs this campaign, and the fourth of four games in Flint. The Firebirds have won two of five contests against the Sting this season, both on home ice. All-time, Flint holds a record of 16-19-2-0 in games against the Sting. In home games, the ‘Birds are 12-6-1-0 in the series. Last season, the ‘Birds finished with an overall record of 3-4-1-0 versus the Bee’s, and went 3-0-1-0 on home ice.
In their final ten games before the league’s holiday break, the ‘Birds went 5-5-0-0 and the Sting went 4-4-2-0. On home ice, the Firebirds have an 11-6-0-0 record this season, compared to Sarnia’s 9-7-1-0 road record.
Flint will be missing their captain Ty Dellandrea and six other players. Dellandrea is representing Canada in the prestigious 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ostrava and Trinec, Czech Republic, Dec. 26-Jan. 5. Flint is also expecting to be missing Ryan Bangs, Zacharie Giroux, Peyton Grainer, Braeden Kressler, Vladislav Kolyachonok and Evan Vierling.
On special teams, the Sting rank fourth in the OHL on the power play, converting at a 28.7% clip. The Firebirds are scoring at a rate of 17.5% with the man-advantage. Flint maintains the fourth-ranked penalty kill (PK) on home ice with an 83.6% success rate, and their overall PK ranks eighth at 78.7% efficiency. The Bee’s are 19th on the PK, operating at 74.2%.
Promotions:
All fans in fans in attendance at Saturday night’s game against Sarnia will receive a pair of thunderstix, compliments of Dort Federal Credit Union. Fans are encouraged to wear orange and arrive early to the game! Also, Dort Federal Credit Union members are encouraged to redeem their (4) Firebirds Hockey vouchers per member from the 2019 member appreciation day, a value of $16 for each voucher!
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 Event Center Box Office or online at ticketmaster.com here.
Players to Watch:
Flint Firebirds (18-13-0-0, 3rd West Division):
The Firebirds are expected to receive Belarusian forward Evgeniy Oksentyuk back in the line-up after missing the past five games representing the Belarusian National-Under 20 Team at the IIHF Ice Hockey U20 World Championship Division I, Group A. He has 20 helpers plus 13 goals for 33 points in 26 contests. Oksentyuk is on an eight-game point streak (5G, 9A). Defenseman Riley McCourt ranks third with ten goals and a team-high 22 assists for 32 total points in 31 games. His total points are sixth-most among OHL rearguards, his ten tallies rank fifth, and his 22 helpers are tied for eighth-most. Jake Durham ranks fourth in scoring for the ‘Birds with 14 goals and 15 assists on the season. He currently has 67 career goals, tying him with former Firebirds’ forward Nick Caamano for third-most in franchise history.
First-year forward Brennan Othmann ranks in the top-10 with seven goals (T-8th), ten assists (T-6th) and 17 points (T-5th) among the OHL’s freshman class.
Between the pipes, Anthony Popovich has played in 22 games this season. He’s earned 12 victories and carries a save-percentage (SAV%) of .898 with a goals-against average (GAA) of 3.71. Luke Cavallin has six wins in 12 appearances, and he carries a 3.79 GAA with a .898 SAV%. Both Flint netminders are tied for the ninth-best SAV% in the OHL.
NHL: The Firebirds have four players with NHL ties consisting of Dennis Busby (Arizona Coyotes), Ty Dellandrea (Dallas Stars), Ethan Keppen (Vancouver Canucks), and Vladislav Kolyachonok (Florida Panthers). In addition, Evan Vierling was named to the November 2020 NHL Central Scouting ‘Players to Watch’ list.
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 17 drafted or signed NHL players in that short time.
Sarnia Sting (15-16-2-0, 5th West Division):
Sean Josling leads the Sting on the stat sheet with 54 points (25G, 29A) through 33 games-played. His 25 tallies are tied for second-most in the OHL, and his 54 points are sixth-most. Jamieson Rees (Carolina Hurricanes) ranks second on the team with 17 goals and 28 assists in only 24 games. Rees is on a six-game point streak (5G, 6A), and he’s tied for the leagues most insurance goals (4) and has the second-most short-handed goals (4). Jacob Perreault’s 21 goals are tied for eighth-most in the league and his 44 total points are third on the Sting’s roster. Perreault also leads the OHL with 11 power-play goals.
The Sarnia rearguards are led by Eric Hjorth who has nine goals and 13 assists through 33 contests. Ryan Mast is a first-year blue-liner who’s scored one goal and picked up seven helpers to lead all rookies on the club.
Second-year netminder Ethan Langevin has played in 21 games for the Sting this season, earning victories in seven of them. He holds a 4.62 goals-against average (GAA) along with a .876 SAV%. Jordan Kooy (Vegas Golden Knights) has appeared in ten contests this season and recorded three victories along with a 4.52 GAA with a save-percentage SAV% of .869.
NHL: The Sting have four players with NHL ties, including Grosse Pointe, Mich. native Mitch Eliot (Vancouver Canucks), Ryan McGregor (Toronto Maple Leafs), Jamieson Rees (Carolina Hurricanes) and Jordan Kooy (Vegas Golden Knights).
13 notable Sting’s alumni to play in the NHL are Steven Stamkos, Reid Boucher, Eric Boulton, Daniel Carcillo, Jakob Chychrun, Alex Galchenyuk, Matt Martin, Connor Murphy, Dalton Prout, Brett Ritchie, Ryan Spooner, Nail Yakupov and Pavel Zacha.
Broadcast Coverage:
Saturday evening’s contest against the Sarnia Sting 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 on the Firebirds Hockey Network (FHN). Pregame coverage will begin 30 minutes prior to puck drop at 6:30 p.m. New this season, fans can watch the FHN TV Pregame Show live on Facebook and Twitter, also beginning at 6:30 p.m.
The game will be televised live in Sarnia on channel 6 / 700 (HD) for Cogeco TV cable subscribers and across the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pak on channel 467 for both Cogeco TV and Rogers 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 Saturday’s game, 65 of the Firebirds’ 68 games throughout the 2019-20 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 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:
The Firebirds are back in action Sunday afternoon for a 2:00 p.m. West Division clash with the Windsor Spitfires. Sunday’s game is the third and final Firebirds’ Family “FUN”day of the season. Firebirds’ Sunday “FUN”day games feature up to two free kids’ tickets (12 & under) with the purchase of an adult ticket, as well as a post-game ‘skate with Firebirds players and autograph signing session after the game. Additionally, there will bounce houses prior to game in the Dort Federal Event Center lobby for the kids and all fans in attendance will receive a pair of thunderstix, compliments of Dort Federal Credit Union!
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 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
