Good teams find a way to win. It wasn’t pretty but the Windsor Spitfires survived a chippy Wednesday night home game against the Saginaw Spirit, taking a much-needed two points.
Last season, the Spitfires’ goal was to just make the playoffs. They were struggling to keep their head above water and most nights were frustrating. This season is a completely different story. They started hot, sit atop the Ontario Hockey League’s (OHL) West Division, near the top of the West Conference, and don’t appear to be going anywhere. They came into Wednesday’s game nine points up on the second-place Spirit, who were without starting goaltender Andrew Oke (illness) and offensive forward Michael Misa (Canadian Hockey League (CHL) and US Prospects Challenge). The home side took full advantage and kept their hot streak alive. Here are three takeaways from a busy Wednesday evening.
Spitfires Find a Way
The clubs had met twice this season, splitting a pair of games in Saginaw, MI. However, the Spitfires won three games last weekend and wanted to continue that trend.
While the Spitfires were outshot 11-6 in the opening frame, they got goals on rookie goaltender Kaleb Papineau from Ryan Abraham, Ilya Protas, and Owen Outwater, plus big saves from goaltender Joey Costanzo, for a 3-0 lead at the intermission. In the second, they found their shots, gaining a 12-8 edge on the shot clock. They added two more goals on backup goaltender Sammy DiBlasi (OHL debut) – Protas’ second of the game and one from rookie Ethan Belchetz – for a 5-0 lead. The Spirit scored a pair in the third to end Costanzo’s shutout bid, but Abraham’s second of the game and Liam Greentree’s (Los Angeles Kings) 14th of the season sealed the 7-2 win.
This was a strange game for the Spitfires. Despite the lead, they had a tough start, played sloppy and disorganized at times, and were fortunate to face inexperienced goaltending. There were also several incidents between players that resulted in majors, misconducts, and a match penalty to Spirit defenceman Zayne Parekh (Calgary Flames) that hurt the game’s flow. Despite everything, they stuck up for each other and got the two points. Spitfires’ head coach Greg Walters said good teams find a way on bad nights.
“You go up 11 (points) or seven (on the Spirit), it’s a big difference,” he said. “It’s a big win. I didn’t like how we played at all but good teams find ways to win when they’re not good. All the credit goes to Costanzo, he was really good here.”
The win gives the Spitfires 18 on the season, already matching last season’s total through just 25 games.
Protas Shows Pro Potential
When general manager Bill Bowler won the first overall pick in March’s OHL Draft Lottery, it also gave him the third overall pick in July’s 2024 CHL Import Draft. He took Protas, the 6-foot-5, 200-pound Washington Capitals’ prospect. Ever since his arrival, the young Belarusian has come as advertised and Wednesday was no exception.
Protas isn’t going to beat you with his speed but he has an awareness and quickness to his game that’s incredibly tough to stop. He takes seemingly simple situations and turns them into scoring opportunities. In his first goal on Wednesday, he took a loose puck near Greentree and snapped it glove side on Papineau. His second goal was taking a puck at the Spirit blue line, a slight toe-drag, and then snapping it high glove without much celebration. He made it look easy.
Ilya Protas with a pair of goals as the Windsor #Spitfires take a 7-2 win over the Saginaw #Spirit at the WFCU Centre on Wednesday. #OHL pic.twitter.com/w1mNoZ1ZI5
— Dave Jewell (@DaveJewellOHL) November 28, 2024
When asked about Protas’ development this season, Walters said he’s become one of the best players in the league.
“He’s one of the top players in the league and one of the best 200-foot players I’ve ever coached,” he said. “He’s an amazing kid and his brain is elite on both sides of the puck. We’re lucky to have him.”
Related: Spitfires Add Size, Select Protas at 2024 CHL Import Draft
Protas now has 15 goals and 31 points in 22 games. It’s been several seasons since the Spitfires had an Import player dominate like this. They’ve had talented players, such as Finnish defenceman Ruben Rafkin (now in Finland) and Russian defenceman Daniil Sobolev (now in Russia). However, not since Russian defenceman Mikhail Sergachev’s 57 points in 67 games in 2015-16 has a player had such an immediate impact.
Costanzo Continues Crease Dominance
While Costanzo didn’t earn a star, he was one of the keys and made the saves when the team needed him the most.
Costanzo came into the game having won his last three decisions. Since allowing five goals on 14 shots on Nov. 15 against the Sudbury Wolves, he had allowed just eight goals on 112 shots, including two 30-plus save performances. On this night, he kept the Spitfires in the contest in the first period, shutting down anything the Spirit threw at him. While he allowed a pair of third-period goals, those were more defensive breakdowns in front of him. Without him, Walters wasn’t sure the game result is the same.
“Sometimes, in games like tonight, if it wasn’t for Joey, we’re down three or four,” he said. “Against a team like London (Knights) or (a full roster) Saginaw (Spirit), you can’t come back.”
Walters credited Costanzo’s confidence and goaltending coach Stan Matwijiw with turning the 19-year-old’s fortunes around.
“His confidence,” he said. “He’s so relaxed. His puck touches are good now and he’s in a groove. He works extremely hard. Stan Matwijiw has done an unbelievable job with him. I want to give a shoutout to Stan; he’s sick in the hospital and that one was for him, for sure.”
With a lopsided score, it’s easy to forget the goaltending. However, a 31-save performance is impressive. Last season, Costanzo struggled from start-to-finish with a 5.05 goals-against average (GAA) and a .855 save percentage (SV%). This season, he’s near the top of the league with a 2.32 GAA and .918 SV%. It’s a night-and-day improvement and Wednesday’s performance deserved recognition.
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