3 Takeaways From Spitfires’ 7-1 Win Over Frontenacs

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The Windsor Spitfires weren’t going to let the Ontario Hockey League’s (OHL) West Division slip away. They grabbed a big win at home on Thursday that not only got them an important title but a bit of revenge at the same time.

The 2024-25 campaign has been a strange one for the Spitfires. After finishing second last in the OHL last season, following back-to-back Western Conference and West Division regular-season titles, nobody knew what to expect. However, since the start of this season, they’ve shown they can hang with anyone and aren’t backing down. They entered Thursday in the second seed, leading the division and the defending Memorial Cup Champion Saginaw Spirit by 12 points with seven games left. A win at home against the Kingston Frontenacs would clinch the division and guarantee at least the second seed. Here are three takeaways from a busy night at the WFCU Centre.

Spitfires Clinch West Division

The Spitfires wanted their division and what better chance than against the Frontenacs, who beat them 4-2 in Kingston last Friday night?

It looked bad early as Frontenacs’ veteran Jacob Battaglia opened the scoring just two minutes in. However, that was just a speed bump for the Spitfires, who are 24-4-0-1 at home. Shortly after, Ilya Protas (Washington Capitals) scored his first of the night to tie it. The home side soon forced Charlie Shenkel out of the goal in favour of Mason Vaccari. He wasn’t much help. In total, veteran Ryan Abraham scored his 25th, followed by Protas’ second of the night (45th overall), two from A.J. Spellacy, one from captain Liam Greentree (Los Angeles Kings), and then Cole Davis, for the 7-1 win.

Ilya Protas Windsor Spitfires
Windsor Spitfires’ forward Ilya Protas. (David Jewell / The Hockey Writers)

The Frontenacs are just three points out of the first seed in the Eastern Conference. However, the Spitfires weren’t being denied their title. After the game, the jumbotron showed the club had clinched. Head coach Greg Walters said that was a special moment.

“When I saw it on the board after, it’s special,” he said, smiling. “It doesn’t happen very often. I’m so proud of our players … They were upset about losing to the Frontenacs last week. (Tonight) our best players being our best players, I never count these guys out … Just so proud of those 23 kids in there.”

Greentree has been with the club since 2022-23, including a first-round sweep loss in his rookie season and missing the playoffs last season. He said clinching in front of the fans was fantastic.

“I’m super grateful that we have a fan base like this,” he said. “I’m excited that I’ve been able to play here and to be in front of a crowd like that. Delivering and clinching the division today was something special.”

Spitfires’ Defence Shines… Again

Last season, the Spitfires’ defence was a disaster, allowing a Canadian Hockey League-worst 360 goals in 68 games. Coming into this season, they had to find a way to improve if they wanted to get a shot at home ice, let alone the division.

Walters has worked with assistant coaches Casey Torres and Kris Newbury to create systems that are defensive-oriented. Thursday night was another shining example. They allowed the first goal, but just 25 shots throughout. It was their 27th time this season allowing 25-or-fewer shots. Goaltender Carter Froggett made some big plays when called upon, which we’ll talk about more below, but his defence was throwing themselves into the trenches and clearing pucks. Defenceman Anthony Cristoforo blocked multiple shots, including one where he could barely stand and had issues getting off of the ice.

The club has done a 180-degree turn and now have allowed just 191 goals through 61 games, which is tied for third in the OHL. After the game, Walters said defence has been the focus all season.

“The number one thing we talked about when I came in was we had to get the goals against down,” he said. “…we had to cut at least 100 to even be in the mix. To these guys’ credit, we talked about our defensive zone, our breakouts, and our tracking roles, making sure we had six (with our goalies) guys on the same page.”

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Walters added that Cristoforo seemed to be okay but they’ll get a better idea after talking to the doctors.

Not every night is going to be golden. However, to stop a top-five offensive team like the Frontenacs (249 goals in 59 games coming in) says a lot about Walters’ club.

Froggett Clutch Down the Stretch

While veteran goaltender Joey Costanzo has generally been a rock for the Spitfires this season, you can’t win the division without a strong backup. That’s where rookie Carter Froggett comes into play. The club’s sixth-round pick in 2022 waited two seasons for his chance to show he could play at the OHL level and, after a bit of an inconsistent start, has shown he’s more than capable.

Froggett came into the game with a 3.27 goals-against average (GAA) and .884 save percentage (SV%). Those numbers had been trending positive since he returned in late January following a month-long injury and illness absence. In nine appearances, he allowed four-or-more goals just three times and was coming off of a 25-save (on 26 shots) performance on the road against the Peterborough Petes last Thursday.

The only thing he did against the Frontenacs was increase his value. He was called on early to make some big saves as the visitors weren’t going away, but he kept his team in the game. He looked cool, collected, and ready for whatever was thrown at him. Walters said Froggett would get the nod again on Friday night in Kitchener when they faced the Rangers.

“He was big, he was calm, and he was sharp,” he said. “We’ll go back with him in Kitchener.”

Costanzo’s had a rollercoaster second half with stretches of both serious struggle and lights-out hockey. Right now, it’s the former as he’s allowed 18 goals on 83 shots in his last four appearances. Fortunately, Froggett has stepped up and provided some stability and confidence from the coaches. If he can keep this up, he’s going to push for the starter’s role, and it would be hard to argue it.

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