Windsor Spitfires 2024 - 25 Season Thread, Part V

[DetSpitsFan]

Also, great game for the new Draft Picks to be at. Surprised 8 of them made it out that quick.

I can’t imagine being 15, sitting at that game and going “I don’t want to play here”. Hell, I’m double it and then some and still wish I had that opportunity!

 

[spits]

Another dominating win. Spitfires have now outscored the opposition 38-12 in the playoffs. That is insane considering the injuries.

Hlacar needs to be suspended. He was suspended in the last game he played against the Spitfires in the regular season for a head shot. He seems a dirty player to me... Not sure if anyone noticed Walters going at it with the Kitchener coach after the dirty hit. Walters is the man.

Spits could easily be without 3 of their top 4 d-man for game 3 if Cristoforo isn't good to go. He did return after the hit but didn't play in the 3rd, or am I wrong? I see Kitchener again playing the injury card, the Spits have a heck of a lot more injuries. Try possibly 3 of top 4 d man and 2 of top 6 forwards. Woodall, Belchetz, Spellacy, Mathurin out for sure and Cristoforo could be out.

That 5th goal on the PP was a thing of beauty. 5 quick passes and it's in the net.

Protas tracker: 43 points in his past 14 games.

Spitfires' home dominance: Improve to 34-4-1 on home ice. 15-0 in their past 15 home games.

 

[spits]

Hopefully Christoforo and Davis are okay, good to see them both back out there at least, hope they’re okay and can dress Monday.

In the first two games at home, I feel the Soo played us better. Soo were playing smart, chippy, physical hockey. Nothing says you can’t skate up to the goalie two seconds after the whistle and stand at the top of the crease, unwritten rule? Sure. But you’re not being penalized for it. Drop a few goals and go for the head on some of the smaller guys, you’re risking going down more.

I feel the Spits shy’d away from some of the rough stuff in Round 1 just due to the number of bodies we had. I feel that’s about where Kitchener should be. They get Ellinas back in Game 3, but would not be surprised if Hlecar gets two for his hit on Davis.

Not much of a go, and not well at that, but good for Nesbitt standing up for his teammate. Leadership trait.

What are the odds of that 08’ American we drafted today sliding into the lineup before our playoff run is over? Lolz

Anyone have insight on returns? Spellacy? Woodall? Winegard? Belchetz? Mathurin?

Spellacy UBI Day to Day?
Woodall No Clue
Winegard Broken Hand, any chance to return? Could be as short as a month depending on the brake.
Belchetz LBI, any time line to return?
Mathurin was, “maybe in a deep playoff run”

Not counting any chickens before they hatch, but I consider a long Playoff run, the Conference Finals… which if so, maybe if we make the next round?

Liked Spicer going to throw the hip check in this one. Looked a little nervous with the puck/outlet passes, but such a small sample size. Rough time of year to play your first OHL Game, I don’t blame him.

I love our D right now, playing great, smart hockey. But no room for injuries/penalties with just the 6. Woodall and Mathurin are large pieces missing. Could be Christoforo too… that’s debatably our Top 3 D Men from this season.

A split in Kitchener would be huge, ideal, and I see as highly possible with how this team looked Games 1 & 2. Monday becomes pivotal.

Coming back with 3 wins would make me comfortable, but if we can pull that W in Kitchener off Monday, all the better, amp up the pressure.

This is what I have heard about the injuries.
Woodall: Done for season.
Belchetz: obviously done for this round and 3rd round.
Mathurin: Done for season
Spellacy: Out for rest of series.
Cristoforo: No clue as it just happened, but it could be a concussion. Just pure guessing on this one.

I don't have any big connections, this is just what other STM's who do have connections, ie. billets etc have heard.

The fact this team is dominating without so many key players and with 5 08's contributing is unhead of. By far youngest team in these playoffs.

 

[DetSpitsFan]

This is what I have heard about the injuries.
Woodall: Done for season.
Belchetz: obviously done for this round and 3rd round.
Mathurin: Done for season
Spellacy: Out for rest of series.
Cristoforo: No clue as it just happened, but it could be a concussion. Just pure guessing on this one.

I don't have any big connections, this is just what other STM's who do have connections, ie. billets etc have heard.

The fact this team is dominating without so many key players and with 5 08's contributing is unhead of. By far youngest team in these playoffs.

Appreciate the updates huge bummer on Woodall, I thought he just took a high stick. Recalling Spicer makes more sense now. Spellacy gone for the series is a tough loss too. He brings so much speed to the table.

