Spitfires Earn 4-3 Overtime Victory Over Colts

Hello time traveller!!
This article is 3485 days old.
The information listed below is likely outdated and has been preserved for archival purposes.

It seemed as if history would indeed repeat itself – and not in a good way. After dropping the season’s first two games, the pressure was on for the young Spitfires. But when the Colts pushed, the Spits pushed back. Rallying from a 2-0 deficit, the Spits scored 3 second period goals, and Luke Kirwan put the game away in overtime, as Windsor came out on top over the Barrie Colts 4-3 Thursday night, at the WFCU Centre.

From the start of the game, the Colts had extra pep in their step. Nearly the entire period, the Colts stomped all over the Spitfires. It was a matter of time before Barrie struck. Windsor gave up the first goal early in the opening period when Nick Pastorious found the loose puck amongst skates and shot it past Alex Fotinos.  The Spits woke up after the goal, but only temporarily as the Colts silenced the crowd again. Joseph Blandisi shuffled a pass to Andrew Mangiapane, who beat Fotinos with a forehand-backhand move. Windsor was simply being outmuscled and outskated. Barrie led 2-0 after 20 minutes.

The Spitfires found flight early in the second period. Moments into the period, they were given an early powerplay. Though unsuccessful, the ensuing pressure put them on the board. Sam Povorozniouk found Aaron Luchuk flying down the left boards. Luchuk’s shot beat goalie Mackenzie Blackwood glove side as the spits cut the lead in half. four and a half minutes later, Windsor tied the game when Chris Marchese sent a pass from the corner out front to Logan Brown, who scored his second of the season. Before long, the Spitfires built off their momentum and grabbed the lead. Marchese blasted a slapshot from the slot into the top corner to put his team ahead. However, with just over a minute to go in the period, Barrie tied the game. Fotinos made the initial save off of Blandisi’s rush, but couldn’t gather up the rebound. The puck was thrown into the net to make it a 3-3 game. In the dying seconds of the period, during a scrum, Blandisi made contact with an official and was handed a 10-minute misconduct.

Windsor’s defense continued to stand tall in the third period. It had grown more and more solid as the game went on. Fotinos, especially, was exceptional. The Spitfires’ goaltender came up with monumental saves, even stopping Kevin Labanc on a penalty shot. Both teams battled but the score remained 3-3 after three.

Back and forth, the teams played hard in overtime, awaiting the right opportunity to pounce. The Spitfires had a strong defensive game, which led to offensive chances. And it paid off. With time winding down in overtime, Trevor Murphy entered the Colts’ zone and sent the puck across to Luke Kirwan. A Barrie defender blocked the first shot, but Kirwan quickly gathered the puck and fired it over Blackwood and in. Windsor’s bench cleared in celebration as the Spitfires defeated the Colts 4-3 in overtime.

Windsor’s next game at the WFCU Centre is Saturday, October 4^th against the Saginaw Spirit at 7:05pm.