Stefano, Venuto Pave Way For Spits Win
Friday January 16th, 2015, 9:05am
Hello time traveller!!
This article is 3400 days old.
The information listed below is likely outdated and has been preserved for archival purposes.
A rollercoaster of recent events shook things up for the Windsor Spitfires. The trade of Ryan Moore, as well as a five-game eastern road trip in eight days, was tough for the young squad. The Spits took eight of the possible ten points on that trip and Thursday night, they continued the momentum. Windsor’s two newest acquisitions dominated offensively as the duo of Anthony Stefano and Lucas Venuto put up three goals in a 4-1 win over the Sudbury Wolves at the WFCU Centre.
The Spitfires showed a little pep in their step early on with some speed up and down the ice. They got early chances, but the Wolves would take the game’s first lead. David Zeppieri fired a shot that was too quick for Brendan Johnston. The lead wouldn’t last long as Anthony Stefano tied the game just over a minute later. Breaking out of his on zone, Lucas Venuto found Stefano streaking down the boards. The pass connected and the swift shot beat goalie Troy Timpano. The first period would end in a 1-1 stalemate.
A scoreless second still left some chances for Windsor and Sudbury. Both teams came close to the go-ahead goal. First, the Wolves had a sure goal before Johnston got to the other side of the net and stretched out his glove to rob the Sudbury forward point blank. At the other end, Cristiano DiGiacinto nearly got a goal off a scramble, but the play was whistled dead before the puck made its way across the line. The game remained 1-1 after 40 minutes.
In the third, the Spitfires really came to life. With a burst of newfound energy, Windsor took control and never looked back. Stefano scored his second of the night, again assisted by Venuto, to give the Spits the lead. Venuto’s shot rebounded and dropped right in front of Stefano, who simply swatted the puck over the goaltender and in. Minutes later, the duo exchanged roles. Upon receiving the puck from his teammate, Venuto skated around the defender before making a nifty move down low and sliding the puck between the goalie’s legs. Trevor Murphy capped off the scoring later with an empty-net goal from his own end. The Spitfires outshot the Wolves 20-5 in the third, and 38-23 overall. Windsor rallied to win 4-1.
The Spits are in London Friday night, but return to the WFCU Centre Saturday, January 17th at 7:05pm to play host to the Kitchener Rangers on a special night. The organization will be raising a banner to retire Ed Jovanovski’s #14 jersey. The number was also made famous by former Spitfires Steve Ott and Adam Henrique. On Sunday, January 25th, the Spitfires will complete the retirement by raising banners for Ott and Henrique.