Feels like a similar situation as the Soo last series. Heading on the road with less bodies than we started the series with. Going to need some Grit and to drive the “next man up” mentality.

 

[OHLTG]

Appreciate the updates huge bummer on Woodall, I thought he just took a high stick. Recalling Spicer makes more sense now. Spellacy gone for the series is a tough loss too. He brings so much speed to the table.

Woodall also hurt his leg or something in the incident. I saw him limping off when it happened and, from what I've seen on socials, he has a walking boot.

As for tonight...

- Great crowd, really into it from the start.
- Costanzo was a rock. He didn't have to make a ton of saves, but he made some massive ones when needed.
- Scoring spread out, which was nice to see. The more they can do that, the better.
- Nesbitt walked away from multiple incidents before finally going with Hlacar. They're doing their best to stay out of the box, which I appreciate. I like the odd fight, but only if it's worth it.
- I don't know what Kitchener was thinking with the head checks. Cristoforo's was near me; a pretty clear forearm/elbow to his head. He went down, looked like he was wobbly getting up. You never want to see that, it can stick with you for a while. I'm kind of surprised it was only two minutes. I just hope Cristo is okay, they don't need to lose him. The Davis thing... I didn't see how he was hit but was told head check. Nesbitt coming to the defence was solid. Too bad he slipped to end it so quick. I'd imagine Hlacar gets a couple or three games.
- Parsons continues to be human. I'm sure he'll return to robot form at home, though.

I'm sure I'll think of more tomorrow when I've had some sleep. Going up 2-0 is fantastic but I'd still like to see them win one in Kitchener, ideally in the next two. Otherwise, it feels very much like it could go seven .

 

[ohloutsider]

Made it out to this game. Very fun game to be at.
Even seeing them live I still can't get over the crop of 08's the Spits have. They look like seasoned vets out there. Basically 1/3 of the team last night was rookies but any casual veiwer to the game would never realize that. Future is very bright for the Spits.
I have no idea what switch was turned on but the team has been solid. A concern going into the playoffs but coaches seem to have them buying in.

Unfortunately playing with this many injuries won't be substantial but it has been impressive.

Sat next to a nice couple from Kitchener, knowledgeable. In their words the league has been underestimating Windsor. They felt that Kitchener had a shot at sweeping Windsor but now we're concerned the opposite. For me this series is nowhere near over.

Joey has also been solid. Not tested alot but he has made the saves when he needed to. Nice turn around for him from is play at the end of the season.

Kitchener players showing their frustration last night. Spits have them off their game and as all teenagers do they had hard time controlling their play and emotions. Spits need to keep doing what they are doing but it will be harder in Kitchener without last change.

I had respect for Jussi but last night it was obvious that he sent Hlacar out there to start something. He did nothing but chase players around the ice challenging them until he went for the dirty hit. Hunter tactic with Bolton. And of course Windsor scored on the PP , that tactic never works. Kitchener needs to stick to hockey.

Looking forward to Monday. Team needs to stay out of the ER. Should be an interesting game. Spits have to know Kitchener needs this game bad and will bring it Monday. Be safe.

 

[BoogieB]

The next two games is where Champions come from. If Windsor wants to win they have to take this team out in their rink. If ever they need a win its now. It is time to seal the deal. A game three victory will almost destroy the confidence of the Rangers and set up a near impossible come back.

 

[FiveHoleo]

Maybe the Rangers could just mail the last two victories to the WFCU so we don't have to waste our time with a road trip. It would be the decent thing to do considering how interested their players are in showing up for games. I swear during one tv time out I saw Parsons on the bench getting quizzed by an assistant coach on how many pickles go on a quarter pounder with cheese. Their heads are clearly elsewhere. I would suggest Windsor fans bring brooms to the games in Kitchener. This wouldn't be to troll them with a sweep, it would be to give some of their players the equipment they need for their bright futures in the maintenance departments of various Kitchener businesses.

 

[DetSpitsFan]

The next two games is where Champions come from. If Windsor wants to win they have to take this team out in their rink. If ever they need a win it’s now. It is time to seal the deal. A game three victory will almost destroy the confidence of the Rangers and set up a near impossible come back.

Game 3 was our toughest in Round 1, I’d respect similar.

We’re up two, heading to our opponents rink. Time to see what they learned from round 1. I think trying to bait the Rangers into playing more of an open game could be beneficial. Game 3 vs Soo, was the 3-2 overtime loss, our lowest scoring game in the playoffs.

