Windsor’s Late Rally Halted In 4-2 Loss To Barrie

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After going down 3-0, the Windsor Spitfires almost made a comeback. Barrie’s defense held strong though; Alex Fotinos made 28 saves, and Mark Scheifele added the empty-net goal that ended the late rally, as the Colts defeat the Spits 4-2 Thursday night, at the WFCU Centre.

Early offense by Windsor to begin the game kept Barrie on its toes. The Spits had the game’s first six shots before allowing one by the opposition, nearly seven minutes in. They were doing great shutting down Barrie’s top line as well. However, the other lines were the ones taking Windsor down. Justin Scott made his way to Jaroslav Pavelka’s left and managed to sneak a goal shortside. It didn’t take long for the Colts to strike again. Steven Beyers skated off the boards and into the slot, where Pavelka was beaten glove side by a wrist shot. Windsor went to the locker room two goals down.

In the second period, Windsor’s defense strengthened, notably Trevor Murphy and Patrick Sieloff. He stepped up to a Barrie forward and delivered a traditional Patrick Sieloff check as the Colts broke into the zone. Later, Kerby Rychel laid a big hit of his own, followed by a little tussle with Dylan Corson. Another fight would ensue a bit over five minutes later. Ryan Verbeek and Brendan Lemieux went toe-to-toe, with Verbeek landing a flurry of punches right off the grapple. The result would have the Colt forward head to the locker room as blood poured from his face after being busted open by one of the punches. The Spits couldn’t build off of the energy gained from the fight though. They gave up another goal – a backhand-to-forehand deke, followed by a high shot under the cross-bar by Andreas Athanasiou – to further their chances of a comeback. Barrie owned the shot clock in the second, outshooting Windsor 14-7.

The third would prove to be an uphill battle for the young Spitfires. Sieloff found himself teased by the Colts after being bumped three times on the way to the bench. He was tapped by a couple players on the bench as well. As he skated by though, his stick clipped a Barrie player on the ice, and he was handed a minor penalty for high-sticking. Fortunately, their hard work began to pay off. After knocking a Colt defenseman off the puck, Brady Vail headed into the open. The puck was picked up by Rychel and slid it to Vail, who made no mistake of putting it past Alex Fotinos for the shorthanded goal. Rychel almost cut the lead to one when Sieoff’s shot rebounded towards him. The young goalie made an incredible diving save to preserve the lead. The Spits continued their pressure. Again, their efforts were rewarded. Racing to keep the puck in at the blue line, Adam Bateman gained control, turned, and fired a quick one behind Fotinos. Windsor was one goal away from tying the game. They would get their chance late in the period against a tired Barrie Colts defense. Erik Bradford blocked a shot, and subsequently brought the puck under him. He was called for delay of game as Windsor had a big opportunity ahead of them. They began the power-play 6-on-4 after pulling the goalie. However, when the Colts gained control of the puck, they simply put it into the empty net. The Spitfires’ rally came to an abrupt end as they lose 4-2 to the Barrie Colts.

Windsor’s next home game is this Sunday, December 2nd as they face the Ottawa 67s. Game time is 2:05pm. The game is also the annual Teddy Bear Toss at the WFCU Centre.