Spitfires accelerates with fourth consecutive win after beating Rangers

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The Windsor Spitfires are beginning to resemble the team that was ranked No. 8 in the Canadian Hockey League at the start of the season.

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For the first time this season, the Spitfires are on a four-game winning streak after coming back in the third period to a 2-1 win over the Kitchener Rangers on Saturday before a crowd of 3,782 at the WFCU Center.

“We thought the team, on paper, would be a superior team and now we are getting into the rhythm,” said Spitfires forward Daniel D’Amico. “It sucks it’s 25 games, but we’ll be fine from now on.”

Two things have sparked the Spitfires surge and none greater than the return of veteran goalkeeper Xavier Medina after a nine-game absence with a lower body injury.

In the club’s first 21 games, the Spitfires had held an opponent to one goal or less only twice. On Saturday, Medina held the opposition to one goal for a third game in four days.

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“Having Medina back is great,” D’Amico said.

Medina admits he was average at the start of the season and averaged 3.29 goals against and a .883 save percentage before the last three games. In that stretch, he stopped 87 of 90 shots. He is now fourth in the league averaging 2.71 goals against and his save percentage of .905 is eleventh in the league.

“I think these last three games we have become a team,” Medina said. “You go into a rhythm and I think I have a rhythm. I know we are a very confident team, but we know that nothing will be easy ”.

Medina was at his best in the second period with the Spitfires down 1-0. The Rangers pinned the puck at the Windsor end and Rangers captain Francesco Pinelli appeared to have the net wide open, but Medina rushed back to put his stick paddle on the shot and deflect it.

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“I don’t know how he saw it, but it was a great save,” D’Amico said.

It was necessary to attend to Medina after looking injured in the final stretch, but he continued in the game and finished with 31 saves.

“I just needed a break,” Medina said. “I was shocked, but now I’m better.

“It was a good fight and I threw everything I could. I always think that I will make it to any album. “

Medina has regained his game and so has Windsor on penalty. Last in the league earlier this week at 69.9 percent, the Spitfires have missed 12 of the last 13 penalties in three games to jump to 17th in the league at 73.3 percent.

“We have really focused on the penalty,” D’Amico said. “I’m glad we played three games with almost three donuts.”

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Kitchener’s Cameron Mercer has that only power play goal in the last three games. He beat Medina from the slot midway through the second period to put the Rangers up 1-0 after 40 minutes.

But Pasquale Zito took a shot from rookie Ethan Miedema and threw a shot past Pavel Canjun to tie the game and send the teddy bears flying early in the third period.

After a 10-minute delay to clear the ice, Wyatt Johnston scored from an acute angle just 31 seconds behind Zito on the game clock to put the Spitfires on high.

“He’s playing incredible hockey,” Spitfires head coach Marc Savard said of Johnston. “I feel bad that I did not receive an invitation to the youth labor camp. He has been the best center in the league, in my opinion.

Medina and the penalty had to come to light in the final minutes. Zito smashed Kitchener’s Matthew Andonvski against the boards. Originally, no penalty was imposed on the play and Kitchener’s defender eventually withdrew under his own power.

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As he did so, linesman Blake Beer went to umpires Brandon Biggers and Mike Hamilton and the play was reviewed on video. Zito received a major from boarding and misconduct in the game with four minutes and 23 seconds left in regulation time.

D’Amico had several key blocks in the final minutes and Louka Henault, Grayson Ladd and Nicholas De Angelis were credited with blocks when Windsor killed the clock.

“Throughout the year, the penalty has been rolling (guys) and I think now we’re trying to find guys,” D’Amico said. “Blocking shots is what you have to do to get on the penalty and, if that’s what it takes, I’ll block shots all day.”

With at least one point in the team’s last six games, the Spitfires are now one point behind Sault Ste. Marie for first place in the West Division. Those two teams will meet on Thursday at the WFCU Center. Game time is at 7:30 pm

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Game Summary

Saturday result

Spitfires 2 Ranks 1

Kitchen 0 1 0-1

Windsor 0 0 2 – 2

First period: No punctuation. Penalties: McDonnell K (checking from behind): 56, Miedema W (cutting) 4:50, Andonovski K (stumbling) 10:57.

Second period: 1. Kitchener, Mercer 3 (Martin, Pinelli) 10:49 (pp). Penalties: De Angelis W (stumble) 17:00, Ribau W (blind) 9:17.

Third period: 2. Windsor, Zito 9 (Miedema, Sobolev) 2:25, 3. Windsor, Johnston 15 (Abraham, Maggio) 2:56. Penalties: Renwick W (cut) 7:57, Zito W (higher boarding, game misconduct) 15:37, Valade K (double minor roughness), Henault W (cross control) 20:00.

Game Statistics – SOG – Kitchener 11 14 7-32 Windsor 13 14 7-34 Goal (shot-saves) – Kitchener: Cajan (L, 8–7-0-0) (34-32). Windsor: Medina (W, 7-3-0-2) (32-31). Power play (goals-chances) – Kitchener 1-5. Windsor 0-2. Referees: Brandon Biggers (56) and Mike Hamilton (8). Linesmen: Blake Beer (67) and Tristan Peacock (93). TO: 3,782 at the WFCU Center.