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Majors Battle past Spitfires 3-1

February 12, 2012 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Mississauga St. Michael's Majors News Release


It was a short stay in ninth place in the Eastern Conference for the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors.

Riley Brace continued his torrid scoring with two goals and an assist and Brandon Maxwell made 28 saves as the Majors scored a huge 3-1 win over the Windsor Spitfires in front of 2,153 fans in Ontario Hockey League play Sunday afternoon at the Hershey Centre.

Sergey Kuptsov had a goal and an assist and Kristoff Kontos added a pair of assists for the Majors, who started the day in ninth place in the East but bounced back into a tie for seventh with Peterborough, who lost 5-3 to Brampton, and one point ahead of ninth place Belleville, who were routed 9-0 by Ottawa.

Head Coach/General Manager was pleased with the effort he received from his top line players on Sunday.

"Riley Brace and Kristoff Kontos were both very good today. Our veterans have really stepped up. With the standings so tight, we need them to come up big and they have."

Brady Vail scored the lone goal and Jaroslav Pavelka made 17 saves for the Spitfires, who out-shot the Majors 29-20 but remained in seventh place in the tight Western Conference standings despite the loss.

Boyd liked the two-way play of his team, and the resiliency the team has shown since suffering an 11-0 setback on Thursday night in St. Catharine's.

"I thought we played really well defensively. In the last two games we played well and battled back after a bad loss, so that is very positive.

"I liked our spark today. Spenser Cobbold really stepped up physically for us and gave us a big lift. Brandon Maxwell continues to give us solid goaltending, so you have to be happy with a win like that, even though Windsor was coming off a tough weekend."

The Majors opened the scoring at 15:13 of the first period. Pavelka's attempt to leave the puck behind the net for his defenceman failed when it got caught between his skates and came back to the front of his crease. Brace pounced on the opportunity and put the Majors up 1-0, unassisted.

Just 1:40 later the Spitfires tied the game on a goal by Vail, the lone marker to get by Majors starter Maxwell, assisted by Ben Johnson and Chris Marchese at 16:53.

Kuptsov's eleventh goal of the season came early in the second period and stood to be the winner, from Kontos and Brace at 1:14 which gave Mississauga a 2-1 lead.

Shots were 16-5 for the Spitfires in the first period, and 9-7 in the second, for a two period total of 25-12.

Brace sealed the win for the Majors with his 30th goal of the season at 16:28 of the third period from Kuptsov and Kontos. As of Sunday afternoon, he is one of just eleven players in the Ontario Hockey League to hit the 30 goal plateau, and is ranked ninth in OHL scoring with 67 points.

Neither team had success on the power play, as the Majors went 0-for-2 while the Spitfires were 0-for-5.

The Majors return to action on Friday, February 17th when they host their Peel Region counterpart, the Brampton Battalion at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available by visiting www.ticketmaster.ca, or at the Hershey Centre box office.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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