Spitfires finally meets Sting goalkeeper Gaudreau to recover late to win in overtime

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Frustrated for more than 100 minutes to start the season by Sarnia goalkeeper Sting Ben Gaudreau, the Windsor Spitfires finally broke out on Friday.

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The 18-year-old Gaudreau’s early game allowed the Sting to spoil Windsor’s home opener on Thursday and the San Jose Sharks draft pick looked set to do it again on Friday before a crowd of 2,728 at Progressive Auto Sales Arena.

With a pair of goals in the third period, the Spitfires scored twice to force overtime and won it with just 14 seconds of overtime as the club earned their first win of the season by a score of 3-2 and gave head coach Marc Savard his first Ontario. Hockey League coaches win.

Until the third period, it looked like the Spitfires were heading for back-to-back losses to start the season for the first time since 2014-15.

Like Thursday, Gaudreau was not only hot on the early goal, but Sting was also opportunistic when he presented scoring opportunities. Despite being over 12-3 in the opening period, Sarnia had the only goal of the game.

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Spitfire defender Dylan Robinson ended his hold on Sarnia’s Nikita Tarasevich, but his game from the seat of his pants sent Sting forward Nolan Burke just for the only goal of the first period.

It appeared that Robinson had tied the game with just over 30 seconds to play in the period in a recap, but a video review kept Sting’s lead intact.

In the second period, Gaudreau stopped Will Cuylle on a breakaway and soon after the Sting converted a two-on-one with Ty Voit pushing the lead to 2-0. Gaudreau also made a short break from Daniel D’Amico before the end of the period to keep that two-goal lead intact.

Despite the frustration, the Spitfires rallied from a two-goal deficit to tie that game at 2-2 with a pair of third-period goals that forced overtime.

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Windsor ended Gaudreau’s shutout offer in the third period when Wyatt Johnston converted on the Spitfires’ fourth power play on a pass from Pasquale Zito.

The Spitfires failed to convert on another two power plays in the period, but Zito was able to tie the game with just under five minutes to play in regulation time with a shot that passed Gaudreau high.

The Spitfires wasted no time finishing things in overtime. Johnston knocked down a pass attempt, faked a shot and dropped the puck to Cuylle, who buried the opportunity with just 14 seconds of overtime in a game that Windsor finished with a dominating 42-20 advantage in shooting.

Full return to the track

If you have received both doses of the vaccine, there is a seat waiting for you at the WFCU Center.

On Friday, the provincial government extended spectator capacity limits for indoor sporting events to 100 percent.

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“The health and safety of our players, staff, officials, fans, accommodations and communities is paramount,” OHL Commissioner David Branch said in a statement. “We are very excited to welcome OHL fans to what is sure to be a great season.”

The new limits go into effect on Saturday, meaning the Spitfires can host a full crowd for Monday’s Thanksgiving Day matinee with the London Knights.

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Game Summary

Friday result

Spitfires 3 Sting 2 (OT)

Windsor 0 0 2 1-3

Sarnia 1 1 0 0 – 2

First period: 1. Sarnia, Burke 3 (Tarasevich) 14:34. Penalties: Reesor S (holding) 4:33, Zito W (game delay) 5:23, Malyavin S (interference) 16:10.

Second period: 2. Sarnia, To 1 (Guy) 9:11. Penalties: Daviault S (hook) 10:03, Miedema W (hook) 14:08.

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Third period: 3. Windsor, Johnston 1 (Zito, Robinson) 4:25 (pp.), 4. Windsor, Zito 3 (Miedema, Ladd) 15:38. Penalties: Dillingham S (cutting) 4:07, Dillingham S (hooking) 6:12, O’Donnell S (cutting) 16:47.

Overtime: 5. Windsor, Cuylle 1 (Johnston): 14. Penalties: None.

Game Statistics – SOG – Windsor 12 15 14 1-42 Sarnia 3 11 6 0-20 Goal (shot-saves) – Windsor: Medina (W, 1-1-0-0) (20-18). Sarnia: Gaudreau (L, 1-0-1-0) (42-39). Power play (goals-chances) – Windsor 1-6. Sarnia 0-2. Referees: Brandon Biggers (56) and Joe Monette (25). Linesmen: Kyle Flood (66) and Geoff Rutherford (62). For: 2,727 at the Progressive Auto Sales Arena.

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Reference-windsorstar.com

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