Spitfires survive late scare to end four-game losing streak with a 7-5 win over Sting

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If the Windsor Spitfires hope to climb the ranks, the club will have to do more defensively.

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Friday was another rollercoaster for the Spitfires, who survived a late scare to snap a four-game losing streak with a 7-5 win over the Sting in Sarnia before 2,560 at Progressive Auto Insurance Arena.

“(We are) not satisfied with the start and there is a lot of work to do as a team,” said Spitfires captain Will Cuylle, who scored one goal and two assists on Friday. “Our record does not show what we can be.”

In a tight Division West, Friday’s victory pushed the Spitfires out of fourth place, passing the inactive Flint and Saginaw, and into second place, just four points behind first place, Sault Ste. Marie.

“It’s a very tight division and we think we’re there and once we make our way we think we can take off,” said Spitfires general manager Bill Bowler.

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For now, the Spitfires just haven’t been consistent enough on the defensive side to get going. On Thursday, the Spitfires blew a three-goal lead in the third period and lost in extra time.

On Friday, the Spitfires built a four-goal lead with less than five minutes left in regulation, but the Sting made it a one-goal game with 30 seconds left in the third period.

Wyatt Johnston, with his second goal of the game and the sixth of the night, finally sealed the victory with an empty goal with 20 seconds left.

“Sometimes we relax a little bit in our (defensive) zone,” said Spitfires head coach Marc Savard. “We work on it every day and it is something we try to do well and we will continue to work on it.”

The Spitfires have five players sidelined with injuries with 2020 first-round pick Ryan Abraham and Oliver Peer absent from Friday’s game after injuring themselves Thursday and joining defenders James Jodoin and Bronson Ride along with goalkeeper Xavier Medina.

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It is Medina’s absence that the Spitfires could be feeling the most. He is expected to be the team’s number one goalkeeper, he has missed nine games, six of which have been losses by the Spitfires, and the club just hasn’t adjusted enough against rookie Kyle Downey and Matt Tovell to compensate. the absence.

“Medina has come out and these guys have been trying to hold the fort,” Savard said.

Defender Michael Renwick had the Spitfires up early in the first period on Friday, but despite Windsor’s 12-6 shooting lead, Sting drew 1-1 with eight seconds left in the period in which a snapshot Theo Hill beat Tovell.

Kyle MacDonald, who has 12 goals in his last 12 games, matched a pair of power play goals around one from Johnston to open up a three-goal lead at Windsor, but Sting got one back late in the second period on Andrei Malyavin’s goal to make it a 4-2 game after 40 minutes despite Windsor holding a dominant 25-12 lead in shooting.

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“The guys are playing as hard as they can,” Savard said.

Cuylle and rookie defender Nicholas De Angelis opened Windsor’s lead to 6-2, but Nolan Burke and Nolan Dann, with power play goals, and Ben Lalkin, with the goalie on the bench, made it interesting with 30 seconds remaining. in regulation time.

Johnston, who was unable to secure an invitation to Canada’s youth national team camp this week, responded with his second goal of the game, on target, and the sixth point of the game. He has nine points in the two games since he was not included on the camp roster.

Johnston, selected in the first round of the Dallas Stars, has a streak of 14 consecutive points and has 10 goals and 30 points in that stretch to rank among the top five in OHL scoring.

“We would like to have a better record, but we have a lot of new players and a new staff,” Bowler said. “Looking at the classification, we are only two games away.”

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The Spitfires will be off until Wednesday when the club hosts the Owen Sound Attack at the WFCU Center. Game time is at 7:30 pm

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Game Summary

Friday result

Spitfires 7 Sting 5

Windsor 1 3 3 – 7

Sarnia 1 1 3 – 5

First period: 1. Windsor, Renwick 2 (Johnston, Christopoulos) 13:53, 2. Sarnia, Hill 7 (DeGurse, Reesor) 19:23. Penalties: D’Amico W (cut) 6:24, Ladd W (game delay) 8:28, Daviault S (cut) 15:03.

Second period: 3. Windsor, McDonald 13 (Johnston, Cuylle) 2:01 (pp.), 4. Windsor, Johnston 12 (Baisov) 10:01, 5. Windsor, McDonald 14 (Johnston, Henault) 14:18 (pp), 6 Sarnia, Malyavin 1 (Voit, Dann) 17:11. Penalties: Guy S (boarding): 36, Daviault S (cutting) 13:21.

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Third period: 7. Windsor, Cuylle 18 (Johnston, Henault) 7:51, 8. Windsor, De Angelis 2 (unassisted) 12:31, 9. Sarnia, Burke 12 (Ritchie, Voit) 15:19, 10. Sarnia, Dann 12 (Voit, DeGurse) 17:37 (pp.), 11. Sarnia, Lalkin 1 (Dillingham) 19:30, 12. Windsor, Johnston 13 (Cuylle) 19:40 (en). Penalties: Daviault S (hook) 4:08, Henault W (cut) 5:40, Birkett W (high grip) 14:42, Johnston W (hook) 17:10.

Game Statistics – SOG – Windsor 12 13 6 – 31 Sarnia 6 6 11 – 23 Goal (shot-saves) – Windsor: Tovell (W, 2-2-1-0) (23-18). Sarnia: Gaudreau (L, 6-4-3-0) (30-24). Power play (goals-chances) – Windsor 2-4. Sarnia 2-5. Referees: Brandon Biggers (56) and Ben Moser (18). Linesmen: Blake Beer (67) and Dustin McCrank (68). For: 2,560 at Progressive Auto Sales Arena.