OHL Windsor Spitfires

Spits Win OT Thriller Over Erie

December 11, 2011 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Windsor Spitfires News Release


There was something very fitting about Saturday night's 6-5 OT win over the Erie Otters.

The Spitfires (17-14-3-1) used a huge offensive surge, in a thrilling comeback on a night when the franchise honoured its all-time leading scorer.

Bill Bowler's #9 was raised to the rafters in a pre-game ceremony at the WFCU Centre, before the Spits erased a 4-0 deficit in the final 25 minutes of the game.

Kerby Rychel scored his 20th of the season in the final minute of regulation, and Ben Johnson scored his 7th and 8th of the season, including the winner in overtime, as the Spits won their fourth-straight game.

The visiting Otters (4-24-1-1) pounced on the home side early in the first period, with a pair of goals in a 36-second span, staking them to a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes.

Goals by rookie Stephen Harper (12) and Derek Holden (4) stretched the lead to 4-0 just past the midway point of the second.

A pair of Windsor defencemen struck quickly in the waning minutes of the frame, as Brandon Devlin (3) and Nick Ebert (2) cut the lead in half, with goals 23 seconds apart.

That set up a wild third period, in which the Spitfires fired 27 shots at Ramis Sadikov, who was outstanding in goal for Erie.After falling behind 5-2, the Spits cut the lead again to 5-4 on goals by Johnson and Adrian Robertson (8).

That set the stage for Rychel's dramatic, tying goal, with just 32 seconds left in regulation.

Johnson ended the extra session quickly, taking a Saverio Posa pass at the end of a shift and sneaking it through Sadikov, sending the home crowd into a frenzy.

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from December 11, 2011


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