While thoughts of Santa and loved ones passed through their minds, the Windsor Spitfires had one last task before the Christmas break. Fortunately, it was mission accomplished as they took care of a conference rival on home ice.
The Spitfires welcomed the Guelph Storm to the WFCU Centre on Thursday in their last game before the 2024-25 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Christmas break. While it would have been easy to mail it in, they had a job to do. The goal was to get two points, increase their lead over the Saginaw Spirit in the West Division, and go into the break with as much momentum as possible. While it wasn’t the prettiest of outcomes, they all count. Here are three takeaways from their important win.
Spitfires Focus on Game, Not Holiday
It would have been easy for the Spitfires to be fully focused on the holidays. The visitors are in last place in the Western Conference and, on top of multiple trades this week to rebuild, had others out of the lineup.
The Spitfires had their own issues, though, with multiple injuries plus forward A.J. Spellacy away at the World Juniors with Team USA. They needed a blue-collared, focused game and got it. Veteran Noah Morneau opened the scoring early for a 1-0 home lead. While Essex native Charlie Paquette tied it up in the second, Liam Greentree (Los Angeles Kings) immediately replied for the Spitfires, regaining the lead. Ryan Abraham and Cole Davis added late goals to give the home side the tough, scrappy 4-1 win.
Afterwards, Spitfires’ head coach Greg Walters said it’s been a long first half and he’s demanding of the players for good practices and habits. Fortunately, the players were focused on keeping those good habits, not turning over the puck, and not putting their minds on the holiday just yet. He also credited the leadership group for ensuring the focus remained.
“This group is mature and they love each other,” Walters said. “They want to be together and work for each other. It went right from our whole leadership group down; they said 9:30 p.m. is the Christmas break … They deserve the break and getting away from me for a little bit (laughs).”
The Windsor #Spitfires head into the Christmas break taking a 4-1 win over the Guelph #Storm at the WFCU Centre on Thursday evening. #OHL pic.twitter.com/Mp4Qi8Jnxi
— Dave Jewell (@DaveJewellOHL) December 20, 2024
Davis added that, despite their excitement, they had a focus until the end.
“A lot of guys are excited to go home and see their families,” he said. “But, our focus was on today’s game. Our Christmas break starts now. That was our mindset before the game; get this last win and go into the break on a high.”
List of Injuries Getting Longer… for Now
The Spitfires have lucked out so far this season with injuries. They’ve had bumps and bruises, but nothing that significantly depleted the lineup and forced general manager Bill Bowler to call up players. That is, until Thursday night.
Earlier this month, forward Owen Outwater suffered an upper-body injury at home, his second since January. Forward Ethan Belchetz injured his hand during a road game shortly after. In the same game, goaltender Carter Froggett suffered a lower-body injury that has kept him out since. This week defencemen Tnias Mathurin and Conor Walton were added to the injured list. Add in Spellacy at the World Juniors and it forced Bowler to call up forward Alex Stewart, defenceman Michael Lavigne, and goaltender Jake Windbiel from the LaSalle Vipers Jr. B., plus play defenceman Tanner Winegard for the first time since Nov. 10.
Related: Windsor Spitfires Name Ethan Belchetz Top Pick in 2024 OHL Draft
This might be the best time for the holidays to happen. It gives the team a week to rest up before getting back to action. After the game, Walters gave an update on the players.
“Froggett is out with lower body so we’ll see,” he said. “He was out on skates today without equipment so that’s a great sign. Tnias is upper body; we think he should be back relatively soon. Same with Belchetz. Outwater, we’re still waiting to see what will happen there. It’s a part of the game that sucks but our depth and our role players were able to fill those guys spots tonight.”
Injuries happen and it’s never fun for the players or the team. Fortunately, the holidays give them the chance to rest up and hopefully fully recover. It should be noted that Spellacy was returned to the Spitfires just before the game so he’ll join the team after the break.
Every Point in Standings Matters
Walters, along with assistant coaches Casey Torres and Kris Newbury, have built a team that’s strong in their own zone and creative offensively. It’s helped them get into the top-four of the OHL in both goals scored (138) and goals against (93). However, it doesn’t mean points will always come easy in the standings.
With a depleted lineup, it was tough to snap up anything from the Storm. The Spitfires had to hustle, grind, and get physical to earn their ice. The line of Davis, Morneau, and Ryan Abraham was particularly effective, scoring three goals and adding four assists. Walters said each of the trio contributed.
“They were all dogs out there,” he said. “They were hunting the puck, good defensively, good sticks, they could have had a bunch more, too. They sort of go off each other … It was fun to watch them out there.”
The win gets the Spitfires to within three points of the Knights for the first seed in the conference. It also gets them a 16-point lead on the Spirit for first in the division. That means at least the second seed in the playoffs. Morneau said it’s a boost heading into the break.
“It feels good for us to get those two points,” he said. “We had a decent weekend, last weekend, getting two of three (games). Getting this one was big for us, it just adds to our lead in the division and keeps us in second in the conference. That’s a big accomplishment for us heading into the break.”
Last season, the Spitfires were fighting just to make it out of the league’s basement. Now, they enter the Christmas break battling for the top spot in the division and the conference. They’re proud, they’re excited, and they’re ready for Santa.
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