Former Players Bite Through Spitfires

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It was not the best reunion for the Spitfires Sunday afternoon at the WFCU Centre. Josh Ho-Sang made his infamous return to Windsor, joined by Jordan Maletta. The two former Spitfires helped in taking care of the young Windsor squad. Despite Alex Fotinos’ stellar efforts in net, the Spits were handed a 3-1 loss at the hands of the Niagara Ice Dogs.

Windsor remains three points out of a possible playoff spot.

The fast pace was set right from the get-go. Quick passes up and down the ice left plenty of skating room and each team was able to open things up. Opportunities were up for grabs for both squads. When the Ice Dogs took a penalty, the Spitfires struck first. Jamie Lewis was able to get the puck back to Trevor Murphy at the blue line. He wound up and fired it straight in past Brandon Hope. The Spits were off to a good start offensively, and their defense held strong against a speedy Ice Dogs. At the end of the first, Niagara was outshooting Windsor, but the Spitfires took a 1-0 lead to the locker room.

Like in the first, Windsor’s defense was laying it all on the line, and around the ice. The players stepped up to block numerous shots. Consequently, goalie Alex Fotinos made incredible, timely saves to keep the game in his team’s favour. The defensive game would only last so long as the Ice Dogs finally beat Fotinos. From the point, Blake Siebenaler skated in to the right circle, and his wrist-shot went in on the high-glove side. Niagara wasn’t done just yet; the visitors grabbed the lead just over a minute later. Jordan Maletta deflected a shot over the goaltender and in. The two-late goals put the Ice Dogs up 2-1 after two periods.

Windsor had a bit of a scare within a couple minutes of the third period when an Ice Dogs player rang the puck off the post. Niagara maintained both possession and pressure against the Spits and played hard in Windsor’s end. A few giant stops from Fotinos kept his team in the game. However, the Spitfires could not stir up any offense. Their soft passes allowed the opponents to stay in control of the puck and the play. Windsor was hanging on – until almost the very end. With nearly a minute remaining, the Niagara Ice Dogs got their insurance goal to go up by two. Josh Ho-Sang waited behind the net before finding Carter Verhaeghe. He skated in front and his patience with the puck drew the goalie away. Fotinos was down and out, and made for an easy goal. The Spitfires dropped a close one to the Ice Dogs, losing 3-1.

Windsor’s next game is Wednesday, February 18^th as the Spitfires will celebrate the memory of Mickey Renaud. Game time is 7:05pm against the Plymouth Whalers.