Bronson Ride missed his 1st game last night for Niagara,not sure yet if he plays tonight.
Don't know if he is/was injured or ill.
Windsor Spitfires 2023-24 Season Thread (Part One)
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Don't know if he is/was injured or ill.
OHLTG
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OHLTG
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OHL site says Ride, Sobo, and O'Flaherty are all starting tonight for Niagara. Props to the ID if that holds true.
Spits are going with same lineup as last night,Michelone gets the start.
Not dressed are Struthers, Jodoin,Stewart and Greenwell.
OHLTG
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SpitfireHabs1
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I have a feeling it's going to be a physical game today, maybe some fights as there is a lot of familiar faces and there will be some battles.
Micheline played a very Solid game no Doubt and it's always good to reward good efforts but gotta say I'm surprised with Joey not starting, will be interesting to see how Michelones Form and overall performance is tonight.
From the Ice Dogs I expect a solid effort tonight after getting thumped Yesterday. The Spits need to come out for the Opening Whistle and play a 200 Foot game. Would be nice to finally put together a pair of W's Fingers Crossed that we see a good compete level from the players in-Front of our goalie.
Go Spits Go!!
Micheline played a very Solid game no Doubt and it's always good to reward good efforts but gotta say I'm surprised with Joey not starting, will be interesting to see how Michelones Form and overall performance is tonight.
From the Ice Dogs I expect a solid effort tonight after getting thumped Yesterday. The Spits need to come out for the Opening Whistle and play a 200 Foot game. Would be nice to finally put together a pair of W's Fingers Crossed that we see a good compete level from the players in-Front of our goalie.
Go Spits Go!!
TheGremlin
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ohloutsider
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Haven't seen Eichler for a bit, benched, hurt or am I just not seeing him?
Edit, nevermind I saw him.
Edit, nevermind I saw him.
Last edited:
ohloutsider
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ohloutsider
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Spellacy playing on a line with Smith and Castle is a disservice to Spellacy.
punch1943
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LeProspector
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scokan
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since they most likely won't be firing Smith any time soon I feel like Delmore needs to take the heat, the defense has been atrocious all season, why did he have Walton stapled to bench in favor of playing Manzo in the last minutes of the game?
Although Michelone may have made the save of the year tonight, he did give up a 7 spot..
will be interesting to see where they go from here regarding the goalies with this tough stretch coming up, it could be rough..
nice to see AJ get his first of the year too!
Although Michelone may have made the save of the year tonight, he did give up a 7 spot..
will be interesting to see where they go from here regarding the goalies with this tough stretch coming up, it could be rough..
nice to see AJ get his first of the year too!
Missing Woodall big time in this one, he is by far their best defensive d-man. No idea why Manzo was getting all that ice time late in the game, are they purposely trying to lose games? The kid was playing in his first career game.
Anyways, I've seen enough, this team is beyond horrible defensively. It's pathetic. Bowler has to add a stabilizing d-man or this team is going to be historically bad defensively. Allowed at least 5 goals in all but two games this season. Offensively they are decent and can create some offense but defensively this team is not OHL caliber. No OHL team should be this bad defensively, rebuild or not.
One Bowler trades all assets, I fully expect this team to finish last in the OHL, hopefully bring in an elite talent in the import draft and maybe get lucky like Saginaw did and win the lottery. Might as well get it over with now. Looking at the upcoming schedule, its Kitchener, SOO, Saginaw, London. They will be lucky to get 1 point out of those games.
Anyways, I've seen enough, this team is beyond horrible defensively. It's pathetic. Bowler has to add a stabilizing d-man or this team is going to be historically bad defensively. Allowed at least 5 goals in all but two games this season. Offensively they are decent and can create some offense but defensively this team is not OHL caliber. No OHL team should be this bad defensively, rebuild or not.
One Bowler trades all assets, I fully expect this team to finish last in the OHL, hopefully bring in an elite talent in the import draft and maybe get lucky like Saginaw did and win the lottery. Might as well get it over with now. Looking at the upcoming schedule, its Kitchener, SOO, Saginaw, London. They will be lucky to get 1 point out of those games.
OHLTG
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Some thoughts...
- On Thurs night, Christopoulos said post-game that offence is fine but you have to keep the puck out of your own net. I'm guessing he wasn't happy about tonight.
- You should never score six and lose.
The goals against...
1. ID get behind the Spits' D and were all alone with Michelone.
2. A passing play gets Vermulen the puck 40 feet out and, even though three Spits are right there, he gets the shot off and scores. You can't let him get that shot off.
3. Sobolev gets the puck at the blue-line, skates in about 10 feet, and rips it. I'm sure Michelone wants that one back.
4. Simple case of the PK outworking the PP. Puck goes to the Spits' bench. Peer and Dionicio take the glove-side wing but nobody gets the player skating straight for blocker. Puck flicked over, open net.
5. Paris gets the puck, avoids a check, goes untouched and snaps it past Michelone. Four Spitfires within 10 feet and nobody touched him.
