Hopes of a berth in the 2023-24 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) playoffs continue to fade for the Windsor Spitfires. Another loss at home on Sunday, this time to the Mississauga Steelheads, has the club losing sight of the playoffs and starting to focus on next season.
After winning back-to-back Western Conference regular season titles, the Spitfires were expected to at least compete for home ice this season. It just hasn’t gone anywhere near according to plan. A horrible start that saw just four wins in their first 21 games has turned into a season of playing catch-up at every turn. They came into Sunday’s game in the tenth seed, 13 points back of the eight-seeded Flint Firebirds with just 10 games remaining. That’s a tall task for any club, let alone an inexperienced one. While a win against the Steelheads would keep them afloat, they simply didn’t get the job done. Here are four takeaways from a tough afternoon.
Spitfires’ Frustrations Boiling
The Spitfires entered Sunday following two tough losses to the Firebirds earlier in the week that put a major wrench into their playoff chances. Unfortunately, this game didn’t help matters.
A crowd of 4,994 at the WFCU Centre saw the Steelheads take control early and jump out to a 3-0 lead by the middle of the second period. The home side responded midway through the frame thanks to forward A.J. Spellacy. However, Adam Zidlicky killed that momentum, scoring with just eight seconds left before the second intermission for a 4-1 lead after 40. The visitors scored two more in the third for a 6-1 final.
As the game went on, you could see the Spitfires getting annoyed and losing focus. It boiled over in the third period during a multi-player scrum with multiple fighting majors handed out. Spitfires interim head coach Casey Torres said frustration from the Firebirds’ games carried over and they were simply outplayed by the Steelheads.
“You’d be lying if you thought there wasn’t a little bit of (frustration),” he said. “We felt a little bit sorry for ourselves tonight because, with Flint, for the large portions of both of those games, I thought we played pretty well. I thought we outplayed them and then you look and you find yourself either in a game or down and sometimes that’s hard to comprehend. When you think you’re outplaying them and playing well and they’re finding ways to get goals. Tonight, I don’t think that was the case – they outplayed us, outworked us, and they were better than us in most aspects of the game. We had moments and, when we did break through on some of those chances, they were shut down by really good goaltending.”
Late Goals Against Kill Momentum
Early-and-late-period goals against have been a momentum killer for the Spitfires. They gave up three against the Firebirds on Thursday and Sunday was a similar story.
While Spellacy scored nine minutes into the second, giving the Spitfires needed momentum, Zidlicky’s goal with eight seconds remaining in the period deflated the arena. While it wasn’t the game-winner, the home side lost all of their momentum and were out-shot 14-9 in a critical third period. Torres said from the forwards to the defence to the coaches, they all have to be better.
“I think we had a good second period,” he said. “We got the shot totals up even and scored on the power play. Again, you’re down two, you’re trying to push to create a goal late in the period with 15 seconds left, and to give up a breakaway hurts. There’s an element of trying to push for offence but also recognizing danger … Some of the goals going in are certainly better quality than others, but as a group, we all have to get better.”
After the game, Spitfires’ defenceman Anthony Cristoforo said allowing late-period goals has been an issue all season. However, it’s something they want to focus on, whether that’s for the playoffs or next season.
“It’s something we’ve talked about,” he said. “It’s been an issue all season, to be honest, goals in the first or last minute. It’s something we have to tighten up with nine games left. We’re trying to create good habits and bring them in (to the playoffs) if we make it and next season and be a team that’s competitive.”
Related: OHL: 5 Spitfires Ranked by Central Scouting for 2024 NHL Draft
While those goals have haunted the club all season, the right teachings and development over the next nine games could play a pivotal role next season.
Northern Trip Focuses on the Future
The club now gets ready for a week of practice before their annual northern road swing. They’ll take on the North Bay Battalion on Thursday, the Sudbury Wolves on Friday, and the Soo Greyhounds on Saturday. All three clubs are in the hunt for regular season conference titles (in their respective conferences) so getting any points will be a challenge.
The Spitfires sit 13 points back of the Firebirds for the eighth seed with nine games remaining. It’s a daunting task and, while they’re not mathematically eliminated, it’s a chance to work on their game for the long-term. Torres said that they’re going to use this weekend, along with the remainder of the season, on trying different things, working on their individual games, and creating good habits.
“There’s no question that the writing is on the wall in terms of where we sit from a ‘rest of the season’ point of view,” he said. “(But) there are still nine games left to work on habits and setting a standard and trying to figure out who wants to be here and who is going to take on a contributing role … You just have to focus on the elements of their game, individually, that could help them get better. The situations that happen the most in hockey, whether that’s retrievals, killing plays in your own zone, or creating offensively, you have to work on the development elements in their individual games. Then use these nine games as experience in those critical situations and find out who can play and who’s paddling upstream.”
While Sunday, and the weekend, were tough, they need to use the northern trip as a chance to refocus and build their own games. The playoffs would be nice but long-term development may take priority now.
Suspensions and Injuries Pile Up
On top of the loss, the club suffered another setback. Forward Cole Davis was injured in the second period and didn’t return. After the game, Torres said that they have to wait-and-see.
“We’ll have to re-evaluate here but it doesn’t look good,” he said. “We’ll see what the doctor says after (Monday).”
Davis has 20 goals and 39 points in 58 games for the Spitfires, which is fourth on the team and fifth overall among OHL rookies. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound forward was the club’s fourth-round pick in the 2022 OHL Draft.
The club may also be without defenceman Josef Eichler. During the late-game scrum, he was handed a fighting major along with a game misconduct for a “second fight in the same stoppage.” Upon league review, that could carry an automatic two-game suspension.
Finally, the team was told on Thursday that assistant coach Kris Newbury has been suspended by Hockey Canada for four weeks. No reason was given but it’s believed to be related to an incident last Fall with his former club, the Trenton Golden Hawks of the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL). Their general manager and head coach, Derek Smith, was suspended for four weeks in January.
Spitfires’ GM Bill Bowler will join Torres behind the bench for the rest of the regular season. He told the Windsor Star that they have to adhere to the ruling. He added that Newbury is going to appeal and that will likely take longer than four weeks.
Newbury can’t be around the Spitfires during the suspension and, from his home in Belleville, told the Windsor Star that it’s an allegation brought forward, he’s disappointed he can’t give his side of the story, and he had no further comment (from “Spitfires’ assistant coach handed suspension by Hockey Canada” – Windsor Star, 3/1/24).