The Windsor Spitfires are quickly learning that anything short of a 60-minute effort isn’t going to get them into the 2023-24 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Playoffs. After a big win over the Sudbury Wolves on Saturday (Jan. 13), the team fell flat on Thursday night when a division rival humbled them at home.
You can’t blame the Spitfires for being confident. After four wins in 21 games to start their season, they made sweeping coaching changes and have looked like a brand new team since late November. On many nights, they are competitive and can play with anyone in the league. However, despite a 9-6-2-1 record since the changes, they’re still in last place in the Western Conference. General manager Bill Bowler made massive moves to rebuild at last week’s trade deadline but there’s still plenty of room to grow. Thursday night showed that, while they can compete with the best, they can also get humbled by the best if they’re not careful. Here are four takeaways from a tough 6-2 loss to the Soo Greyhounds at the WFCU Centre.
Spitfires Buried by Second Period Collapse
When you’re fighting for the last playoff spot, every period means something and you can’t afford to let anything slip away. It’s a tough lesson to absorb.
Spitfires’ new captain, forward Liam Greentree, was working his magic in the first period and helped them go into intermission with a 2-1 lead. However, that’s where the fun ended. The Greyhounds were ready to play in the second, scoring twice in the opening minute and adding another before the five-minute mark, for a shocking 4-2 lead. It completely deflated the home side and they couldn’t recover.
The Greyhounds added one more in the second and another in the third for the 6-2 come-from-behind win. After the game, Spitfires interim head coach Casey Torres said they can’t let that happen.
“As positive of a first period as it was, we came out clearly not ready for the second period,” he said. “They scored two quick goals in the first minute, 18 seconds apart, and we didn’t play the second period the way we need to play if we’re going to have success. I don’t know that any team can play like that; just being there and not competing the way we did in the first period. When you’re playing a real solid opponent … When you start to feel tired, you have to match their intensity and they clearly raised theirs in the second period and unfortunately we didn’t.”
The Greyhounds added talent at the deadline and their consistency helped push this game. They were relentless, didn’t give the Spitfires any room to work, and showed why they are battling for the top seed in the conference. If Torres’ club wants to build up the points, they have to avoid collapses like this, regardless of who the opponent is.
Donoso Needs Defensive Assistance
The biggest question mark on the Spitfires all season has been their defence. It started horribly, allowing 125 goals against in the opening 21 games. After the coaching changes, it’s improved enough to drop their overall goals-against average to around five. However, they’ve slacked off over the last handful of games and that can’t continue.
From the time of the coaching changes until the trade deadline, they allowed 60 goals in 16 games, an average of 3.75 per game. In their last three contests, they’ve allowed 24 goals, a massive increase. The result has been goaltenders Joey Costanzo, 18, and Max Donoso, 20, struggling with their numbers. On Thursday, Donoso allowed six goals on 34 shots but it was far from his fault.
The Greyhounds’ first goal was a one-timer in the slot while shorthanded while their second goal and fourth goals were shots untouched from the slot. Two of the three remaining goals were point shots that Donoso might want back but his defence didn’t help him for the most part.
Donoso came to the Spitfires from the Ottawa 67’s with a career goals-against average (GAA) of under three and a save percentage (SV%) just under .900. Since he joined the Spitfires, he carries an 8.04 GAA and .764 SV% through 97 minutes of hockey. Again, that’s not all on him. He’s a clearly capable veteran who has been nothing short of outstanding to this point in his career.
The Spitfires have two starting goaltenders in Costanzo and Donoso but the two need help from their teammates. If the club wants a chance to get into the playoffs, allowing now 30 goals every four games simply can’t continue.
Greentree and Abraham Extend Point Streaks
While Thursday saw some big issues, it also saw a couple of appreciated moments. Greentree and forward Ryan Abraham have both been on a tear and that trend continued.
Abraham scored at 5:38 of the first period, sliding the puck under goaltender Charlie Schenkel, to give him 17 goals on the season and extending his point streak to 12 games (12 goals and eight assists in that span). Greentree scored his 24th of the season at the 18:24 mark of the first period, extending his own point streak to 10 games (five goals and 13 assists).
Torres said that Abraham and Greentree have played well together and developed some good chemistry. When Abraham was ejected from Saturday’s game for a slew foot, they replaced him with A.J. Spellacy and that combination worked, too. It gives the club some options moving forward.
Related: OHL: Windsor Spitfires Name Liam Greentree as New Captain
While Greentree has been outstanding all season, leading the team with 57 points in 37 games, this jolt from Abraham is a welcomed addition. He was struggling through a 12-game pointless drought in November but has since found his groove and is now up to 31 points in 37 games. Consistent production from him, on top of his already agitating style, is a big bonus for the club.
School is Never Out of Session
Being a younger, inexperienced team means you’re going to have to learn a lot of tough lessons. While the highs of winning are entertaining, the lows of losing bring the lessons that you will need for the future.
After a tough loss last week to the Saginaw Spirit, Thursday night’s loss was another humbling event. The Greyhounds got goals early, got them often, and proved they were among the conference elite. It was also their fourth-straight win against the Spitfires this season. As Torres’ team heads onto the road this weekend – the Brantford Bulldogs on Saturday and Calum Ritchie and the Oshawa Generals on Sunday – he said they need to figure out that 60-minute effort.
“It’s tough teaching moments, but every situation is one you can learn from,” he said. “We’ve played three very good quality opponents of late. We beat Sudbury and, for segments against Saginaw, we played very well. For segments tonight, we played very well. But, when you’re playing top-notch quality teams who are trying to compete to win the Memorial Cup, you have to play a full 60-minute game. That sounds simple but we certainly need to improve that as a group.”
Since he took over, Torres has stated that they’re not going to fix the team in any given game or weekend. It requires consistent development and improvement and now part of that includes learning how to play for 60 minutes, regardless of the opponent.
The road has been respectable to them, going 5-3-1-1 in their last 10 with six games decided by two goals or fewer. They sit just seven points back of the Flint Firebirds for the final playoff spot with 28 games left. Now the question becomes – how good are they as students? We’re going to find out.