Hockey Programs

2024-25 Game Program      The Flint Firebirds completed their 10th season of operation in the Ontario Hockey League, playing it's home games out of the 4,021-seat Dort Federal Event Center (originally the IMA Sports Arena). The Firebirds trace their history back to 1990, as the Detroit Compuware Ambassadors. Head Coach Paul Flache returned behind the bench, and Dave McParlan was General Manager.       After a rocky start in their inaugural season, the Firebirds have stabilized both on and off the ice. The team has qualified for the postseason five times in nine years (the 2020 playoffs and 2020-21 season were canceled due to COVID-19) and attendance has steadily increased.      Flint finished the 2024-25 season with a mediocre 29-34-2-3 record, third place in the West Division. Their 63 points were 16 behind second-place Saginaw and 1 point ahead of the Soo Greyhounds. Average attendance climbed to 3,185 per game, the highest for the fra...

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.  ...

2022-23 Regular Season: Firebirds vs. Owen Sound Attack       Despite bumps in the road in their first few seasons, the Flint Firebirds have become a competitive franchise in the OHL. After having the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic, Flint returned in 2021-22 with an excellent 42-21-1-4 record (2nd place in the West Division) and a run to the Western Conference Finals before falling to Windsor in 7 games.       Head Coach Ted Dent returned behind the bench in 2022-23 for his second season as Firebirds coach. As of today, the Firebirds sport a 25-25-4-1 record, putting them in fourth place, 23 points behind first-place Windsor. 50-goal scorer and Rangers prospect Brennan Othmann was dealt earlier in the year to Peterborough.       As the season is still going on, I won't go through the stats. I plan on going to at least one more Firebirds game before the season's over, maybe even a playoff game as well....

2019-20 Regular Season: Firebirds vs. Kingston Frontenacs      This is arguably the strangest entry I've made on this site. I've covered programs from incomplete seasons before, but that was because the team suspended operations during the year. In this case, the season was cut short due to the Coronavirus pandemic. As Bryan Adams once sang, "these are crazy days".      The  Flint Firebirds hit rock-bottom in 2018-19. A 0-16-1 start to the season led to a coaching change, as Ryan Oulahan resigned and was replaced by Eric Welwood. The team finished that season 16-46-6, tying the city record for fewest wins set by the 1985-86 Flint Spirits. Average attendance dropped to 2,443 per game, second lowest in the league.      2019-20 was a much different campaign. Welwood was back behind the bench and the Firebirds got off to a great start. The team was 12-5-0 by Game 17 and was at or near first place in the West Division all season long. ...

2017-18 Regular Season Firebirds vs. Erie Otters      2017-18 is the third year of Flint Firebirds hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The Firebirds are coming off a "bounce-back" season in 2016-17, in which they went 32-28-3-5 and made the playoffs after a disastrous inaugural season. Head Coach Ryan Oulahan returned behind the bench, but GM George Burnett was replaced by Barclay Branch (the son of OHL commissioner David Branch).      This program is from the game I went to between the Firebirds and Erie Otters. The Firebirds were in the middle of a long winless streak, and lost to Erie, 5-2. Probably one of the more uninspired OHL games I have ever went to. Rumors were flying that "suspended" owner Rolf Nilsen and his assistants were causing trouble behind the scenes again, leading to the players being disinterested on the ice.      The Firebirds have had nice programs in each of their three seasons, and this is no different. I...

2016-17 Regular Season Firebirds vs. Saginaw Spirit Hockey season's back, so here are the latest programs added to my massive collection.      This program is from the Friday, December 30th game between the Flint Firebirds and the Saginaw Spirit. The Firebirds won, 3-2, in a hard-hitting, exciting game in front of 3,989 fans. Flint's Mathieu Henderson scored a beauty of a backhand goal in OT with just over 8 seconds left to give the Firebirds the win.      After last year's off-ice nonsense, the OHL took control of the day-to-day operations of the Firebirds. They hired longtime OHL coach and general manager George Burnett as General Manager. Burnett's experience in junior hockey gave the Firebirds immediate credibility in the junior hockey world. He then hired North Bay assistant coach (and former Red Wings prospect) Ryan Oulahan as head coach, who in turn hired former Flyers prospect Eric Wellwood as his assistant. Despite their youth, Oulahan and W...

2015-16 Regular Season: Firebirds vs. Saginaw Spirit      The Flint Firebirds are in their first season in the Ontario Hockey League. They are the sixth hockey team to call Flint home since 1969, and the first one in the OHL. The Firebirds are owned by Rolf Nilsen, who also owns IMS, a manufacturing company based out of Florida. The team plays it's home games at the refurbished Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center (formerly the IMA Sports Arena). Terry Christiansen (former Coach/GM of the Detroit Falcons) is the general manager, while former NHL forward John Gruden is head coach.      While Flint is new to the OHL, the franchise is over 20 years old. It began as an expansion franchise in 1990 as the Detroit Compuware Ambassadors. Owned by Peter Karmanos, the Ambassadors would later become the Detroit Jr. Red Wings, Detroit Whalers, and, finally in 1997, the Plymouth Whalers.      Due to declining attendance, Karmanos pu...