Author of the article:
Jim Parker • Windsor Star
Published Dec 10, 2023 • Last updated 11 hours ago • 5 minute read
The Windsor Spitfires scooped up thousands of stuffed animals, a souvenir cowboy hat and a key two points on Sunday.
Rebounding from a 6-3 loss at home on Saturday to the Oshawa Generals, the Spitfires jumped to an early three-goal lead and held on for a 6-3 win over the West Division-rival Flint Firebirds on Sunday before a crowd of 4,470 at the WFCU Centre.
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“You could make an argument we were better (Saturday) than we were (Sunday),” said Spitfires’ interim head coach Casey Torres, who has guided the team to five wins in eight games. “Sometimes you win games you’re not supposed to win and vice versa.
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“If you had to pick one, you’d probably beat the team in your division that you’re chasing. For a collective 60 minute effort, we probably played better (Saturday), but we were more opportunistic with our scoring (on Sunday).”
Sunday marked the first of eight meetings between the Spitfires and the Firebirds, who currently hold the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. With Windsor’s victory, the Spitfires pulled to within 10 points of Flint in the standings.
“We just have to win games and that’s what we’re focused us,” said Spitfires’ forward Oliver Peer, who had five points in the win. “We’re down in the (Western Conference) basement and wins are what’s going to get us out of there. We’ve just got to win.”
Peer dominated the opening period with a natural hat-trick, which was his first three-goal effort in three years in the league.
“Last time I got a hat trick, I was probably 12 years old,” said the 20-year-old Peer, who has 10 goals in eight games since Torres took over. “I don’t think of myself as a goal scorer, but obviously I’ve been scoring recently and that’s great.”
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Just over six minutes into the game, Peer put home a rebound to open the scoring and send 3,749 stuffed animals hurtling to the ice at the club’s annual Teddy Bear toss in support of Spark’s Toy Drive.
He added his second less than two minutes later and completed the hat-trick performance on a Windsor power-play that sent several hats to the ice, which included a Spitfire cowboy hat that Peer scooped up and wore after the game after being announced as the game’s first star.
“I got a panda bear and a cowboy hat,” Peer said.
But after jumping to a 3-0 lead after the first period, the Spitfires would ride former Flint goalie Ian Michelone to the victory. Windsor was outshot 38-14 over the final two periods and 50-28 overall with the 19-year-old Michelone posting a career-high 47 saves.
“Michelone has been unreal for us,” Peer said. “The past few games, he’s probably been the biggest reason we’ve won.”
The Spitfires acquired Michelone as a depth player last season for a 13th-round draft pick. He has won four-straight starts and Sunday marked the first time facing his former team.
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“(Windsor) is the team I want to play for and it’s barely in the back of my head that I was playing my old team,” Michelone said. “I just try treating it as any other game. If I gave it more and put it on a pedestal, it would work against me.”
Flint held a 23-8 edge in shots in the second period and got to within 3-1 on a Jeremy Martin goal, but no closer as Ryan Abraham scored to restore Windsor’s three-goal lead at 4-1 after two periods.
“He was fantastic,” Torres said of Michelone. “I thought we had a really strong first period and our back two periods, definitely not to the same degree.”
Liam Greentree pushed Windsor’s lead to 5-1 in the third period before things tightened up again on Flint goals by Nolan Dann and Braeden Kressler. Greentree closed out the scoring with an empty-net goal.
On Saturday, Jacob Maillet twice put the Spitfires up a goal, but the club could not extend the lead against the Generals.
A.J. Spellacy would pull Windsor even in the third period at 3-3, but Oshawa got the game-winning goal with just under four minutes left in regulation and added two empty-net goals.
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Connor Lockhart scored three goals, Luca D’Amato, Matthew Buckley and Calum Ritchie added single goals.
The Spitfires will end a four-game stretch at home on Thursday against the London Knights. Game time at the WFCU Centre is 7:05 p.m.
jpparker@postmedia.com
twitter.com/winstarparker
Game Summaries
Sunday Result
Spitfires 6 Firebirds 3
Flint 0 1 2 – 3
Windsor 3 1 2 – 6
First period: 1. Windsor, Peer 16 (Smith, Woodall) 6:10, 2. Windsor, Peer 17 (Maillet) 8:07, 3. Windsor, Peer 18 (Cristoforo, Greentree) 17:09 (pp). Penalties: Giroux F (delay of game) 17:00, Morneau W (holding) 17:36.
Second period: 4. Flint, Martim 7 (Gee, Aspinall) 6:31, 5. Windsor, Abraham 6 (Zhugin, Toms) 17:47. Penalties: C.Pitre F (roughing), Maillet W (roughing) 13:23.
Third period: 6. Windsor, Greentree 18 (Peer, Cristoforo) 2:13, 7. Flint, Dann 8 (unassisted) 6:03, 8. Flint, Kressler 13 (Hayes) 11:15, 9. Windsor, Greentree 19 (Peer) 19:02 (en). Penalty: Maillet W (hooking) 15:57.
Game stats – SOG – Flint 12 23 15 – 50 Windsor 14 8 6 – 28 Goal (shots-saves) – Flint: Day (L,11-11-0-1) (27-22). Windsor: Michelone (W,5-6-1-0) (50-47). Power play (goals-chances) – Flint 0-2. Windsor 1-1. Referees: Chad Inglas (12) and Ryan Jenken (36). Linesmen: Devon Gale (66) and Brad Horan (75). Att.: 4,470 at the WFCU Centre.
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Saturday Result
Generals 6 Spitfires 3
Oshawa 1 1 4 – 6
Windsor 1 1 1 – 3
First period: 1. Windsor, Maillet 8 (unassisted) 1:08, 2. Oshawa, Lockhart 5 (Bedkowski, Roobroeck) 6:18. Penalties: Woodall W Holding) 10:31, Eichler W (slashing) 16:26, Rolofs O (check to head) 19:18.
Second period: 3. Windsor, Maillet 9 (Cristoforo, Greentree) 1:24, 4. Oshawa, Lockhart 6 (Ritchie, Sennecke) 9:50. Penalties: Marrelli O (tripping) 7:00, Mancini W (roughing) 10:27, Mancini W (double minor high sticking) 14:40, D’Amato W (foul from behind) 16:59.
Third period: 5. Oshawa, D’Amato 5 (Stewart, Roobroeck) 2:47, 6. Windsor, Spellacy 6 (Morneau) 5:32, 7. Oshawa, Buckley 13 (Rolofs, Graham) 16:03, 8. Oshawa, Ritchie 4 (D’Amato) 18:23 (en), 9. Oshawa, Lockhart 7 (unassisted) 18:57 (en). Penalties: Bedkowski (cross checking), Davis W (roughing) 2:14, Zhugin W (tripping) 7:04, Delisle O (too many men) 10:54.
Game stats – SOG – Oshawa 10 12 9 – 31 Windsor 10 11 12 – 33 Goal (shots-saves) – Oshawa: Oster (W,10-10-3-1) (33-30). Windsor: Costanzo (L,4-12-0-0) (29-25). Power play (goals-chances) – Oshawa 0-6. Windsor 0-3. Referees: Chris Chapman (30) and Ryan Hutchison (20). Linesmen: Jordan Hurtubise (57) and Geoff Rutherford (62). Att.: 4,193 at the WFCU Centre.
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