Skip to main content

Flint Firebirds (OHL: 2023-24)

2023-24 Regular Season:
Firebirds vs. Kingston Frontenacs
     The Flint Firebirds were in their ninth season of existence in the Ontario Hockey League. The Firebirds were coming off a successful run recently, making the postseason two years in a row after a strong season in 2020 being canceled by the COVID-19 epidemic. The team played its home games at 4,021-seat Dort Financial Center (formerly the IMA Sports Arena). 

     After a slow start to the season, coach Ted Dent was fired, replaced by assistant coach Paul Flache. Dave McParlan was General Manager. The Firebirds finished the 2023-24 season with a 30-33-4-1 record, good enough for third place in the OHL's West Division. Their 65 points were 37 back of first-place Saginaw. Attendance continued to climb, as the Firebirds averaged a franchise-best 3,124 per game. That average was the highest a Flint hockey team had registered since the 2004-05 Flint Generals drew 3,099 per game in the UHL. 

     Flint's offense was fifth-weakest in the OHL, scoring 232 goals. Their leading scorer was right wing Nolan Dann, who scored 28 goals and 64 points in 65 games. Coulson Pitre was the only other Firebird to score over 20 goals, with 27 goals and 55 points. The top scoring defenseman was Dallas Stars prospect Tristan Bertucci, who had 10 goals and 44 points in 61 games. 

     Flint's defense was sixth-worst in the OHL, surrendering 274 on the season. Nathan Day, an Edmonton Oilers prospect, played in 54 games, sporting a 25-26-2 record and 3.73 GAA. His backup was Jacob Brown, who went 5-7-3 with a 4.19 GAA in 18 games in his rookie OHL season. 

     The Firebirds qualified for the OHL playoffs for the third straight season. They faced the powerhouse London Knights, who won the regular season crown with a 50-14-3-1 record. The series was competitive, but the Firebirds were swept by London in four straight, scoring just 9 goals in the process.  Flache and his coaching staff will be brought back for the 2024-25 season.

     Another fine program from the Flint Firebirds, 46 pages and all in color. Firebirds programs don't change too much from season to season. This one, like the others, includes articles about the owner, the coaching staff and has player bios. An article on pages 14-15, titled "A Tough Place to Play", highlights Flint's reputation has having one of the loudest, rowdiest fanbases in the OHL. Multiple Firebird players who were acquired during the season pointed out that they were happy to have Flint fans on their side for a change. I would agree, Flint fans have always been very passionate hockey fans and that building is often rocking during an exciting game.

     This program is from the March 9, 2024 game against the Kingston Frontenacs. This was an excellent game, won by the Firebirds in overtime, 2-1. Again, LOUD crowd that night. Local advertisements include Commercial Graphics of Michigan Inc., The Genesee Group, Dort Financial Credit Union, View Newspaper Group and Maxi Quality Meats.

 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Port Huron Hockey: Flags/Wings (1962-81)

Now, on to Port Huron.      Port Huron has had a long, yet checkered, history of pro hockey. The most successful franchise, by far, was the Port Huron Flags (also called Wings for a few years) of the IHL. The Flags were, for the most part, a competitve team on the ice, making the Turner Cup Finals seven times and winning the Cup on three occasions. For three years, (1971-74), the franchise was a farm team of the Detroit Red Wings, and sent numerous players on to the NHL in it's existence. However, the team had problems drawing big enough crowds. While the Flags lasted for nearly 20 years, former GM Morris Snider later admitted that the franchise could have folded three years before it actually did, due to declining attendance. I've found some Flags/Wings programs online over the years, and here's what I have. 1963-64 Regular Season--Flags vs. Windsor       1963-64 was the second year of existence for the Flags. After missing the playoffs in their inaugural cam
Post a Comment
Read more

Flint Generals yearbook (IHL, 1973-74)

     I recently bought two yearbooks from the Flint Generals of the IHL. This one is from the 1973-74 season. It's a 40-page book, all in black-and-white, and on glossy paper. Each player for that season has a full page photo and a short bio. The statistics and a team photo for each Generals season are included. Stats for every player that wore the "blue and gold" are listed in the back of the yearbook. Flint Journal sportswriter Len Hoyes added an article previewing the remainder of the 1973-74 campaign.       One thing that Hoyes noted in his article was about attendance: "With all of their problems, the Generals were still attracting fans at a rate of 3,950 per game. Attendance was down slightly, but Flint's percentage rate of almost 100 percent remained the envy of minor league hockey." (Hoyes, 1974)      The original Generals were a popular team for most of their existence, and attendance only bottomed out when the region's economy tanked
Post a Comment
Read more

Fort Wayne Komets (1967-68, IHL)

1967-68 Regular Season--Komets vs. Des Moines Oak Leafs      1967-68 was the sixteenth season of Fort Wayne Komets hockey, all in the IHL. The team was coached by Ken Ullyot, who had been with the franchise since 1958. The Komets played      Having lost to Toledo in the 1967 Turner Cup Finals, the Komets slipped to fourth place in '67-68. While Muskegon ran away with first place, the battle for the second-fifth slots was hotly contested. Fort Wayne finished 30-29-13, their 73 points one ahead of Toledo and just five behind second place Dayton.      The Komets were also in fourth place in offense, scoring 282 times that year. Fort Wayne legend Len Thornson led the team with 38 goals and 97 points. Three others, Bob Baird, Randy Gates and Merv Dubchak, joined Thornson in the 30+ goal club. Three others scored at least 20 goals.      The Komets had the second-best defense in the IHL that season, allowing just 272 goals. Fort Wayne used three different goaltenders that year. Rob
Post a Comment
Read more