HOME NOT SO SWEET FOR SPITS
Saginaw hands Windsor third-straight loss on overtime penalty shot at WFCU Centre
The struggles continue at home for the Windsor Spitfires.
The club dropped its thirdstraight game at the WFCU Centre, with the Saginaw Spirit using a penalty-shot goal with 31 seconds left in overtime to win it 4-3 before a crowd of 3,397.
“We should have won this one,” Spitfires forward Egor Afanasyev said. “I didn’t see it coming.”
The Spitfires’ Tyler Angle was called for a hook on Saginaw rookie Josh Bloom as he went to the net and referee Joe Monette immediately pointed to centre ice.
Bloom, who came in with just one goal in 26 games this season, beat Spitfires goalie Xavier Medina between the pads to end it.
“I don’t think it was a good call, but it is what it is,” Afanasyev said. “You can’t win every game.”
It was a missed opportunity for the Spitfires, who could have moved into sole possession of first place in the West Division. Instead, they’re tied with the Spirit and Flint Firebirds for first place with Windsor holding games in hand on both teams.
“It’s a tough one,” said Spitfires’ head coach Trevor Letowski, whose team is now 7-0-2-0 against rivals in the West Division. “We certainly outchanced them, and one of those nights we couldn’t find a way to score
“I thought we missed the net all night. Give (the Spirit) credit, they played hard and with a depleted lineup, but it’s a game we felt we let slip away and that’s twice they’ve done it to us (in overtime). It stings, but we got a point and we play (Friday in Guelph).”
Scoreless for much of the opening period, the Spitfires opened the scoring with less than four minutes to play, but then the two teams combined for three goals in a span of 31 seconds.
Rookie Wyatt Johnston found Afanasyev going to the net and he put home a second chance to open the scoring.
Ethan Cardwell tipped a shot in to tie the game, but Spirit goalie Marshall Frappier handed the puck to Windsor’s Will Cuylle behind the net and he fed Angle in front, who had an open net to put Windsor back in front just 12 seconds later.
However, the Spirit responded with Camaryn Baber beating Medina over the shoulder to make it 2-2 after 20 minutes.
“You get a lead, they score, you get a lead, they score,” Letowski said. “We didn’t quite have everybody going.”
Cole Coskey gave Saginaw its first lead by snapping a shot past Medina on the stick side, but Afanasyev scored his second off a faceoff win by Johnston to tie it at 3-3 after 40 minutes.
But the Windsor offence went quiet in the third period. The Spitfires had just three shots on net and the first did not come until nearly 17 minutes had elapsed and that included the team’s fourth power play of the game, which failed to produce a goal.
“There’s ups and downs,” said Afanasyev, whose team came into the game with the No. 1-ranked power play in the Ontario Hockey League. “We’re trying to get back to our game. (The power play is) not going to be good every game. Today, maybe not on the same page.”
Medina made some key saves down the stretch to get it to overtime before Bloom ended it as Saginaw has now beaten the Spitfires twice in overtime at the WFCU Centre.
“Our puck possession in the offensive zone was great,” Afanasyev said.
“In the second period, it was like 70-30, but we were missing the net a lot. As a team, we had so many chances, but couldn’t bury them.”