WITH PHOTOS: Brown’s Four Points Secure 5-3 Win

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Windsor’s star players came together for a gritty win Thursday night. To lead the charge, Logan Brown had an excellent game, up and down the ice. The forward had a goal and three assists to help take down the Flint Firebirds 5-3 at the WFCU Centre.

The Firebirds, possibly to the surprise of the Spitfires, came out with a little bit of heat. The Spits had to catch up quick. They were fast to act and managed to draw a penalty. The powerplay was short-lived as they themselves went down a man. With a little bit of ice room, the plays opened up. As a result, Windsor struck first. Logan Brown skated in to pick up the pieces after a save as the Spits took a 1-0 lead. They nearly went up by two on a wrap-around, but the puck bounced off the post before being cleared from the net. The first period ended with a 1-0 Windsor advantage.

Eventually, the Spitfires would grab their two-goal lead, as Brendan Lemieux scored less than five minutes into the middle frame. Using his incredible speed, he burst past the defenders on the outside, and cut in toward the goalie. He caught the goaltender blocker side to go up by two. The Firebirds closed in on a goal a little later when they had a chance in close. Michael DiPietro was ready, though, and he made easy work of the opportunity with an incredible save. The goaltender held his ground at one end, and Windsor’s offense powered past Flint to grab a 3-0 lead. Mikhail Sergachev received a return pass from Brown and blasted one of signature slap-shots. The puck found the back of the net cleanly, over the goalie’s glove. Carrying a 3-0 lead toward the end of the period, the Spitfires were looking strong. Unfortunately, the Firebirds were able to penetrate Windsor’s defenses and scoop up a goal before the end of the period. Former Spitfires Ryan Moore and Luke Kirwan connected to cut the lead to two. Moore sent a backhand pass to Kirwan beside the net, and he tapped it past DiPietro. After 40 minutes, Windsor was up 3-1.

One period remained in the close game. The Spitfires were up by two, but just like that, it became a one-goal game. Just over a minute and a half in, Vili Saarijavi’s wicked wrist-shot from the slot was too much for DiPietro’s glove. Flint quickly cut the lead to two once more. Windsor, however, held on through the goal. Ensuring his lead stayed intact, Sergachev scored another for good measure. Off a pass from Brown, he rocketed a shot at the net. The goaltender’s blocker got a piece of it, but not enough as the puck powered its way through. To close out the scoring for the Spits near the end of the period, Bradley Latour ripped a shot high over the glove for Windsor’s fifth goal. With time ticking down, the Spitfires were a little lax in their play with only seconds remaining. In doing so, Flint was able to get one more across the line. Dane Johnstone pushed the puck between the goalie’s pads with six seconds left. Soon after the puck drop, the buzzer sounded, and the Windsor Spitfires skated off with a 5-3 victory over the Flint Firebirds.

The Spitfires will face the London Knights next Saturday at the WFCU Centre at 7:05pm – on the night that the Spits will retire the number of former defenseman Ryan Ellis, the famous number six.