Spitfires Beat Rival Saginaw 5-3
January 19, 2020 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Windsor Spitfires News Release
The Spitfires had a tough test to face Sunday afternoon when the Saginaw Spirit came to town. Saginaw led the west conference and west division over the Spitfires by one point. Coming into today's game, the Spitfires were 2-1-2-0 against the Spirit this season. Windsor was looking to extend their win streak to three games.
In the first frame, Saginaw struck first and silenced the crowd of over 4500 fans in the WFCU Centre. But the lead didn't last very long. Two minutes after the Spirit took the lead, Ladd intercepted a pass and patiently found Johnston back door who wired it past the netminder tying the game. Late in the first period, the Spitfires were on the powerplay when a blocked shot landed on Afanasyev stick who absolutely blasted one top corner to put the Spits up 2-1. After the first, the Spitfires lead the shots 12-10.
In the 2nd period, the Spitfires struck early to make it a 3-1 lead. Mcdonald shot a laser that also went top corner. Ladd drew his 2nd assist of the game, and Piiroinen had the secondary assist. A minute and a half after making it a two-goal lead the Spitfires struck again, a breakout pass from Stevenson to Rupoli to Zito, who streaked down the wing and went short side up over the shoulder of the goalie making it 4-1. The Spitfires were all too familiar with this scoreline and wanted to play solid for the rest of the game. However, Saginaw battled back; they scored with just under 5 minutes left in the second making it 4-2 after 40 minutes. The Spits had a slim 20-19 lead in shots.
In the third period, the Spirit scored on the powerplay to make it a close 4-3 game with 15 minutes remaining. But the Spitfires didn't back down. They played well defensively and scored a late tally to put the game away. Douglas got the 5th tally and Cuylle and Stevenson assisted it. Windsor took today's game by a final score of 5-3.
The Spitfires' next game is home at the WFCU Centre when the London Knights come to town for a matchup on Sportsnet. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 pm.
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