Spitfires and Firebirds renew acquaintances in Western Conference final
Former Plymouth franchise, Windsor had heated rivalry back in the day
At one time, it was one of the great rivalries in the Ontario Hockey League.
The Flint Firebirds were known as the Plymouth Whalers before former Windsor Spitfires owner Peter Karmanos sold the club in 2015 and the team was relocated.
Karmanos, who was granted an expansion franchise in 1990 after selling the Spitfires, created a unique cross-border rival between his old club and new club. Whether the team was playing in downtown Detroit, Oak Park or Plymouth, plenty of Windsor’s faithful fans would make the journey to see the teams square off.
But with the move to Flint, the rivalry was just never the same for the two clubs. The proximity to Saginaw created a more natural rivalry for the Firebirds and, until this season, the two had never met in a playoff series. It was a far cry from 2009 and 2010 when playoff matches with the Whalers helped battle harden the Spitfires for back-to-back Memorial Cup runs.
“I don’t know if it’s the same as the Plymouth rivalry, but there’s a lot at stake,” said Spitfires forward Matthew Maggio, who grew up watching those Memorial Cup teams in Windsor.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down hockey in March 2020, the Firebirds and Spitfires were lined up to meet in the first round of the playoffs. With former Spitfire and Oldcastle native Eric Wellwood serving as head coach of the Firebirds at that time, there was a little more spice between the two teams.
Now, as the two get set to meet in the Western Conference final, is there any kind of spark left from the old rivalry? Game 1 of the bestof-seven series is Saturday at the WFCU Centre at 7:05 p.m.
“I wouldn’t consider them the rivals,” Firebirds first-year head coach Ted Dent said of the Spitfires. “It takes time to build up a rivalry.
“The league’s changed and it’s not what it was 15-20 years ago with a lot of fighting and stuff after the whistle. Now, it’s play hard and finish checks. It’s not like the old days where benches cleared. I wouldn’t say we have any rivals.”
The two teams battled all season for first place in the West Division and Western Conference, with the Spitfires using a 7-0-0-1 regular-season record against the Firebirds to help chase Flint down for the top spot.
“I was in some of the best rivalries in hockey,” Spitfires firstyear head coach Marc Savard said. “From Calgary and Edmonton to Oshawa and Peterborough and Boston and Montreal.
“I thought there was something there this year with London and some of our games were heated, but I think (this series) will turn into that.”
It will be more than two months since the two teams faced one another when the Western Conference final opens and both have had to take different paths to get to this point.
“It’s been so long since we’ve played them,” Dent said. “We didn’t play them the last three weeks of the season. Now we’re into the second season (playoffs) and the third round, so now it’s like a whole new season.”
Windsor hasn’t played for a conference title since 2011 and Flint hasn’t been to this point since the club was in Plymouth in 2013. On top of that, there hasn’t been any playoff hockey in the OHL since 2019, which means several league players are getting their first taste of post-season hockey at this level.
“I don’t think there’s a heated rivalry with anyone because we just haven’t had enough hockey,” Spitfires general manager Bill Bowler said. “There’s nothing yet, but hopefully after the first period on Saturday.
“The game has changed, but I hope there is something here with Flint and we can continue to have playoff battles.”
With the Wayne Gretzky Trophy at stake and a spot in the league final up for grabs, expect the passion to bubble up between these two teams before too long.
“I think there is a sense of a rivalry and we’re playing for a trophy and the conference, so it’ll be a war,” Maggio said. “There will be Flint fans here and I hope our faithful are in Flint, too. I don’t think it’ll take too long.”