5-0 Shutout Loss For Windsor

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Tim Cornett/WindsorSpitfires.com

Playing three games in 2 and a half days simply got to Windsor. Following a hard-fought loss in Kitchener Friday night, the Spitfires gave it their all last night against London with an 8-3 win. In Sunday’s matinee game against the Sarnia Sting, they didn’t have much left in the tank. Windsor was handed a 5-0 shutout loss at home.

A slow Windsor squad stepped onto the ice as it was evident that last night’s game took its toll. Sarnia was one step ahead of the Spits early on, and took advantage of that. A little over five minutes into the first period, Joran Kyrou let a slapshot go that beat Michael DiPietro low. The sluggish start was still there for Windsor after the goal. The Sting players were quicker and stronger than the Spits, even picking pucks from behind. As a result, the visitors added their second goal. This time, Noah Bushnell blasted a shot from outside the Windsor zone. DiPietro lost the puck in the air as it hit the back of the net. a shaky first period came to a close with Windsor down 2-0.

A rough start for the Spitfires carried over into the middle frame. Seconds into the period, Mikhail Sergachev was given a minor penalty, as well as a 10-minute misconduct. Already down one player, they would get called for too many men. Sarnia had a giant opportunity, heading onto a 5-on-3 penalty. Windsor toughed it out and managed to kill off both minor penalties. However, the Spits still couldn’t mount any offense against the Sting. Their passes seemed behind the skater, and were not tape to tape. When they broke into the Sarnia end, the visitors would swiftly stop them and go the other way. With a couple minutes left, Windsor’s neutral zone turnover allowed three Sting players to enter the zone. Jacob Chychrun scooped up the puck after a failed clearing attempt. He fired a shot that was partially slowed down by a stick. It was enough to fool an unsteady DiPietro as the Sting went up 3-0 before the end of the second.

The story remained the same in the third. Despite a thunderous open ice hit from Jalen Chatfield, the Spits couldn’t build momentum. On an early powerplay, their shots weren’t getting through to the net. When the puck did make its way to the goalie, Charlie Graham would be there to hold it off. He pulled off timely back-to-back saves: first with his pad, then with his glove. The plays were huge for the visitors, keeping their three-goal lead intact. At this point, Windsor’s frustrations begin to show. Coach Rocky Thompson made the gutsy call of pulling DiPietro with over five minutes left. The decision failed to pay off. Travis Konecny ended up beating the Spits player in the neutral zone and firing the puck into the open net. The Spitfires had the chance to get on the scoreboard late with a penalty shot, but Connor Chatham missed on the backhand. Instead, Kyrou would score his second of the game in the last minute. He made a nice move around a Windsor defenseman and shot the puck in. with dejected looks, the Spitfires filed off the ice at the buzzer, hanging their heads in a 5-0 loss against the Sarnia Sting.

They’ll look to bounce back this week as they take on the Sudbury Wolves Thursday night at 7:05pm at the WFCU Centre.