6. ID crashes the net with Eichler on him. I know they went to video review and counted it.
7. A pick-and-roll with Abraham confuses Maillet as the ID goes around them, to the net all alone, and buries it.
On the plus side...
- A 5-3 lead should be enough to put away most teams. The Spitfires' offence was solid, had 39 shots on goal, and you can't ask for much more in that sense.
- Limiting the ID to two PPs is well done.
- 11 different players with points shows every line and every pair can do damage.
- Peer, Christo, and Greentree with multipoint games. Your veterans have to lead offensively and they're doing that.
- Michelone deserved a better fate. An amazing glove save late in the game could be amongst the best this season.
- I still like their forecheck and their physical play in the offensive zone. They throw the body, create some havoc, and never back down. I wish they'd finish off more checks but...
- Spellacy with his first; about time!
- Manzo looked fine in his debut. No major mistakes, no major "what a move!"... he was protected, which was good. Hopefully Woodall is okay, though.
On the bad side...
- Defensive coverage is just brutal. You can't let guys walk into the slot or around the faceoff dots without being touched. Michelone had no chance at times. I'm not sure DiPietro could have saved some of those.
- If there's a chance to ram a guy into the boards in your own end, take it. Stick checking is great but... come on.
- Giving up two three-goal leads is unacceptable right now. They know better.
This is a team that needs two major things - better defensive coverage and another veteran D who can help guide them in their own zone. With those two, I think Michelone and Costanzo's numbers start improving. I'm not against upgrading the backup G but the D needs it first.
As for Smith/Delmore... honestly, I'm not sure. The coverage is horrible and their lack of physical play in their own zone is a headscratcher. Do I think firing both is the way to go? No, not right now. Does the club need to be fixed? Absolutely. I've said before that this team either has great D or great O, but rarely both at the same time. Tonight's a prime example. At some point, it has to come together. The players are certainly capable of it... so what's the issue?
- On Thurs night, Christopoulos said post-game that offence is fine but you have to keep the puck out of your own net. I'm guessing he wasn't happy about tonight.
- You should never score six and lose.
The goals against...
1. ID get behind the Spits' D and were all alone with Michelone.
2. A passing play gets Vermulen the puck 40 feet out and, even though three Spits are right there, he gets the shot off and scores. You can't let him get that shot off.
3. Sobolev gets the puck at the blue-line, skates in about 10 feet, and rips it. I'm sure Michelone wants that one back.
4. Simple case of the PK outworking the PP. Puck goes to the Spits' bench. Peer and Dionicio take the glove-side wing but nobody gets the player skating straight for blocker. Puck flicked over, open net.
5. Paris gets the puck, avoids a check, goes untouched and snaps it past Michelone. Four Spitfires within 10 feet and nobody touched him.
6. ID crashes the net with Eichler on him. I know they went to video review and counted it.
7. A pick-and-roll with Abraham confuses Maillet as the ID goes around them, to the net all alone, and buries it.
On the plus side...
- A 5-3 lead should be enough to put away most teams. The Spitfires' offence was solid, had 39 shots on goal, and you can't ask for much more in that sense.
- Limiting the ID to two PPs is well done.
- 11 different players with points shows every line and every pair can do damage.
- Peer, Christo, and Greentree with multipoint games. Your veterans have to lead offensively and they're doing that.
- Michelone deserved a better fate. An amazing glove save late in the game could be amongst the best this season.
- I still like their forecheck and their physical play in the offensive zone. They throw the body, create some havoc, and never back down. I wish they'd finish off more checks but...
- Spellacy with his first; about time!
- Manzo looked fine in his debut. No major mistakes, no major "what a move!"... he was protected, which was good. Hopefully Woodall is okay, though.
On the bad side...
- Defensive coverage is just brutal. You can't let guys walk into the slot or around the faceoff dots without being touched. Michelone had no chance at times. I'm not sure DiPietro could have saved some of those.
- If there's a chance to ram a guy into the boards in your own end, take it. Stick checking is great but... come on.
- Giving up two three-goal leads is unacceptable right now. They know better.
This is a team that needs two major things - better defensive coverage and another veteran D who can help guide them in their own zone. With those two, I think Michelone and Costanzo's numbers start improving. I'm not against upgrading the backup G but the D needs it first.
As for Smith/Delmore... honestly, I'm not sure. The coverage is horrible and their lack of physical play in their own zone is a headscratcher. Do I think firing both is the way to go? No, not right now. Does the club need to be fixed? Absolutely. I've said before that this team either has great D or great O, but rarely both at the same time. Tonight's a prime example. At some point, it has to come together. The players are certainly capable of it... so what's the issue?
Woodall was out tonight, and the Spits chose to call up Manzo rather than dress Jodoin. Playing Jodoin would have meant sitting another OA. If Jodoin can't crack the line-up when they are short a D, he won't ever crack the line-up. He should be released immediately. It is best for everyone to do it now, rather than January 9.
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