PREVIEW: I-75 Divide Cup Continues on Saturday Night
FLINT, Mich. — The Firebirds are back home off of a three-game road trip during which earned five out of a possible six points against the East Division. The Spirit have won 12 of their last 14 games, including a 6-3 road win in Flint on November 22. Now the Birds need a win to avoid dropping to 1-4-0-0 in the eight-game I-75 Divide Cup series, present by Coors Light. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. Saturday evening at the Dort Financial Center.
ROAD TRIP RECAP: Flint picked up points in three straight games on the road against opponents from the OHL’s East Division last week. On Thursday they downed the second-place Petes in Peterborough 4-1, then they defeated the division-leading 67’s 4-3 on Saturday in Ottawa. Sunday afternoon the Frontenacs came out on top with a 4-3 overtime win in Kingston. Gavin Hayes earned six points across the three tilts (2 G, 4 A), followed by Zacharie Giroux (2 G, 2 A) Braeden Kressler (1 G, 3 A) with four apiece.
SERIES HISTORY: In the I-75 Divide Cup history, the Spirit have claimed the cup four times to the Firebirds’ three. Game-by-game, Flint holds an all-time record of 27-35-1-3 versus Saginaw, and they’ve gone 13-16-1-3 on home ice. So far this season, the Spirit have won three of four meetings. The Birds’ backs are to the ropes in the best-of-eight season series, needing a win to stay in contention.
SCOUTING THE SPIRIT: (16-0-0-1, 2nd West Division) –
Goaltender Andrew Oke has played an integral role in Saginaw’s success this season, posting the league’s third-best goals-against average (2.77) along with a save percentage of .903. He’s earned 11 wins across 17 appearances. Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Nolan Lalonde has five wins in 16 appearances and sports a 3.89 GAA with a SV% of .850.
Sophomore defender Zayne Parekh has the most assists and most total points on the squad, scoring ten times and assisting on 26 markers. Minnesota Wild prospect Hunter Haight and Vegas Golden Knights prospect Matyas Sapovaliv are tied in second with twelve goals and 21 assists for 33 points each. Sapovaliv has 16 points (5 G, 11 A) in his last seven contests.
The Spirit rank first in the OHL on both the power play and the penalty kill this season. With the man-advantage, Saginaw has scored on 32.9% of their chances. They’re killing penalties at an 86.4% clip.
SCOUTING THE FIREBIRDS: (13-11-2-1, 3rd West Division) –
Hayes, the Chicago Blackhawks prospect, maintains the top spot on the scoresheet for the Birds with 19 goals and 16 assists. He’s tied for the fifth-most goals, the fifth-most power-play goals (7), and the fourth-most game-winning tallies (4) in the OHL. Hayes also rides a seven-game point streak into the tilt, scoring and assisting seven times each in that span. Team captain Zacharie Giroux is also on an active seven-game point streak, with six goals and six assists. He ranks second on the team with 33 total points (14 G, 19 A). Kressler holds third spot with 12 tallies and 19 helpers for 31 points.
Nathan Day, an Edmonton Oilers prospect, has appeared in 22 games for the Birds this year and is credited with 11 wins. He carries a 3.70 goals-against average with a .872 save percentage. Jacob Brown is credited with two wins in seven appearances, and his GAA sits at 4.26 with an .857 SV%.
The Birds rank 17th on the power play with a 15.6% success rate. The penalty kill is clicking at an 81.3% pace, which is now sixth-best in the league.
ODDS AND ENDS: The latest edition of the OHL Power Rankings have the Spirit first in the 20-team OHL, and the Firebirds moved up four spots into eighth. The Spirit were also ranked fourth in the newest CHL Top 10 Rankings, which includes all 60 teams in the CHL…. The Spirit have scored the sixth-most goals in the league this season with 107, and the Firebirds are tied for eighth with 101… In ten games within the West Division this season, the Birds are 4-5-1-0.
PROMOTIONS: Saturday’s game is the Old Newsboys Toy Drive game, sponsored by Dort Financial Credit Union. Fans can donate a toy with a value of $10 or more and get a free ticket to the game. The Firebirds will be wearing specialty Christmas-themed jerseys that will be auctioned off postgame, with proceeds benefitting the Old Newsboys of Flint.
BROADCAST COVERAGE: This evening’s game against the Saginaw Spirit 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. Brian Gardner will call the play-by-play action on the Firebirds Hockey Network starting with the pre-game show at 6:45 p.m.
All of the Flint Firebirds home and away games throughout the 2023-24 season can be watched anywhere in the world online at https://watch.staging.chl.ca/ohl.
COMING UP: Flint crosses the border for a quick turnaround in Windsor Sunday at 4:05 p.m. before heading to Saginaw for Game 6 of the I-75 Divide Cup, presented by Coors Light. The next home game at the Dort Financial Center is Friday when they host the Sudbury Wolves with a 7:00 p.m. start time.
Story: Brandon Mills // flintfirebirds.com
