Preview: Firebirds Host Windsor As Part Of 5th Annual ‘Hockey Day in the OHL’ on YourTV Sunday
| Windsor Spitfires (23-19-2-2) at Flint Firebirds (13-29-3-1) | |
| Date | Time | Sunday, Jan. 28 | 4:00 p.m. |
| Location | Flint, Mich. | Dort Federal Event Center (Directions) |
| Tickets | Ticketmaster.com | (810) 744-0580 |
| Promotions | – Double Redemption (Season Ticket Holders) – Firebirds Family 4 Pack – Kids Free Day – ‘Firebirds’ Fight Hunger’ Month |
| TV | – YourTV channel 11 / 700 HD Live (Windsor) – OHL Action Pak: Rogers TV 446 & Cogeco TV 447 Live (Ontario) – Broadcast Information |
| Video Stream | OHL Live |
| Radio | WQUS 103.1 FM (Flint & Mid-Michigan) | Pregame Show: 3:30p |
| Radio (Mobile) | US 103 App: Android | iPhone/iPad |
| Live Stats | Here |
| Next Home Game | Wednesday, Jan. 31 vs. Saginaw (Buy Tickets) |
| Media Notes Packet | Here |
| Social Media | @FlintFirebirds  | Facebook  | Instagram  |
Flint, Mich. – The Flint Firebirds will host the Windsor Spitfires at 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon as part of the fifth-annual ‘Hockey Day in the OHL’ across YourTV markets throughout the province of Ontario.
This season, Windsor holds a 2-1-0-0 record against the Firebirds. The Spitfires claimed the first victory on Oct. 22 in Flint before the Firebirds posted a 4-3 overtime triumph in Windsor on Dec. 3. That night, rookie netminder Luke Cavallin earned his first career OHL win, making 30 saves on 33 shots. Jalen Smereck was named the ‘First Star of the Game,’ scoring the overtime goal that sealed the victory.
Exactly one week ago from today, Flint and Windsor played a nail-biter featuring outstanding defensive play and impressive goaltending throughout. Windsor came out on top by the narrow margin of 1 – 0. Cavallin made 35 saves on 36 shots and earned ‘Second Star’ honors in the contest.
Sunday marks the fourth of six games between the two clubs this season and second of three contests in Flint. All-time, the Firebirds have a 4-10-1-0 record against Windsor.
The Spitfires enter the contest with a season record of 23-19-2-2, sitting fourth in the West Division. Flint stands 5th in the West Division with a 13-29-3-1 record. Flint has a home record of 9-13-1-0 this season and Windsor brings a road record of 13-11-0-0. Last night, both teams made come-back bids that fell just short. The Spitfires trailed by as many as three goals, but only lost by one 6 – 5 in Saginaw. Flint trailed by one with under two minutes to play, eventually falling 5 – 3 to the Kitchener Rangers in front of nearly 3,000 fans at the Dort Federal Event Center.
On special teams, the Spitfires have the ninth-ranked power play in the league, converting at a rate of 21.7%. On the penalty kill, they rank sixth-best at 81.7%. Flint converts on 16.4% of their chances with the man-advantage. Their penalty kill has found success 73.8% of the time, including killing all three short-handed situations last night against Kitchener.
Promotions:
This Sunday is a “Firebirds Family 4 Pack” game when the Firebirds battle the Windsor Spitfires at 4 p.m. Sponsored by Dort Federal Credit Union, at every Sunday home game, the ‘4 pack’ features 4 Silver Level reserved tickets, 4 hot dogs, 4 sodas, 2 game programs and 2 game pucks, a value of $120 for $76. Also, all Sunday’s are ‘Firebirds KIDS FREE days,’ compliments of Aquafina: All kids 12-under will receive a free game ticket with adult purchase, valid for all price levels.
Sunday is also considered a ‘double redemption’ game for all season ticket holders and sponsors: If you’ve missed any games this season, you can redeem your unused season ticket(s) to get two tickets for every one season ticket presented at the Dort Federal Event Center box office.
Help the Firebirds Fight Hunger during January. Also in partnership with the Foodbank of Eastern Michigan, fans can bring in five non-perishable food items to any Firebirds’ home game in the month of January to receive a complimentary Silver Level ticket, sponsored by Little Caesars and The View Newspaper Group, limit to four tickets per person.
Players to Watch
Flint Firebirds (13-29-3-1, 5th West Division):
Maurizio Colella and Ty Dellandrea both enter the game on hot-streaks while holding a share of the team-lead in points. Colella leads the team with 23 assists and has 39 points in 45 games played this season. Dellandrea leads all Firebirds in goals with 18, and also has 39 total points. In the past two contests, Dellandrea has earned one goal and three assists. Colella has three assists in the past two games. Ranked third on the club is Connor Roberts with 22 points in 44 games played this season, including four goals in the past five games.
