Windsor Spitfires 2024-25 Season Thread, Part I

[Cherrydon]

Re last night,while I was happy to get the win against Owen Sound wasn't pleased with almost blowing a large lead,even though I thought Windsor was the better team in the 1st 2 periods,didn't like the 1st 2 goals Froggett allowed seemed to leave him rattled a bit,glad team finished them off, Spits now 9-1-1,4-0 at home ,what a difference a year makes,team wise Spits last year at this time after 11 games were 3-8,and 2-5 at home.
Individually , forward Jack Nesbitt had 1 goal 0 assists in 9 games last year at this time,now after last night's hat trick he has 8G,6A,14 pts huge improvement.
Should mention last year after 11 games Christoforo had 1G,7A and was a -7
this season same number of games 2G,10A, and a +22.
Greentree in 11 games played last year had 7G,7A,14 points and was a minus 10
this season he has played 10 games and currently leads the league in points 25,with 7G and 18 assists and is a +14.
And I can't forget Joey Costanzo who is 2nd in the league with a 2.00 goals against average,.932 save percentage and an 8-0 record.
Last year he was 2-6,with a goals against average of 5.30 and a save percentage of .817.
Saturday 's game should be interesting vs NFalls another team like Windsor with early season success.
Expecting Costanzo back in the cage for the Spits against his former team.
Could see forward Ethan Martin drawing back in replacing the injured Cole Davis,otherwise same lineup.

Unreal turnaround with many of the players this year. Belief in one another is key and I have to give coaching staff much credit implementing the confidence and systems to benefit the roster they have. Although not mentioned on here much this year Bowler has got to be wearing the biggest ass grin on his face this year with this team and well deserved

 

[windsor7]

Unreal turnaround with many of the players this year. Belief in one another is key and I have to give coaching staff much credit implementing the confidence and systems to benefit the roster they have. Although not mentioned on here much this year Bowler has got to be wearing the biggest ass grin on his face this year with this team and well deserved

Just had to completely tank 1 year..

 

[FiveHoleo]

Christo at +22 is probably the most impressive stat of the season so far and I thank him for that. He's so far ahead of everyone else in the league that the Crusties have ghosted this thread for the most part. No grumblings about our coach, no complaints about our GM, no pissing and moaning about our young players, goaltending, or attendance. Not even a peep about how some other organization that never wins anything is better constructed for future success than the Spitfires. Life is good! Greentree is almost just as impressive, leading the league in scoring and well on his way to giving the Spitfires 3 of the last 4 Red Tilson trophy winners. Who saw that one coming? Not me.

 

[ohloutsider]

Go Spits Go!!!

 

[windsor7]

Christo at +22 is probably the most impressive stat of the season so far and I thank him for that. He's so far ahead of everyone else in the league that the Crusties have ghosted this thread for the most part. No grumblings about our coach, no complaints about our GM, no pissing and moaning about our young players, goaltending, or attendance. Not even a peep about how some other organization that never wins anything is better constructed for future success than the Spitfires. Life is good! Greentree is almost just as impressive, leading the league in scoring and well on his way to giving the Spitfires 3 of the last 4 Red Tilson trophy winners. Who saw that one coming? Not me.

Still soft on defense. And pinches all the time.
Though new coach has tried to install to reel that back a bit.

 

[SpitfireHabs1]

Nice to see the fellas pick up another victory on Thursday. Was a great first two periods and a rocky 3rd, you play to learn from your mistakes and critique things to find ways to get better. Tke the two points and improve some things.

Another impressive stat that hasent been talked about so far is Abraham not taking stupid penalties for no reason like in past season, im sure some will come its in his fiesty nature but like that hes focused on being a leader, pick your spots and time. We value his game on the ice more then the extra stuff.

Ive said it in the past i wasnt happy with the coaching style the past few seasons. Walters has implemented line combos and actually keeping them together to build that chemistry. Nesbitt/Belchetz starting to, Greentree and Protas ripping it up togethter, its what is needed to build team/line Chemistry.

Measuring stick out tonight, The Dogs have been one of the best teams in the OHL this season along with us up there somewhere, So we are going to need a full team effort, solid two way play and hope Costanzo can continue to be the calming, reliable goalie we've seen so far in this young season.


Should be a full Barn tonight.

Go Spits Go!!!

 

[OHL 17]

Hopefully the Spits put a Swift finish to IceDogs.........as well have learned something from Thurs. third period

 

[DetSpitsFan]

Really excited for this one tonight. Top 2 teams in the league are going at it, and if we lose at least it’s not a conference game where someone can have a major swing in the standings.

Costanzo for sure tonight, going up against his old club!

Go Spits Go!

 

[windsor7]

Contanzo starts

 

[windsor7]

Defense soft tonight...

 

[ohloutsider]

Not sure who is playing their 3rd in a 3rd night but Icedogs are winning 90% of the battles and puck chases. Spits need to be better. Its a game that is still within reach. Be safe.

 

[ohloutsider]

Better 3rd. Flores 1st star you would think.

 

[Travis Bickle 77]

Better 3rd. Flores 1st star you would think.

Agreed Flores made some beauty saves tonight. I am happy with the win....but Spits gotta start playing better. Who knows maybe just an off night.....or maybe it's just my negative thinking today!

