Another comeback victory over Rangers to send Spitfires to Western Conference final for first time since 2011

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Every playoff series has its own unique obstacle to overcome.

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In the opening round, the top-seeded Windsor Spitfires had to overcome an impressive performance by one of the top goalies in the league.

In the second round, against the seventh-seeded Kitchener Rangers, it was the Spitfires’ penchants for falling behind early.

“Both series were tough, and we just had to find ways to win,” Spitfires’ forward Josh Currie said. “We’ll keep battling back and comeback.”

That was true again on Saturday as the Spitfires rallied from an early two-goal deficit to beat the Rangers 3-2 before 4,470 at the WFCU Centre.

“I’m proud of the guys,” Spitfires’ head coach Marc Savard said. “Not a great start, but slowly we worked our way back.”

With the victory, the Spitfires took the best-of-seven series 4-1 and earned a spot in the Western Conference final for the first time since 2011.

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“You want to extend your junior career for as long as can,” Spitfires’ overage defenseman Louka Henault said. “It’s a great feeling. You want to get as far as possible.”

Windsor had a chance to wrap up its first-round series against Sarnia, but dropped Game 5 at home to extend the series, which finally ended in Game 6.

“You don’t want to give teams hope,” Currie said.

But that’s what the Rangers got early on Saturday after jumping to a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes. Matthew Sop redirected a shot past Spitfires’ goalie Matt Onuska and Ty Hollett had a point shot hit him and go in.

“They gave us a good series,” Savard said. “They played well and we knew they would throw everything at us in the first period.”

It marked the fourth time the Spitfires trailed after 20 minutes, but for the third time the Spitfires rallied back.

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“Honestly, we all looked at each other and said, ‘We could do it,’” Currie said.

Windsor had 14-1 edge in shots in the second period when Henault took a feed from Wyatt Johnston and beat Kitchener goalie Pavel Cajan.

“With all the chances we had, it was almost a sigh of relief,” Henault said. “It was almost like, we could get our bounces if we keep pushing.”

Defenseman Michael Renwick tied the game at 2-2 in the final minute of the second period as he circled the net and ripped a shot of Cajan’s shoulder.

“We had to make some adjustments,” said Savard, whose team outscored the Rangers 14-2 in the second period during the series. “We’ve been adjusting all year.”

Windsor got the game-winning goal in the third period on the power play with defenseman Nathan Perrott launching a one-time shot that beat Cajan midway through the third period.

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The Rangers could not get the equalizer on Onuska, but came closing in the final 15 seconds with the Windsor goalie turning away Francesco Pinelli, Reid Valade and Adam Zidlicky in a wild scramble.

“He’s been a rock for us back there,” Henault said of Onuska. “He allows us to play our game.”

The Spitfires will face the third-seeded Flint Firebirds in the Western Conference final. Flint advanced by taking out the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds on Saturday in five games with a 7-1 win at home.

The Eastern Conference final will feature the Hamilton Bulldogs and North Bay Battalion, who eliminated Kingston on Saturday with a 6-5 victory.

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Game Summary

Saturday Result

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Spitfires 3 Rangers 2

Kitchener 2 0 0 – 2

Windsor 0 2 1 – 3

Firstperiod: 1. Kitchener, Sop 1 (Nolet, Rehkopf) 5:13, 2. Kitchener, Hollett 1 (Mutter, Swick) 16:41. Penalties: Zidlicky K (roughing), O’Flaherty W (roughing) 2:29, Valade K (cross checking), Swick K (roughing), Henault W (roughing) 10:05, Abraham W (slashing) 13:57, Serpa K (roughing), De Angelis W (roughing), Perrott W (roughing) 18:26.

Secondperiod: 3. Windsor, Henault 3 (Johnston, Cuylle) 11:41, 4. Windsor, Renwick 3 (Abraham, D’Amico) 19:14. Penalties: Mutter K (hooking) 5:56, Valade K (blindsiding) 17:04.

Third period: 5. Windsor, Perrott 5 (Johnston, Henault) 10:04 (pp). Penalties: Renwick W (slashing) 1:02, Martin K (roughing), Perrott W (roughing) 5:04, Mutter K (holding) 9:17.

Game stats – SOG – Kitchener 13 4 15-0 Windsor 13 20 10-43 Goal (shots-saves) – Kitchener: Cajan (L,3-4-0-0) (43-40). Windsor: Onuska (W, 8-2-1) (32-30). Power play (goals-chances) – Kitcheners 0-3. Windsor 1-4. Referees: Drew Jackson (21)and Morgan MacPhee (11). Linesmen: Andre Grougrou ​​(77) and Scott Lawson (98). Att.: 4,470 at the WFCU Centre.