Riley McCourt leads all rookies on the Firebirds’ roster with 13 points on the season. McCourt recorded his third goal of the season last night and first as a Firebirds on home-ice. McCourt has 10 helpers in 34 games played.
The Firebirds Captain and Detroit, Mich. native Jalen Smereck (Arizona Coyotes) leads all defensemen on the squad. Smereck has six goals and 10 assists for 16 points in 24 games played.
Between-the-pipes, Garrett Forrest has played in 34 games this season, including last night. Forrest has a 4.68 goals-against average (GAA) and a .864 save percentage (SAV%). Forrest has backstopped Flint to 10 of 13 wins in net. Rookie goaltender Luke Cavallin has appeared in 17 games this season. He has a 4.06 GAA and a .871 SAV%. Cavallin was the highest selected goaltender in the 2017 OHL Priority Draft.
NHL: The Firebirds have two players with NHL ties consisting of Jalen Smereck (Arizona Coyotes) and Fedor Gordeev (Toronto Maple Leafs). Additionally, Dennis Busby, Ty Dellandrea, Hunter Holmes, Ryan Littlejohn, Riley McCourt, Connor Roberts and Jack Wismer are seven first-time eligible players to be selected in the NHL Entry Draft in June 2018.
Windsor Spitfires (23-19-2-2, 4th West Division):
The Spitfires are led by Cole Purbo, who has 16 goals and 22 assists for 38 points in 46 games played this season. Purboo is on a three-game point-streak. Jake Smith ranks second on the club with 13 goals and 24 assists for 37 points in 45 games. Smith has back-to-back two-goal games. Curtis Douglas enters the contest on a six-game point-streak and is third on the Spitfires’ roster with 33 points in 44 games.
In net, Michael DiPietro (Vancouver Canucks) ranks fifth in the OHL with a goals-against average of 2.76. He has the third-best save percentage at .915. DiPietro has 21 wins in 38 games played this season, and played last night in Saginaw. Back-up netminder Brock Baier has appeared in six games and holds a 5.04 GAA and a .825 SAV%. Lucas Patton has appeared in five games between the pipes with a 3.27 GAA and a .903 SAV%.
NHL: After winning the 2017 CHL Memorial Cup, Windsor now has just one player with NHL ties, goaltender Michael DiPietro (Vancouver Canucks). Forward Igor Larionov hails from Detroit and is the son of the former NHL star and Detroit Red Wing of the same name. Additionally, the Spitfires have two players listed among NHL Central Scouting’s November ‘Players to Watch’ list for the upcoming 2018 NHL Draft: Connor Corcoran and Matthew MacDougall.
19 notable Spitfires’ alumni to play in the NHL are Bryan Bickell, Jack Campbell, Matt Cooke, Peter DeBoer, Steve Downie, Ryan Ellis, Cam Fowler, Adam Graves, Taylor Hall, Adam Henrique, Ed Jovanovski, Claude Julien, Michael Leighton, Eddie Mio, Michal Neuvirth, Steve Ott, Richard Panik, Joel Quenneville and Jason Spezza.
Broadcast Coverage:
Sunday afternoon’s contest against the Windsor Spitfires 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. Dominic Hennig will call the play-by-play action on the Flint Firebirds Hockey Radio Network. Pregame coverage will begin 30 minutes prior to puck drop at 3:30 p.m.
The game will be televised live on YourTV channel 11 / 700 HD for Cogeco TV cable subscribers in Windsor. As part of “Hockey Day in the OHL” on YourTV, the game will also be televised throughout various Southwestern Ontario cities locally such as Chatham, Leamington, Sarnia and Windsor. Additionally, it will be televised province-wide throughout Ontario on the OHL Action Pak on channel 446 for Rogers TV cable subscribers and channel 447 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 Sunday’s game, 65 of the Firebirds’ 68 games throughout the 2017-18 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 2017-18 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 2017-18 season.
Blue Line Club Menu:
Presented by Great Lakes Sandwich Co & Cafe, Sunday afternoon’s dinner menu for the Blue Line Club features smothered pork tenderloin, pulled pork sliders, meatballs with gravy, macaroni and cheese, green beans, corn, tossed salad, dinner rolls with butter and assorted desserts. Sunday’s menu is available to all sponsors and season ticket holders for $15 per person. Dinner RSVPs are encouraged by emailing Karla Turner at [email protected].
For more information:
Dominic Hennig
Director of Broadcasting & Communications
Flint Firebirds Hockey Club
[email protected]
(810) 519-9347
