Sunday, April 17, 2022

Brennan Othmann Four Goal Night Sets Flint Record With 50 Goals


On the second to last day of the 2021-22 CHL season, two Ranger prospects stood out so well that they were named the OHL's first and third stars of the night. 2021-22 is by far the best overall season that New York Ranger prospects have had in decades.

Brennan Othmann (first star) and Evan Vierling (third star) combined for six goals and one assist to lead their respective teams to wins in their regular season finales. It is the first time two Ranger prospects earned their league stars on the same night.

Brennan Othmann started Saturday night needing four goals to reach 50, something that had never before happened in the history of the Flint Firebirds franchise. His night started innocently enough when he scored goal number 47 just 1:43 into the contest against the Soo Greyhounds, giving the Firebirds a 1-0 lead.

The first period would end with the Firebirds up 2-1, but the Greyhounds would score twice in the second period's first six minutes to take a 3-2 lead. The game was looking as if the Greyhounds would take that 3-2 lead into the second intermission.

The game would totally change when at 18:51 of the second, two fights would break out prior to a puck drop. That was key as the Greyhounds would find themselves hit with two minor penalties that would give Flint a two-man advantage for a full two minutes.

It took Brennan Othmann just 13 seconds to score to tie the game at 3-3 with goal number 48; then just 17 more seconds to score goal number 49 at 19:21 for a 4-3 Flint lead. It set up a third period where the Firebirds did everything they could to get Othmann his 50th goal. 

Othmann had several chances to score but it just didn't seem to work out. The Flint fans were going nuts in the stands and Othmann was on the ice at every opportunity.

Finally, the moment happened with Flint on the power-play and the Firebirds feeding Othmann the puck not even trying to hide what they were doing. At 16:11 Brennan Othmann became the first player in Flint Firebird's history to score 50 goals. 

Othmann rewrote the Flint Firebirds record book this season in both goals and overall points thanks to his 50-47-97.

And if that wasn't enough for you then let's finish this off with what was announced as the OHL's "Best of OHL" play for Saturday night. All four of Brennan Othman's goals.

Evan Vierling saved his best performance for his regular season finale as he had a 2-1-3 night to help his Barrie Colts earn a 6-3 win over the Niagara IceDogs. The game's first star, Vierling, also was 11-5 on his faceoffs as his Colts stopped a seven-game winless streak.

Pay close attention to Evan Vierling (#41) and what he does to score the first of his two goals:

Trailing 2-0 in the second period, Evan Vierling earned the primary assist on Barrie's first goal of the game, a power-play goal that cut Niagara's lead to 2-1. His other goal was an empty-net goal at 19:21 of the third and Barrie's sixth goal of the game. 

It gave Vierling a 20-27-47 line for the season, but the bigger question is was it enough to convince the Rangers to offer him an NHL Entry-Level contract. As a fifth round draft pick from the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, the Rangers will need to decide soon whether or not to offer him a contract. 

Past history has taught me that by now the franchise has already informed Vierling as to whether or not to make such an offer. As a fifth-round pick, Vierling needed to show a lot more than 20 goals, so I would be surprised if he is signed.

Barrie finished fifth in the OHL's Eastern Conference and they will face the Mississauga Steelheads in the first round of the OHL playoffs.

Dylan Garand stopped 37 of 39 shots to help his Kamloops Blazers defeat the Vancouver Giants 5-2 in their regular season finale. Garand, who earlier this week was named the Co-MVP and Co-Most Dedicated player by the 

It was a solid performance by the Kamloops netminder as he flashed a sharp glove hand. One could not fault Garand on either of the goals that he gave up, one a power-play goal that bounced right on a Giants stick. 

Garand stopped all 12 shots he faced in the first period, 12 of 13 shots in the second and 13 of 14 shots in the third in earning his 34th win of the season. Overall Grand finishes his regular season with a 34-9-1 record; a 2.16 goals against that is a new Kamloops record and second best in the WHL.

Garand earned a 0.925 save percentage that also was second best in the WHL and tied a career best with four shutouts. The Blazers finished second in the WHL's Western Conference and are guaranteed home ice advantage for the first two rounds of the WHL playoffs.

Because of the win over the Giants, the Blazers will face these same Giants in the first round of the WHL Western Conference playoffs.

Jayden Grubbe was scoreless as his Red Deer Rebels finished their regular season with a 3-2 loss to the Edmonton Oil Kings. Grubbe was credited with two shots and hit with minors for holding and high-sticking while going 16-6 on faceoffs.

The Rangers first third-round pick last year; Grubbe who missed most of last season due to a torn ACL, started slowly this season but finished the season with a 14-21-35 stat line. The Rebels finished third in the WHL's Eastern Conference and will face the Brandon Wheat Kings in the first round of the WHL's Eastern Conference playoffs.

Brody Lamb was scoreless and a -1 as his Green Bay Gamblers got spanked 7-2 by the Dubuque Fighting Saints in USHL action. The Gamblers have been eliminated from USHL playoff contention.

Did Not Play

The Windsor Spitfires gave team captain Will Cuylle the night off  as he finishes his regular season with a 43-37-80 mark. In addition, Cuylle had 13 power-play goals, 2 shorthanded goals, and an OHL best 9 game-winners.

Windsor still doesn't know who they will be facing in the first round of the OHL's Western Conference playoffs. The only thing for certain is they will enter as the top seed in the OHL's Western Conference.

Goalie Talyn Boyko was used as the backup goalie for his Kelowna Rockets in their final regular season game. The Rockets already know they are facing Matthew Rempe and his Seattle Thunderbirds in the first round of the WHL's Western Conference playoffs. 

Boyko was rescued by the Rockets from the Tri-City Americans, where he started 1-6-1 with a 4.49 goals against and a 0.887 save percentage. For the Kelowna Rockets, Boyko was 28-12-1-3 with a 2.79 goals against and the 0.913 save percentage. 

If you ignore Boyko's numbers with the Americans, then Boyko's stats would be top ten in the WHL in wins, goals against, and save percentage.

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