Ho-Sang’s Return Ignites Spitfires

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Josh Ho-Sang is back – and he is a force to be reckoned with. Thursday night in Windsor, the fiery forward skated hard, and played harder, as he scored a pair of goals and added an assist for his team. Slater Doggett also scored two goals for the Spitfires to lead Windsor to an 8-5 victory over the Saginaw Spirit.

The spark that Josh Ho-Sang’s return brought the Spitfires fired them up from the opening drop of the puck. It took the team just 37 seconds to score the game’s first goal. Following a quick steal, Logan Brown and Chris Marchese teamed up for a short 2-on-1. Marchese teased the pass but fired the puck past Jake Paterson. The Spitfires soon struck once more against the Spirit squad. Four players entered the Saginaw zone, challenged by only one defender. Mark Manchurek was the goal-scorer on the play to put Windsor up by two. Slater Doggett then added to the Spits’ scoring spree after a forced turnover. Luke Kirwan’s shot was stopped, but Doggett scooped up the rebound over a fallen Paterson. Windsor now had a 3-0 lead just 6:13 into the game.

The rough start saw Jake Paterson step onto the bench to switch spots with David Ovsjannikov. Upon calming down, Paterson returned to goal for the Spirit. Saginaw soon gained a bit of life as Jimmy Lodge beat Alex Fotinos low-glove side to get his team on the board. The celebration didn’t last long as Windsor scored its fourth of the period four and a half minutes later. From the top of the circle, Trevor Murphy’s wrist-shot blew past Paterson’s blocker and into the net. The Spitfires had a commanding 4-1 lead after 20 minutes.

The Spirit settled down during the break and came out flying. Artem Artemov scored the period’s first two goals. He managed to shoot between Fotinos’ pads for the first goal. On the second goal, he skated down the boards and into the slot before lifting the puck into the net. A minute later, Saginaw tied the game off of Brandon Prophet’s snap-shot. The goal would wrap up the scoring for the period as the teams took a 4-4 tie into the third period.

Just like the first period, the Spits stepped onto the ice with a burst of energy. Josh Ho-Sang scored his first of two on a breakaway only 1:21 into the third. Saginaw once again tied the game as Dylan Sadowy was left alone in front of Fotinos. The Spitfires quickly recomposed themselves and grabbed the lead. Ho-Sang broke free on another breakaway. His shot went wide, but a fortuitous bounce off the boards hit Paterson and ricocheted into the net. Windsor wasn’t quite finished yet. The team got the upper hand late when a high shot from the point dropped in front of Doggett. His backhand goal put the Spits up 7-5. Logan Brown topped off the scoring with his empty-netter.

The Spitfires were able to exact a bit of revenge on the Saginaw Spirit, downing their opponents 8-5 in front of 4156 fans.

Windsor’s next game is Thursday, October 23^rd against their Western Conference rivals, the Plymouth Whalers, at 7:05pm.