Solid OHL seasons highlighted by playoff clash for Firebirds and Spirit

By Jim den Hollander 

Editor/Publisher 

Midwesthockey.info 

This is the second of seven off season articles representing the junior hockey leagues falling under the Midwesthockey.info umbrella.

The two US Midwest-based teams in the Ontario Hockey League both had solid regular seasons which resulted in a head-to-head battle immediately in the post season. 

A 36-27-3-2 regular season record led the Saginaw Spirit to a third place showing in the highly competitive West Division and fourth overall in the Western Conference. 

Meanwhile the Flint Firebirds, coming off the best season of its previous seven (42-21-1-4 in 2021-22) managed to stay competitive, finishing fifth in the conference with a 35-28-4-1 overall record. 

The two clashed in an opening round series for the ages as the Firebirds rallied back from a 3-1 series deficit with two wins pushing the series to the seven-game limit. The Spirit finally clinched a spot in the West Conference semis with a 6-3 win. 

Matyas Sapovaliv (‘04/Kladno, Czech Republic) powered the Spirit with two goals and two assists, but the team was also brushed aside as the Sarnia Sting earned a four-game sweep to reach the Western Conference finals. 

Sapovaliv finished as the team’s second leading scorer collecting 27 goals and 56 points in 61 games. Leading the way was Hunter Haight (‘04/Strathroy, ON) who split time on the season between the Barrie Colts and Spirt Combined, Haight scored 21 goals and picked up 60 points. Haight was drafted in the second round of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota Wild. 

Michael Misa (‘07/Oakville, ON) was third on the team in scoring with 22 goals and 56 points and after the season, Misa was selected as the recipient of the Emms Family Award as the league’s Rookie of the Year. 

Mitchell Smith (‘02/Saginaw, MI) was the team’s top scoring defenseman, collecting 14 goals and 52 points and appearing in all 66 regular season contests. 

In goal, Tristan Lennox (‘02/Cambridge, ON) led the way, wrapping up his fourth and final season in a Spirit jersey with a 25-15-2-2 record with an .888 Save Percentage and a 3.15 Goals Against Average. Overall, Lennox went to the crease 121 times for the Spirit, winning 59 and kicking out over 2850 shots. 

The Firebirds were led by Amadeus Lombardi (‘03/Aurora, ON) who scored 45 goals and collected 102 points in his second OHL campaign. Overall, the fourth-round selection of the Detroit Red Wings in 2022 has notched 63 goals and 161 points in 134 OHL games. 

Gavin Hayes (‘04/Westland, MI) was next best, scoring 41 goals and putting up 81 points in his sophomore season. Altogether, Hayes, a third-round selection of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2022 collected 60 goals and 130 points in two OHL seasons. 

Dmitry Kuzmin (‘03/Kholstovo, Belarus) led defensemen kon the Firebirds with 14 goals and 59 points. Selected by the Winnipeg Jets in the third round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, Kuzmin wrapped up his second season in Flint with a total of 32 goals and 103 points in 122 OHL games. 

In goal, the Firebirds split the work between Will Cranley (‘02/Peterborough, ON) and Nathan Day (‘05/Grimsby, ON). Cranley appeared in 44 games and posted an 18-18-4-1 record. After three seasons in Ottawa, Cranley had a 3.87 Goals Against Average and an .887 Save Percentage in Flint.  

Day appeared in 32 games in his second season in Flint, posting a 17-10-0-0 record with a 3.91 Goals Against Average and an .887 Save Percentage.  

Day was selected in the sixth round of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft by the Edmonton Oilers and Will Cranley was a sixth-round pick by the St. Louis Blues in 2020. 

Ethan Hay (‘05/Waterloo, ON), a second-year member of the Firebirds, was named as a co-winner of the Ivan Tennant Memorial Award presented annually to the top academic high school student in the league. The award is based on the player’s average in his best six courses regardless of level of difficulty of he courses.  

The trophy is named in honor in Ivan Tennant who spent a lifetime combining hockey and education. He was the Kitchener Rangers’ Education Consultant for 20 years and a key figure on the OHL’s Academic Advisors Committee. 

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The 2023-24 regular season will see an addition to the league as the Brantford Bulldogs return to the league after a 40-year absence. The Spirit will open the season Sept. 29 against the Rangers in Kitchener and the Firebirds will also open on the road, playing the Greyhounds in Sault Ste. Marie. 

First home game for the Firebirds will be Sept. 30 against the Rangers at Dort Financial Center with the Spirit playing the same night against the Sarnia Sting.

The best news about the 2023-24 season is how it will end. The Spirit will entertain the OHL, WHL and QMJHL league champions near the end of May as hosts of the Memorial Cup.