Less of a bus ride which could help.

My biggest concern is our PP. Not scoring, but the lackadaisical chasing of dumped pucks into our own end. We’re putting ourselves at high risk of shorthanded goals, Luckily this is where Joey’s come up big so far.

 

[hockeylegend11]

Spits continue their mastery on home ice as someone mentioned they have won 15 in a row at home,last 10 regular season games and now 5 playoff games.
Costanzo has not lost a game in regulation at home since game 17 of the regular season.
This series so far Spits have not allowed a 5 on 5 goal against,1 was a shorty the other a 4 on 4 goal.
Costanzo averaging this series 1.00 per game and a save percentage of .947.
Overall he is 1.83 with a save percentage of .923,that much ridiculed D has played outstanding despite numerous serious injuries.
Connor Walton winds up with the winner last night his 1st point of this playoff season,interesting thing about Walton so far in his career he has scored 5 goals regular season and playoffs and 4 of them have been game winners.
Team seems to have a next man up feeling when it comes to injuries especially the back end,with Mathurin, Woodall and Christoforo injured,, toss in Winegard too,team played last night with 3-16 year old D,Hicks,Robinson and Spicer,and the 1st 2 in particular have been outstanding, and Spicer was just fine considering he had never suited up with Windsor before.
Nice to see Abraham playing very well 3 straight multiple point games,guys like Garden and Lemieux have not looked out of place despite they being 16 years old.
Will be interesting on a couple fronts moving forward,to games at Kitchener for games 3 and 4,considering the teams injuries and very average road record compared to their home record,my attitude take 1 game at a time,minimum 1 of 2 in the win category preferably finish them off,keep nose to grind stone get healthy, proud of the group so far,things not done yet,would be nice to beat this dirty team now.
Go Spits Go.

 

[BoogieB]

Game 3 was our toughest in Round 1, I’d respect similar.

We’re up two, heading to our opponents rink. Time to see what they learned from round 1. I think trying to bait the Rangers into playing more of an open game could be beneficial. Game 3 vs Soo, was the 3-2 overtime loss, our lowest scoring game in the playoffs.

Less of a bus ride which could help.

My biggest concern is our PP. Not scoring, but the lackadaisical chasing of dumped pucks into our own end. We’re putting ourselves at high risk of shorthanded goals, Luckily this is where Joey’s come up big so far.

Totally agree, never mind the cute passes, gain the line. set up, turn on the urgency and fire away.

 

[Teflon]

Im frankly quite surprised the league is ok with the abuse players are being exposed to, and not just the Spits! Someone is going to get seriously injured if it continues. Im shocked coaches are encouraging the behaviour too. That gets out and people get fired! To be clear i was that player back in the day, todays game is very different and players aren’t expecting it which makes an injury more likely. Just look at our injury report and tell me you dont see whats going on.
Yes D is playing much better, as is Joey. Forwards are helping nicely too. Lets see how the guys respond tomorrow.

 

[FireBall959]

Costello also left last game either late first or early 2nd and never returned to bench. When Nesbit and Abraham got their 10's we only had 7-8 forwards for quite a while. Was 7 because Davis was off and it was uncertain of his return.

 

[RayzorIsDull]

Im frankly quite surprised the league is ok with the abuse players are being exposed to, and not just the Spits! Someone is going to get seriously injured if it continues. Im shocked coaches are encouraging the behaviour too. That gets out and people get fired! To be clear i was that player back in the day, todays game is very different and players aren’t expecting it which makes an injury more likely. Just look at our injury report and tell me you dont see whats going on.
Yes D is playing much better, as is Joey. Forwards are helping nicely too. Lets see how the guys respond tomorrow.

What's the solution? They called a major on Hlacar which is the correct call. I don't think they're intentionally trying to injure players. There's a difference between hitting to injure and hitting to inflict pain. Hlacar is probably closer to the former but right call was made. Some of these injuries were also prior to this series. Account for the fact very few players are probably at 100% you're going to get this. I doubt we can look back to the injuries of Spellacy/Woodall and figure it out. Belchetz is terrible misfortune. Cristoforo came back and you hope he's good tomorrow. Keep grinding it out Kitchener is a good team they shouldn't win 4 of 5 against the Spits the way both teams are playing right now.

