Seasonal cheer in win over Spirit
The Windsor Spitfires headed into the Christmas break with a much-needed win that came in dramatic fashion.
For the first time this season, the Spitfires scored with the goalie pulled for an extra attacker and then got the winning goal with just 91 seconds left in overtime for a 4-3 win over the Saginaw Spirit before a crowd of 4,743 at the WFCU Centre on Sunday. “It’s huge coming off a losing streak, especially against Saginaw,” Spitfires centre Tyler Angle said. “A division rival and two points a little higher in the standings. You don’t want to go into Christmas break with a loss and think about it the whole time.” Windsor has not lost five straight games this season, but looked in danger of it after the Spirit jumped to a 2-0 lead in the second period on goals by Bode Wilde and Jake Goldowski, who scored on a power play.
But rookie goalie Kari Piiroinen did not let the lead extend beyond that.
“I thought it was important for Kari to give us some big saves and I thought our group responded well to that,” Spitfires associate coach Jerrod Smith said. “It’s great for the kid. He’s working his tail off and I thought he had an outstanding performance.
“No question it’s tough. He’s a 17-year-old kid. The greatest goalie in Windsor Spitfires’ history left the team and he’s got big shoes to fill. He knows that, but he’s a hardworking kid with a lot of potential. He’s going to be really good for us. We’re really proud of his performance.” Piiroinen, who came into the game with a 5.05 goals-against average and a .840 save percentage in three starts since the DiPietro deal, finished with 33 saves. “Oh, real good for me, especially for me after that slump,” said Piiroinen, who is from Finland. “That just gets my confidence back.
“I’m not a nervous type of a guy. I try not to change anything. I just play my game, ( but) I had to take a step back and focus on the simple things.”
In the team’s annual teddy bear toss game, rookie Will Cuylle started the stuffed animal launch with his 10th goal of the season and defenceman Connor Corcoran pulled the Spitfires even after 40 minutes.
“It started with our goaltending,” Angle said. “Kari made some big saves and we went the other way to get some goals.” Danny Katic’s goal with just under eight minutes to play looked like it might stand up as the winner, but the Spitfires pulled Piiroinen for an extra attacker with just over two minutes left in regulation. That strategy had yet to work this season with the club unable to score in 12 previous games with the goalie out and allowing 11 empty-net goals in the process. Angle finally ended that drought when he scored from the side of thenettotieitat3-3 with 91 seconds to play in overtime. “The puck bounced right to me in front of the net,” Angle said. “The goalie was out of his net. If I didn’t score that, I would probably be thinking of that the whole Christmas break.”
Angle also played a key role on the game-winning goal. Skating towards the bench and faking a pass back into his own zone, he dropped his shoulder and quickly spun and turned up the ice to create a two-on-one with Daniel D’Amico. A perfect feed allowed D’Amico to net the winner. “Try something new, fake something back, and to see (D’Amico) wide open in slot on a two-on-one, you can’t shoot that,” Angle said.
“You know he’s going to score the goal.”
The Spitfires are six points clear of a playoff spot with the club set for an 11-day break to recharge before its next game.
“We didn’t want to go into the break on a losing skid,” Smith said. “It says a lot about the group. It’s a gutsy effort and the kids are going home pretty happy.”