Morgan ignites offence for Windsor victory

Cody Morgan was the centrepiece of last season’s deadline deal between the Windsor Spitfires and Kingston Frontenacs.

On Saturday, the former firstround pick gave another glimpse of the offensive potential that is slowly starting to emerge from the 17-year-old centre.

The Spitfires were flat and took over 16 minutes to record the team’s first shot on goal, but Morgan buried the team’s second shot of the game, and the club never looked back.

“How about this guy’s shot today?” Spitfire’s goalie Mikey DiPietro said. “Wow.”

Morgan faked as though he was going to circle the net, but instead held the puck and fired a shot from a sharp angle over the shoulder of Saginaw Spirit goalie Ivan Prosvetov. It was the lone goal of the period, and the Spitfires never relinquished the lead in a 5-1 win over the Spirit before a crowd of 2,593 at the Dow Event Center. “I guess I was getting rode out a little bit, but I saw (Prosvetov) and he was down a little and I tried to pick a corner and throw it on the net and cause some confusion and it went in,” Morgan said.

The Spitfires have high hopes for Morgan, who was sent to Windsor with a pile of draft picks for forward Gabriel Vilardi and defenceman Sean Day.

“He’s capable of those goals,” Spitfires head coach Trevor Letowski said. “He’s got skills.” The Spitfires also got a solid game from veteran forward Cole Purboo. Purboo pushed Windsor’s lead to 2-0 and responded to Jake Goldowski’s goal with his second of the game, just 46 seconds later to put the Spitfires up 3-1 after 40 minutes.

But Purboo’s effort is what you expect from a veteran, while Morgan is what the club needs to build momentum this season. After posting just an assist in his first 12 games, Morgan now has five points in his last six games.

“I feel confident,” Morgan said. “You don’t feel the best when you’re out of the lineup, but when I’m in, I feel I’m working harder and getting the bounces.

“I just try to go out there and do my thing. I just try to play a simple game the way we play. Simple, hard, finish my checks, get the puck in and contribute when I can.” DiPietro frustrated the Spirit with a 25-save performance. It marked the fifth time in his last seven games that he has allowed just one goal.