Spitfires can’t hold lead, lose to Attack
The Owen Sound Attack have a knack of bringing out the worst in the Windsor Spitfires.
Windsor’s worst loss of the season came at the hands of the Attack back in October in a sevengoal loss.
On Thursday, a meltdown by the Spitfires in the final six minutes of the third period turned a one-goal Windsor lead into a 6-3 loss to the Attack before 3,977 at the WFCU Centre.
“Tonight, it just didn’t feel good right from the start and we got what we deserved,” Spitfires head coach Trevor Letowski said.
“We just didn’t have anyone going tonight and that’s what happens.”
This was a game in which the Spitfires struggled to find traction from the start, with the Attack registering the game’s first seven shots and Windsor not able to produce one until more than 11 minutes had elapsed in the game.
“We came out slow in the beginning,” Spitfires forward Tyler Angle said.
“Towards the second (period) we started getting more shots and a little more aggressive and it helped us a bit, but we have to come out faster and keep that speed the whole game.”
Despite being outshot 15-3 in the opening period, the Spitfires only trailed 1-0 on Jonah Gadjovich power-play goal.
“I was extremely disappointed in the first (period),” Letowski said.
Kevin Hancock made it 2-0 less than five minutes into the second period, but goaltending has been Owen Sound’s Achilles heel and Windsor would turn things around quickly midway through the second period.
Defenceman Sean Day picked off a pass and got Windsor on the board on the team’s sixth shot of the game while the Attack had already taken 21 on DiPietro.
Fifty seconds later, rookie Daniel D’Amico tied the game with his second of the season and Logan Brown gave Windsor a 3-2 lead after 40 minutes with a goal late in the period.
“We battled back to make it 3-2 and had chances to go up 4-2 and if you do that, it’s a different game,” Brown said.
Windsor had five power-play chances, but could not produce a goal and gave up the tying goal to the Attack’s Aidan Duas with the man advantage.
“Just lack of execution,” Brown said of the power play. “It wasn’t very good tonight. All five guys on the power play.
“Pucks bounding over sticks, missing opportunities, and not getting in the zone. Just the execution was low tonight.”
The Spitfires could not nurse the lead with the Attack’s Nick Suzuki netting the winner with less than three minutes to play in regulation and then adding an empty-net goal from Ethan Szypula and another late from Dylon Giroux.
“That’s not what you want to do against a good team like that,” Brown said. “Give pucks away like we did and Mikey can only keep us in it so long. We left him out to dry there for a bit.
“He played so good all game and let a couple breakaways and a couple of chances right in front of him.
“It’s one we’d like back, but you have to move on.”