 

[FiveHoleo]

Another victory against a top team and an undefeated weekend, so that means we'll probably drop back out of the CHL rankings next week. Meanwhile the gears gotta be going a hundred miles an hour inside Bill Bowler's head, this team looks like a contender again.

 

[Cherrydon]

Nice pushback in the 3rd. Garden really coming along. Works every second he is out there and coach giving him critical minutes later in the game. JC solid. Nice tight game to hold on to.

 

[hockeylegend11]

Overall very pleased with the game,Spits I thought slightly better the 1st 2 periods,much better in the 3rd weren't for Flores Windsor would have won 4 or 5-1,Niagara put up a good fight in this one despite their 3rd game in 3 nights with travel Costanzo very dialed in when he needed to be,hard to believe he is 9--0-0-0 this year after a very tough season last year.
Nesbitt continues to shine gets the winner on a nice deflection .
Costanzo still 1st in the league in goaltending with a 1.89 average and save percentage of .936.
Spits now 5-0 at home.
Interesting stat you rarely see from a game all 18 skaters for both teams were + - 0,as all 3 goals scored in tonight's game combined were on the PP,can't recall ever witnessing that.

 

[spits]

Spits now 10-1-1 on the season. #1 win % in the CHL, only team in CHL with only one regulation loss. #1 scoring team in the CHL. +30 goal differential is 2nd in the CHL.

By far the highest scoring team in the OHL, and have conceded the 2nd fewest goals per game. Spits have a +30 goal differential, the next closest squad is +11.

Niagara is not a fluke, they are a very good young squad that will be battling atop the standings. Good to see. Niagara's goalie made several outstanding saves, that stacked pad save in the 3rd on Protas was crazy.

Anyway, this was a big win in many ways. This game displayed they don't always need to rely on offense to win games, they can play a defensive style game, types of games you see in the playoffs. Spellacy breaks his drought with a goal.

 

[DetSpitsFan]

First of all, what a boring game. Secondly, good to know Windsor can play a defensive game and win. No 5 on 5 goals, low scoring, solid goaltending at both ends. Wasn’t until the last 12 minutes or so the game got interesting when stuff started opening up. Seemed both clubs were playing not to lose, rather than to win. Not many scoring chances despite a decent chunk of shots on.


The amount of icing/offsides/stoppages really killed the flow of the game. Neither team was overly physical. Just kinda boring hockey with both teams seeing some PP success.

Kinda felt like a playoff game 1, where they spent the whole time feeling it out.

At the end of the day, Spits gained a pair of points, which I’m more than happy with. Another good weekend. 4/4 possible points.

 

[hockeylegend11]

Windsor Stars Jim Parker brought up an interesting stat,last season Windsor allowed the opposition to score 2 or less goals in a game only 6 games in the 68 game schedule, after last night's 2-1 win it was the 7th time this year out of 12 games played that Windsor has done the same,2 or less goals against in a game,certainly shows the improvement in team goaltending and defense compared to last season.

 

[OHLTG]

First chance I've had to say any thing since the game...

- This was as "playoff feel" as they've had so far. Credit to Niagara, they're much improved and I can absolutely see why they're dominating teams.
- To be able to win a low-scoring, defence-first goaltending battle is important. You're not going to score 5-6 every night so being limited to two goals and coming out on top... that's impressive.
- Major props to Owen Flores of Niagara; he literally stood on his head at times. Without him, it's 5 or 6-1. That's not taking anything away from Niagara, either. They played very well. However, he made a few saves that the average goaltender doesn't touch.
- Belchetz is going to score one of these games and the flood gates will open. He's so close; you can feel it.
- A lot of Swifties in the house, which was cool to see. They were belting out every song, kind of felt like a mini concert.
- Sole possession of first in the OHL is an odd feeling but it's nice that this team knows it can win on any given night. The "luck" is gone. Now, it's reality and let's see how far they can go with it. I'm sure Bowler's grinning but also wondering what's next.
- I'm still firmly in the "no more cowbells" category.

 

[windsor7]

Windsor with a tough win.
This will benefit them down the road.
Pp finally woke up at home. They needed it.
Both goalies played really well.
Decent crowd.
Defense soft. Don't clear out infront of net.
Sloppy passes. Couldn't make 3 passes in a row very often. Passes out of their own zone wasn't made often.
Need improvement.

 

[OHL 17]

Proper coaching sure makes a difference!

 

[DetSpitsFan]

Spits now 10-1-1 on the season. #1 win % in the CHL, only team in CHL with only one regulation loss. #1 scoring team in the CHL. +30 goal differential is 2nd in the CHL.

By far the highest scoring team in the OHL, and have conceded the 2nd fewest goals per game. Spits have a +30 goal differential, the next closest squad is +11.

Niagara is not a fluke, they are a very good young squad that will be battling atop the standings. Good to see. Niagara's goalie made several outstanding saves, that stacked pad save in the 3rd on Protas was crazy.

Anyway, this was a big win in many ways. This game displayed they don't always need to rely on offense to win games, they can play a defensive style game, types of games you see in the playoffs. Spellacy breaks his drought with a goal.

Sounds like a recipe for a 6th place ranking in the CHL Top 10, somehow behind London