Preview: Firebirds Travel to Windsor for Thursday Night Tilt
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The Flint Firebirds (5-6-0-1) travel to Windsor, Ontario for a Thursday night game against West Division rival Windsor Spitfires (8-2-3-0). Most recently, the Spitfires topped the London Knights 6-3 on home ice and currently lead the division with 19 points in 13 games played.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. (ET) Thursday evening at the WFCU Centre (capacity 6,450).
Radio & TV Coverage
Fans unable to attend the game this weekend can listen live in Flint and Mid-Michigan on 1330 AM WTRX Sports Radio and worldwide online on the iHeartRadio App. Dominic Hennig will call the play-by-play action all season long on the Flint Firebirds Hockey Radio Network. Pregame coverage will begin at 6:30 p.m.
Thursday’s game against the Spitfires will be televised live on Cogeco TV channel 11 in Windsor and across the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pak on Rogers channel 436. OHL fans with Rogers Cable 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 Thursday night’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:
The Firebirds are lead up front in scoring by Will Bitten, who is eligible to be selected in the 2016 NHL Draft in June, with seven goals and nine assists for sixteen points in twelve games played this season. Bitten is currently tied for 8th overall in the OHL in scoring. Vili Saarijärvi (Detroit ’15) has two goals and 14 assists in 12 games played and leads all OHL defenseman with 16 points. Rookie Dane Johnstone has scored two goals in his last three games with the Flint Firebirds.
Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic (Carolina ’14) has a 2-2 record with a .855 save percentage and a 3.98 goals against average. Rookie netminder Kyle Keyser has a 1-1 record and a .923 save percentage including a 2.66 goals against average.
There are five players on the Flint Firebirds roster that are drafted in the National Hockey League. Alex Nedeljkovic and Josh Wesley were both selected by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2014 NHL Draft. In the same draft, the New Jersey Devils nabbed Connor Chatham while Alex Peters was chosen by the Dallas Stars. 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 and Håkon Nilsen are eligible to be selected in the 2016 NHL Draft in Buffalo in June.
Windsor:
The Windsor Spitfires enter Thursday night’s game with a 3-2 record in their past five games and an 8-2-3-0 record overall. The Spitfires are also 3-2 on home ice at the WFCU Centre.
Cristiano DiGiacinto leads the Spitfires with 13 points in 13 games played. Rookie Gabriel Vilardi has seven goals and five assists totaling twelve points and is second in points by a rookie in the OHL.
In net the Spitfires have Michael Giugovaz who boasts a 4-1-3-0 record with a save percentage of .894 and a 3.35 goals against average. Also in net for Windsor is rookie Michael DiPietro with a 4-1-0-0 record. DiPietro has a .943 save percentage and a 3.35 GAA.
NHL Central Scouting has identified Windsor Spitfires’ Logan Brown and Mikhail Sergachyov as players to watch this season for the 2016 NHL Draft.
The Windsor Spitfires saw nine players participate in NHL Training Camps this fall:
Jalen Chatfield (Detroit), Cristiano DiGiacinto (Tampa), Christian Fischer (Arizona), Bradley Latour (Toronto), Hayden McCool (Chicago), Trevor Murphy (Nashville), Liam Murray (St. Louis), Patrick Sanvido (Dallas) and Markus Soberg (Columbus).
Special Teams
The Firebirds’ power-play is 16th out of 20 teams in the OHL converting at a 15.2% success-rate scoring seven goals on 44 opportunities. On the penalty kill, the Firebirds are also 16th in the OHL, operating at 77.1%. Flint has scored two shorthanded goals and has successfully killed 37 of 48 penalties this season. Flint is averaging the 11th fewest penalty minutes per game with a 12.5 PIM/GM average. The Windsor Spitfires are the 13th least penalized team in the league with 11.8 PIM/GM average heading into the Thursday evening tilt.
Two Firebirds Selected to Play in CHL Canada Russia Series
The Ontario Hockey League in association with the Canadian Hockey League, the Owen Sound Attack and the Windsor Spitfires hockey clubs announced on Wednesday the Team OHL rosters for the 2015 CHL Canada Russia Series.
Flint’s Will Bitten and Alex Peters (Dallas ’14) were among the 36 players that will represent the OHL in the 2015 CHL Canada Russia Series. The two will suit up for Team OHL on Monday, November 16 at the WFCU Centre in Windsor, Ontario and the game will be televised nationally across Canada on Sportsnet and TVA Sports.
Flint Completes Trades with Soo & Sudbury
Flint Firebirds General Manager Terry Christensen announced Wednesday that the club has completed trades with both the Sudbury Wolves and the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Former Firebirds’ goaltender Zack Bowman was traded to the Sudbury Wolves and Bryce Yetman was traded to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. The Firebirds roster is now comprised of 12 forwards, 8 defenseman and 2 goaltenders for a total of 22 players.
Next Home Game
Spend your Halloween afternoon in a fun, safe and dry environment with the Flint Firebirds Hockey Club. The Firebirds return home to the Dort Federal Event Center on Saturday, October 31 for the only matinée game of the season. Puck drop is scheduled for 2 p.m. (ET) against the Owen Sound Attack and special Halloween festivities are slated for the contest.
Trick-or-treating throughout the arena is on tap, adults and kids are encouraged to dress up for the costume contest and on-ice costume parade in the first intermission, a Scooby Doo Bounce House and other fun promotions are planned throughout the duration of the game. Children (12 and under) that are wearing a costume will receive free admission to the game if accompanied by a paying adult. (Limited to one child ticket per adult.)
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.
Successful “Pink Out” Game
Friday, Sept. 16 was another one for the history books as the Flint Firebirds rallied for seven goals in the inaugural “Pink Out” game at the Dort Federal Event Center in front of more than 3,400 fans. Ottawa’s five-game winning-streak was snapped after the Firebirds’ 7-4 victory on home ice.
After the game, a custom painted “Pink Out” game mask worn by Firebirds goaltender’ Alex Nedeljkovic and special game worn pink jerseys were auctioned off to raise money for the McLaren Foundation to raise awareness for the fight against breast cancer.
Season Tickets
Great season seat locations are still available! For more information, call the Dort Federal Event Center Box Office at (810) 744-0580 or email Grizz Houghten at [email protected] or Shane Stout at [email protected].
Group Ticket Packages
New group ticket packages are available for your needs. 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
