Spits Lose 6-3, Fazio Stops 41 Shots

Hello time traveller!!
This article is 3371 days old.
The information listed below is likely outdated and has been preserved for archival purposes.

As part of a home and home series, the Windsor Spitfires were hoping to earn back-to-back wins against the Sarnia Sting. The night didn’t fare so well as the Spitfires were doubled by the Sting in a 6-3 loss Sunday night in Windsor.

In an incredible display of dominance, Windsor was all over the ice controlling the game. The team was outshooting the Sting heavily just minutes into the game. Though the play was favouring the Spits, Sarnia struck first. Following a quick giveaway in the neutral zone, Josh Defarias’ shot beat Brendan Johnston blocker side. Windsor came back strong, but couldn’t connect for a goal. Thus, Sarnia stung the Spits once more. Anthony Salinitri fired a shot through a screen to score on a similar blocker side shot. Late in the period, Windsor was able to cut the lead in half. Just over a minute remained when Logan Brown’s efforts found Murphy sneaking in. his high shot was too quick for Justin Fazio as the Spitfires got to within one before the end of the first.

Windsor had early opportunities in the second after being awarded a powerplay. The closest chance came when a Spits player rang the puck off the post. The two teams fought hard – quite literally. Hayden McCool and Hayden Hodgson dropped the gloves in a quick little bout. The scrum seemingly fired up the Sting as they scored seconds later. A soft lob to the net left a decent rebound, and Alexandre Renaud capitalized. Coach Bob Boughner decided on a goalie change after the third goal, and so Alex Fotinos headed to the net. The Spitfires continued to get some chances, including another ringer off the post. With a bit over five minutes to play, Jamie Lewis brought his team to within one once again. Fotinos left the puck for Murphy behind the net, and the defenseman found Lewis up the middle of the ice. Lewis broke into the Sarnia end with a burst of speed, and beat Fazio with a forehand-backhand move. The period would end with Windsor down 3-2, but controlling the shots 34-20.

Only one period remained and the Spitfires needed something early. Unfortunately, it was the Sting who scored the game’s next goal and regaining a two-goal lead. A pass through some skates found Defarias, who had an open net to shoot into for his second of the night. Not long after, Stephen Pierog’s wide wrap-around turned into a goal as Fotinos couldn’t make it back on time. Six minutes later, Logan Brown managed to put the puck in from in close. He poked at a loose puck to again make it a two-goal game. Time was ticking down and the Spitfires couldn’t quite catch a break. They opted to pull the goalie for an extra attacker. Sarnia gained control of the puck before setting out down the ice. Lucas Venuto made two blocks before Daniel Nikandrov fired it past the forward. The goal wrapped up the scoring as the Spitfires, despite outshooting the Sting 44-28, fell by a score of 6-3.

Windsor is back in action Thursday, January 29^th against the London Knights at 7:05pm at the WFCU Centre.