The second half of the 2024-25 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) season is a different beast. That was a tough lesson the Windsor Spitfires had to learn on Thursday night as they fell at home to a division rival.
Coming into Thursday’s game against the Flint Firebirds, the Canadian Hockey League’s (CHL) sixth-ranked Spitfires had gone 18-2-0-1 at the WFCU Centre, including not losing a game in regulation since a 5-4 loss to the North Bay Battalion on Thurs., Nov. 7. The club was comfortable at home but, in the second half, teams are working for playoff positioning and the Firebirds sit in sixth in the Western Conference with a chance at home ice. This wasn’t a game the Spitfires could sit back and take for granted. Unfortunately, it didn’t go their way. Here are three takeaways from a surprising game.
Spitfires Create Issues for Themselves
In four games this season, the Spitfires have given the Firebirds multiple chances to come back during games. However, they were still 4-0-0 with no desire to snap the streak.
Fortunately for the home side, veteran defenceman Anthony Cristoforo scored his 11th of the season early on the power play for a 1-0 lead. However, that was all they could get. The Firebirds tied the game late in the first and then went to work. They forced turnovers and perimeter shots while adding two in the second and two in the third for a 5-1 final. It’s just the Spitfires’ third regulation loss at home in 22 games this season.
From the start, the Spitfires struggled with passing, creating opportunities, and using their speed in any capacity. It was a game they need to learn from and forget. After the game, head coach Greg Walters said to give credit to the Firebirds but this was a bad game on their end, too.
“Did they outplay us? Yeah, but we weren’t great by any means,” he said. “(We had) two breakdowns, we lost the special teams battle, we had a mental mistake on one of them, and a turnover late in the first period. Those things cost you. We didn’t generate enough. Credit to them but I thought we played slow, we didn’t block enough shots … I don’t think it was effort-based. Our guys were working. We do have to commit to blocking shots and making easy plays. Sometimes, we try to do too much, and our execution wasn’t good.”
Cristoforo added that, while you have to give the Firebirds credit, they didn’t use their speed or execute their plays, which was “unacceptable.”
Can’t Rely Solely on Protas and Greentree
A highlight of the Spitfires’ season has been the play of forwards Liam Greentree (Los Angeles Kings), who has 33 goals and 79 points in 46 games and Ilya Protas (Washington Capitals), who has 32 goals and 75 points in 42 games. They’re the best duo (points-wise) in the league. They’ve also been on hot streaks as Protas came into the game with 14 points in his last five games while Greentree had seven points in the same stretch.
Related: Spitfires Add Size, Select Protas at 2024 CHL Import Draft
However, when they can’t produce, the secondary offence has to step up. In most games, players like Ryan Abraham, A.J. Spellacy, Noah Morneau, Jack Nesbitt, and newly acquired Luke McNamara have all stepped up. That wasn’t the case on Thursday. While Protas and Nesbitt assisted on Cristoforo’s goal, the rest were quiet. Walters said you need more than one line rolling.
“We need our secondary scoring,” he said. “Protas and Greentree can’t be relied on for getting three or four points a night.”
Spellacy, who has one goal in his last 14 games dating back to Sat., Dec. 28 on the road against the Soo Greyhounds, said he knows he has to improve his game.
“Personally, I can be better at that,” he said. “I know that since Christmas, I haven’t really put the puck in the net. I think I can do a good job in helping in that aspect. If we have a couple of more guys finishing and scoring goals, then we can really go far.”
The club has proven that they have secondary scoring. While the first line gets fans out of their seats, scoring can do that in general. Getting three lines rolling consistently is the best way to ensure this club gets to where it should be.
Firebirds’ Day Steals Third Period
While this was a tough game for the Spitfires, it wasn’t all on them. They came into the game second in the OHL with 204 goals in 46 games. The Firebirds found a way to suffocate them in the first 40 minutes, after which veteran goaltender Nathan Day took over.
While the 19-year-old had struggled against the Spitfires this season, allowing 13 goals on just 77 shots in just over 198 minutes, he was a difference-maker on Thursday. He made 30 saves, including 13 in the third period alone, to get the win. He was on his game, including multiple in-crease acrobatic saves, and gave them the boost to shut the door. Walters said you have to give credit where it’s due.
“Credit to Flint, they defended quite hard,” he said. “When we had chances, Day was extremely good. We could have gotten back in that game when it was 3-1 and he made some big plays and big saves.”
The Windsor #Spitfires surrendered five unanswered goals to the #Flint Firebirds on Thursday night on route to a 5-1 loss at the WFCU Centre. Nathan Day made 30 saves for the win. #OHL pic.twitter.com/DsazIjZfGt
— Dave Jewell (@DaveJewellOHL) January 31, 2025
Great goaltending can win you a game or even a playoff series. The Firebirds aren’t about to roll over in the standings. They will give you everything, regardless of their seeding, and getting goaltending like that will prove valuable for them not only down the stretch, but in the first round, at least.
Having tasted a rare home loss, the Spitfires will use that as motivation for this weekend. They’ll get a couple of days to recover before welcoming Sam O’Reilly and the CHL’s top-seeded London Knights to the WFCU Centre on Sunday evening.
