PHOTOS: Spitfires Struggle In 3-1 Loss

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Photos by: Tim Cornett/WindsorSpitfires.com

It’s a busy second half of November for Windsor at home, with six games on the schedule. The team played their third game of the week, and playing another tomorrow. Evidence of exhaustion is beginning to settle in. The Owen Sound Attack simply outworked the Spitfires Saturday night. Windsor suffered a disappointing 3-1 loss to the visiting Attack.

Owen Sound was ready for Saturday night’s game, and it was clear from the opening drop of the puck. The Attack set out for an early flurry and had Windsor scrambling. The Spits kept up with them for the most part, although the visitors still beat them to loose pucks. Windsor outshot Owen Sound by the end of the period, despite being outplayed in a scoreless first period.

Windsor had the game’s first powerplay opportunity early on in the first. The man-advantage lasted only eight seconds as the Spits took a penalty themselves. Neither team could score with the extra player at first, but with time, Owen Sound would score first on a powerplay. Anthony Stefano took a cross-checking penalty after he removed an Attack player from the equation. As a result, Bryson Cianfrone was able to slide the puck in from close under goalie Garret Hughson. Later, Logan Brown received a slew-foot match penalty, which resulted in a 5-minute major powerplay for the Attack. The Spitfires defended hard and blocked the passing lanes. They killed off the long infraction, but were definitely tired afterwards. They dug deep, though, and eventually, scored the equalizer. Liam Murray really stepped into his slapshot from the left circle as the puck went straight into the top corner. After 40 minutes, the teams were notched at one.

The chance for the Attack to regain the lead was there just seconds into the final frame. Shortly thereafter, both teams exchanged penalties, creating more opportunites. Windsor ended up taking one more, putting itself down two players. Maintaining puck possession, the Attack passed the puck to set up a goal. A pass out front was unfortunately redirected by Aaron Luchuk into his own net. On the next shift, the Spits had a shot just trickle wide of the net. It was the closest they’d come to evening the game. The Attack were all over the ice and were quickly taking control. They stole pucks, won battles against the boards, and had Windsor chasing. This would lead to Owen Sound’s third goal as the Spitfires scrambled. Nick Suzuki picked off a pass, and the play would set up the last goal. Suzuki found Cianfrone once more, and his wrist-shot from the right side beat Hughson cleanly. In the late stages of the period, visiting goalie Daniel Dekoning played incredibly and kept the Spits at bay. He shut down any offensive chances that Windsor had and kept his team in the lead. When the buzzer sounded, a frustrated Spitfires’ squad headed off the ice with a 3-1 loss.

Windsor is right back at it Sunday afternoon when they face the Niagara Ice Dogs at 2:05pm.