Spitfires poised and confident in shutout Sting to take series opener

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There were no signs of playoff jitters for the Windsor Spitfires on Thursday.

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The Spitfires looked every bit the top-seeded team in the Western Conference with a dominating 3-0 win over the eighth-seeded Sarnia Sting before 3,656 fans at the WFCU Centre.

“It was a great effort all around,” Spitfires’ head coach Marc Savard said. “It was a real team effort.

“We weren’t talking about winning the Memorial Cup. We were taking about winning Game 1 and setting the tempo and I think we did a good job.”

Windsor’s first playoff win since 2018 gave the Spitfires a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 2 is Saturday at the WFCU Center at 7:05 pm

“For Game 1, it was a huge statement,” said Spitfires’ overage defenseman Andrew Perrott, who scored Windsor’s only power-play goal on eight chances. “We wanted to send a statement. Everyone had something to do with it.”

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The OHL’s top-rated offense might have been slightly off its average, but found a new gear on the defensive side.

The Spitfires held the Sting to a single shot in the first period and 11 overall as goalie Matt Onuska earned his first OHL shutout and became the first Windsor goalie to record a shutout since Jack Campbell blanked Saginaw 5-0 on April 17, 2011.

“That’s music to my ears,” Perrott said. “As a unit, we wanted to eliminate their chances and one shot is amazing.”

It took nine shots before Windsor was able to produce all the offense it would need. Defenseman Michael Renwick’s shot bounced off the end boards and hit Sting goalie Ben Gaudreau. It bounced into the crease and while Gaudreau tried to scramble and grab it, two defenders missed swiping the puck clear and Spitfire forward Alex Christopoulos, who was on one knee, had it bounce off his skate and was able to get just enough on his shot to get it over the goal line.

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“I had a couple guys leaning on me, couple swats and it went into the net,” Christopoulos said.

The Sting were sitting at two shots overall in the second period when fourth-line center Oliver Peer won a race into the corner on a dump in and found defenseman turned forward James Jodoin alone in front. I have buried the chance to put the Spitfires up 2-0 after 40 minutes.

“That’s what you need in the playoffs,” Savard said. “Those guys have to chip in.”

Perrott closed the scoring in the third period for the Spitfires, who are looking to claim a playoff series win for the first time since 2011.

“He played great and stood on his head,” Christopoulos said of Gaudreau. “We worked hard to win this game.”

Now, the Spitfires will quickly turn their attention to Game 2 on Saturday.

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“For us, stick to what we were (Thursday), but bump our energy up a notch,” Perrott said. “There’s always room for improvement. As we always say in the room, ‘Never be satisfied with where you’re at.’”

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Game Summary

Thursday Result

Spitfires 3 Sting 0

Sarnia 0 0 0 – 0

Windsor 1 1 1 – 3

Firstperiod: 1. Windsor, Christopoulos 1 (Renwick, Currie) 13:20. Penalties: Namestnikov S (roughing), Renwick W (holding) 19:55.

Secondperiod: 2. Windsor, Jodoin 1 (Peer, Currie) 6:49. Penalties: Ribau W (holding the stick) :33, DeGurse S (too many men) 3:23, Romeo S (tripping) 7:37, Hill S (hooking) 8:55, Daviault S (roughing), MacDonnell S (roughing, fighting, misconduct, game misconduct), Cuylle W (roughing, fighting, fighting, misconduct, game misconduct), Perrott W (misconduct) 18:17.

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Third period: 3. Windsor, Perrott 1 (Johnston, Henault) 16:16 (pp),

Penalties: Mast S (high sticking) 4:03, Miedema W (too many men) 10:06, Filak S (tripping) 11:33, Hill S (high sticking) 12:20, Namesnikov S (tripping) 15:48, De Angelis W (interference) 18:03, D’Amico W (unsportsmanlike conduct, misconduct) 19:16.

Game stats – SOG – Sarnia 1 4 6 – 11 Windsor 13 10 5 – 28 Goal (shots-saves) – Sarnia: Gaudreau (L,0-1-0) (28-25). Windsor: Onuska (W, 1-0-0) (11-11). Power play (goals-chances) – Sarnia 0-5. Windsor 1-8. Referees: Brent Coulombe (2) and Pat Myers (40). Linesmen: Tommy Hughes (45) and Kyle Flood (66). Att.: 3,656 at the WFCU Center.