TIRED SPITS LOSE THIRD IN ROW AGAINST ATTACK
Tempers flare near end of the game following hit on Foudy, writes Greg Cowan.
OWEN SOUND If the Windsor Spitfires and Owen Sound Attack meet in the playoffs, there won’t be an empty seat available inside the Bayshore.
Saturday night’s contest ended with the teams jawing at each other near centre ice as the officials tried to usher the gladiators out of the arena.
The Attack took advantage of a worn-out Windsor squad that has dropped three straight games, including Saturday’s 6-2 decision in the Scenic City.
With the game out of hand in the third period, Mark Woolley caught NHL draft prospect Jean-luc Foudy with a jarring hit while the speedster wrapped behind the Owen Sound net. Windsor’s Joseph Rupoli chased Woolley around the ice before jumping on the Attack defender and landing a few rabbit punches. Both combatants and the injured Foudy left the game with 57 seconds remaining.
“That’s Mark’s game. He has to play that style of game,” said Attack head coach Alan Letang. “It’s a little bit of a deterrent if you want to come into the Bayshore and wheel around. I thought it was fine, I don’t think anything will come of it . ... It’s just going to build the rivalry.”
That set the stage for the tension-filled finish and the two remaining games these squads will play — as well as a possible post-season matchup. We can dream.
“It’s not often we get a team at the back end of a 3-in-3 at home. Coming off two losses. I think they were a little bit fragile,” said Letang.
Before the soap opera, a game was played.
Logan Lesage netted his first-career OHL goal just over six minutes into the contest. The rarely dressed rookie endured a couple of cross-checks in a battle to the front of the net before depositing a rebound into the top of the mesh behind Xavier Medina.
“The puck went in the corner and me and the defenceman went at it a bit, a couple of crosschecks were exchanged, the puck went to the point and I just battled in front and got the shot off as quick as I could,” Lesage said about the goal.
“I’ve just been putting my head down every day. Just hard work and trying to get into the lineup. Taking every little thing from the coaches to improve my game.”
The goal came only minutes after Lesage was presented with a plaque as one of the OHL’S top academic performers. He’s carrying a 98.8 per cent average at Owen Sound District Secondary School.
“I remember what it’s like to play one game and sit four and then come back in, it’s tough to keep your confidence,” said Letang. “When your fourth line goes out and gives you the first goal of the game, it really sparks your bench and gets you excited.”
Just 28 seconds later, Barret Kirwin’s 22nd of the season made it 2-0 Owen Sound. The Attack rushed up the ice and made two quick passes leaving Kirwin with an empty net to shoot the puck into.
Curtis Douglas responded a minute later as wires got crossed behind the Owen Sound net leading to a dreadful turnover. The hulking centre’s 21st goal of the season was most likely the easiest of his career, a quick shot into the vacated goal.
Nick Chenard was making the start for Owen Sound. The rookie goaltender from Tecumseh made 31 saves for the win.
“Why not play your home team and maybe get you going a bit? He’s been good,” Letang said. “As we grind through and get into the playoffs, we’re going to need to rest (No. 1 goalie Mack Guzda).”
Josh Samanski added a marker before the close of the first period to give Owen Sound a 3-1 lead after the first 20 minutes.
Daniel D’amico’s goal early in the middle frame cut the Attack lead to one, but it’s as close as the Spitfires would get.
Sergey Popov netted a power-play marker moments later, and Deni Goure banged home a rebound to give Owen Sound a 5-2 lead headed into the final frame.
Matthew Struthers notched the Attack’s second power-play tally of the contest in the third period as the Attack skated to their 23rd win of the season.
Owen Sound went 2-for-8 with the man-advantage and blanked Windsor’s dynamic power play on three opportunities.
Medina made 38 stops for Windsor.
Twelve players hit the scoresheet for Owen Sound. Brady Lyle, Kaleb Pearson, Adam Mcmaster, Matthew Struthers and Joshua Samanski all had multipoint games.
“We’re going to have a dogfight. We’re going to have a battle right through to the last game of the season,” Letang said.
We’re going to have a dogfight. We’re going to have a battle right through to the last game of the season.