Showdown in mid Michigan


By
December 14, 2016

Holders of the eighth-and-final playoff spot in the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League, Flint Firebirds will try to hold off the ninth-seeded Saginaw Spirit when the mid Michigan rivals meet tonight.

The Interstate 75 showdown is set to start at 7:05 p.m. at the Dow Event Center in Saginaw.

With a record of 12-13-5 from 30 games, the Spirit heads into the match three points behind the Firebirds, who have a 15-14-2 mark in 31 outings.

As Saginaw has been surging of late, Flint has been in a funk.

The Spirit has a 5-0-2 record over its last 7 games while the Firebirds have lost 4 of their last 5 starts.

Saginaw will be without star forward Mitchell Stephens for tonight’s game. The National Hockey League draft pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning is one of 32 players on the Team Canada selection camp roster preparatory to the upcoming 2017 World Junior Hockey Championships, to be held in Montreal and Toronto from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5.

Both teams have goalies who have been hot over recent outings.

Connor Hicks of Flint has a record of 5-2-1 in his last eight starts while Evan Cormier of Saginaw is on a three-game winning streak.

PHOTO: Mitchell Stephens of the Saginaw Spirit. (Photo by Postmedia.)


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