The Windsor Spitfires are refusing to repeat history. Another win at home on Thursday night saw them surpass their 2023-24 point total through fewer than half the games with no plan to stop the momentum.
The club came into Thursday’s contest against the Erie Otters with 20 wins and 43 points through 29 games. After just 18 wins and 44 points in 68 games last season, it’s a breath of fresh air for the players, the staff, and their management. However, as they get ready for the upcoming Christmas break, there’s no time to rest. They had the Otters coming to town ahead of a big home-and-home with the London Knights. They’re three games the club had to focus on. Fortunately for the Spitfires, the weekend got off to a solid start. Here are three takeaways from a busy night at the WFCU Centre.
Another Day at the Office for Costanzo
After losing 6-3 to the Otters on the road in October, the Spitfires wanted revenge at home. Unfortunately, they have a habit of slow starts and Thursday was no exception. Otters’ forward Pano Fimis opened the scoring two minutes in. However, thanks to strong goaltending, that’s all the visitors got.
Spitfires’ goaltender Joey Costanzo stopped multiple quality chances, keeping his team in the game. It was important because it took until the end of the second for forward A.J. Spellacy (Chicago Blackhawks) to finally beat Otters’ goaltender Noah Erliden. He took a long pass from defenceman Anthony Cristoforo to tie it 1-1.
In the third, the Spitfires added another from Spellacy, two from Liam Greentree (Los Angeles Kings), and one from Jean-Christoph Lemieux, for the 5-1 win. After the game, Spitfires’ head coach Greg Walters said Costanzo was their backbone.
“I thought Joey had to be a lot better than I would have liked,” he said. “It got a little run-and-gun through our entries where we didn’t execute. They would pick off a puck and go the other way … He gives our guys that calming thing that we know he’s going to be there to stop pucks. When you get off to a slow start sometimes, we always know he’s the backbone.”
The Windsor #Spitfires got strong goaltending from Joey Costanzo to grab a 5-1 come-from-behind win over the Erie #Otters at the WFCU Centre on Thursday. #OHL pic.twitter.com/NiFUg3Gi7q
— Dave Jewell (@DaveJewellOHL) December 13, 2024
Costanzo, who’s now second in the OHL in goals-against average (GAA) and third in save percentage (SV%) made 24 saves for his OHL-leading 18th win this season. He said it was fun battling Erliden, who’s now seventh in the OHL in both GAA and SV%.
“I just try to look down at the other end and be better than the other guy, no matter what his stats are or what my stats are,” Costanzo said. “But the competition is raised when you face another great goalie like he is.”
Can’t Look at the Future
One of the biggest concerns coming into Thursday was avoiding a common mistake in the OHL – looking too far into the future. While the Otters are a formidable opponent, it’s hard to ignore this weekend’s schedule.
Friday night, the Spitfires head up the road to face the Knights for the first time this season. On Saturday, the two clubs return to the WFCU Centre to finish off the home-and-home. With the Knights going 23-5-0 this season, holding onto first place in the league (one point ahead of the Spitfires now), there’s a tendency to think ahead.
However, the Otters gave the Spitfires fits the last time they played and it’s been the story between the teams for a very long time. You can’t underestimate that club and Walters said looking ahead does them no good.
“We talked to our guys and this is a real good hockey team,” he said. “Their record is good and have good players. Their forward group is very deep and their top three lines can score. They’re well coached by Stan (Butler) and they gave us everything we can handle.”
The Otters were missing defenceman Matthew Schaefer to Team Canada at the World Juniors. However, Costanzo echoed Walters’ comment. He said the Otters are a team that wants to go far in the playoffs so you can’t take them lightly.
“We didn’t want to get ahead of ourselves,” he said. “This is a really skilled team and, even though they’re missing (Schaefer), at the end of the day, they came out strong. That’s a good team that’s going to want to go deep in the playoffs. It was big for our confidence.”
Spitfires Surpass 2023-24 Point Total
You can’t blame the players if last season is preferred in the rearview mirror. With just 44 points in 68 games, they learned a lot about themselves and the game itself. However, with a new season comes a new opportunity.
This season, they’ve found a way to change everything since almost day one and haven’t looked back. Thursday night saw them surpass last season’s total, earning their 45th point through just 30 games. It’s not a beloved topic but Costanzo said the players chuckle about it now.
“We look at (the point difference) and kind of laugh,” he said. “We’ve got a great group in the room and we haven’t really tried to put any numbers in our head. We just try to play the next game and that’s what it’s all about.”
Spellacy was an important part of last season’s club with a career-high 21 goals and 38 points in 67 games. He said it’s kind of surreal to think about the change from then until now.
“It’s crazy,” he said. “We try not to think too much about last season. We’re focused on this season but, looking at that way (already hitting last season’s point total), it’s great to see how we’re off to a good start this season.”
Related: Spitfires’ Greentree and Spellacy Chosen at 2024 NHL Draft
Thursday’s game was a shining example of how far the club has come in such a short time. Last season, if they were down 1-0 and frustrated offensively, they may have packed it in. This season, they stayed on the game plan set out by the coaches, pressed Erliden, and got the job done. Now, they’re a single point out of the top spot in the league, which is owned by the Knights, Canada’s top-ranked team. The clubs will start their home-and-home showdown on Friday in London.
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