The Windsor Spitfires are making life tough for themselves. In their quest to earn a playoff spot in the Ontario Hockey League’s (OHL) Western Conference, the tenth-seeded club let two points slip through their fingers on Thursday night, losing to the eighth-seeded Flint Firebirds at home.
The 2023-24 season has been a rollercoaster for the Spitfires. A rough start to the season with just four wins in their opening 21 games dug a hole that’s been nearly impossible to climb out of. While coaching changes and general manager Bill Bowler making nearly a dozen moves have helped, it hasn’t been enough to get them into the coveted eighth seed with 12 games to go. Thursday night saw the Firebirds visit the WFCU Centre in the front half of a home-and-home between the clubs. While the Spitfires knew what was at stake, so did the visitors. Here are three takeaways from a tough home loss.
Spitfires Can’t Afford to Give Up Leads
When you’re nine points back for the final playoff spot, especially with under a month to go in the season, every point and every mistake is elevated. The Spitfires came into Thursday knowing the task – get four points out of this home-and-home. Anything less and life gets that much tougher. Fortunately, it started off well.
While the Firebirds opened the scoring midway through the first, the Spitfires responded with three goals in seven minutes to grab a 3-1 lead. However, immediately after the third goal, former Spitfire defenceman Roberto Mancini threw one at the net from the point. It beat goaltender Max Donoso with four seconds left and it was 3-2 Spitfires heading into the intermission.
The home side responded early in the second thanks to veteran Noah Morneau but that’s all they could muster. Firebirds’ veteran Coulson Pitre added one late in the second and a tough short-handed goal early in the third to tie it at four. The visitors added one more midway through the frame before tightening up defensively and taking the 5-4 win.
Having multiple two-goal leads on the team you’re trying to catch, only to see them come crashing down, is heartbreaking. After the game, Spitfires’ interim head coach Casey Torres said their compete level was fine but their mistakes cost them.
“I thought we competed pretty hard through two periods,” he said. “Our compete level wasn’t an issue. Some of our mistakes were compounded into goals against … Are they young? Are they inexperienced? Maybe. At this point in the season, we’re 57 games in, there’s growing pains that go along with it. We show some signs of really good growth at times and, what’s unfortunate is, when you do make that mistake, it compounds it and makes it 10 times worse.”
Early-and-Late Period Goals are Spitfires’ Nemesis
A new, unfortunate trend with the Spitfires is giving up early or late-period goals. Those kill any momentum you might have had and tend to bleed into the rest of the game.
Last weekend against the Owen Sound Attack, they allowed a goal with four seconds left in the second that became the game-winner. On Family Day in London against the Knights, a late first-period goal gave the home side momentum and, eventually, a 7-2 win. On Thursday, the Spitfires allowed three more and it cost them. Torres said goals like that change momentum.
“Any time you either end the period with a goal (against) or start the period with a goal against, it tends to tilt the momentum swing of the period,” he said. “Three goals in the third period, when you have a lead in a real important game, is unacceptable.”
What’s the reason for the timing of the goals? Is it preparation or not realizing what situation you’re in? Torres said it’s time to look at how they approach the start (or end) of a period.
“It’s certainly not from a lack of awareness or preparation,” he said. “We literally went over it just before going out there but clearly we’re going to have to start looking at things differently. They’re a trend that hasn’t been kind to us. The urgency level was extremely heightened knowing it was a real important period so it was certainly disappointing to come out and give that goal up right at the start of the (third) period.”
Playoff Hill Gets Even Tougher
The loss puts the Spitfires 11 points back of the Firebirds for the eighth seed with each club having 11 games left. The tough hill is becoming a muddy mountain. However, the club has a chance to get back on the horse immediately.
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On Friday, they’ll head up I-75 in Michigan for a rematch with the Firebirds. Simply put, this is as close to a “must-win” game as they’ve seen this season. Being nine points back with 10 games left is tough. Being 13 points back in the same time frame is nearly impossible. However, Torres said it’s not over until the math says it is.
“(Thursday was) certainly as disappointing a moment for the group as possible,” he said. “We just have to reset, come back, and try to win a game tomorrow. Until you’re mathematically eliminated, you just have to keep finding ways to win hockey games.”
Morneau has seen this team go through ups and downs before. Last season, he was part of the club that went for it all but ended up losing in the first round. He said they know the magnitude of the challenge but he’s still confident in the group.
“I think we can (pull off the impossible),” he said. “We can get hot down the stretch. It’s a daunting task, and we know that, but the key is to look at it one game at a time and two points at a time and see where that can take us.”
After Friday’s game, they have a day to reset before welcoming the Mississauga Steelheads to the WFCU Centre on Sunday. It’s Spongebob Squarepants Night and the team will be wearing special jerseys. Puck drop is set for 4:05 p.m.