 

[RayzorIsDull]

This is going to change future trade deadlines

 

[EvenSteven]

This is going to change future trade deadlines

Absolutely. It’s one thing to have an underager move on to the show early. Quite another to jump ship to the NCAA. I suppose we can call a move to the NCAA a sideways move?

I’d expect conditionals on whether a non OA player completes his junior eligibility in this league to protect against a sideways move.

In the Mews deal from Ottawa to Sudbury for example, if a sideways move out of the league happens, part of the cost of trading for Mews is returned to the Wolves in the form of conditional pick(s).

 

[DetSpitsFan]

Im frankly quite surprised the league is ok with the abuse players are being exposed to, and not just the Spits! Someone is going to get seriously injured if it continues. Im shocked coaches are encouraging the behaviour too. That gets out and people get fired! To be clear i was that player back in the day, todays game is very different and players aren’t expecting it which makes an injury more likely. Just look at our injury report and tell me you dont see whats going on.
Yes D is playing much better, as is Joey. Forwards are helping nicely too. Lets see how the guys respond tomorrow.

I agree, I don’t mind a chippy game either. All season guys were trying to check a guy in the shoulder, the guy would lower his head, and the guy who went for a clean hit would sit for the next 3-4 games.

Now we’re in the playoffs, you can be pinned against the boards with your head up, a guy can come in hands high, and get away with it.

It’s stupid, dangerous and intentional. You wanna make an open ice hit, and you clip a guys head, fine. If that gets let go it’s whatever. It’s the intentional head contact with players in TRULY vulnerable positions.

Too much of this, he was skating with his head down and because of that he was “vulnerable”.

If the intent is to knock the SOB on his ass and you happen to catch a bit of his head, so be it. If the intent is to take a guy out of the series, players should be penalized as such. 90% of the time in this league, you can see the intentions of the player how he approaches the situation, before, during and after the incident.

These are incredibly skilled, young athletes, they aren’t Hollywood actors

 

[Teflon]

Not sure if youve been to the games but some of the stuff is intent to injure, although im a bit confused between inflicting injuries or pain. They kinda go together…. What im seeing is guys clearly looking to inflict enough pain, lol, that our guys are out of games, thats an injury. Sure theres the normal BS stuff but theres a lot more going on. If its random its kinda odd how our key guys are targets.

What's the solution? They called a major on Hlacar which is the correct call. I don't think they're intentionally trying to injure players. There's a difference between hitting to injure and hitting to inflict pain. Hlacar is probably closer to the former but right call was made. Some of these injuries were also prior to this series. Account for the fact very few players are probably at 100% you're going to get this. I doubt we can look back to the injuries of Spellacy/Woodall and figure it out. Belchetz is terrible misfortune. Cristoforo came back and you hope he's good tomorrow. Keep grinding it out Kitchener is a good team they shouldn't win 4 of 5 against the Spits the way both teams are playing right now.

 

[OHLTG]

I'm kind of surprised the Swick hit on Cristoforo wasn't reviewed as a major. I had a pretty good angle for it; looked like a forearm/elbow right to the head. Cristo went down, got up, tried to shake it off, skated a bit, tried to shake it off, even bent over at the bench. You knew it was affecting him.

 

[DetSpitsFan]

I'm kind of surprised the Swick hit on Cristoforo wasn't reviewed as a major. I had a pretty good angle for it; looked like a forearm/elbow right to the head. Cristo went down, got up, tried to shake it off, skated a bit, tried to shake it off, even bent over at the bench. You knew it was affecting him.

I am as well, I watched it back and he brought his elbow up, just to make head contact. Swick swung his arms as if he was going to deliver a hard shoulder, Christoforo went to move out of the way, and he leads towards the head with his elbow instead.

I hate that it’s at a point where if the guy doesn’t flop down and sell the injury for 3 minutes, there’s no review. But on an innocent play, the same thing happens, they’ll go review it and call a penalty that they could let go.

 

[OHLTG]

I hate that it’s at a point where if the guy doesn’t flop down and sell the injury for 3 minutes, there’s no review. But on an innocent play, the same thing happens, they’ll go review it and call a penalty that they could let go.

Yep. I don't care who you are, getting an elbow to the head from a guy that size is going to do damage.

 

[DetSpitsFan]

Yep. I don't care who you are, getting an elbow to the head from a guy that size is going to do damage.

Honestly the video looks worse than the image. It’s not a massive jump, but Swick does leave his feet.

Surprised with how many stupid suspensions there were in the first 68 games, that stuff like this is let go now

 

[BoogieB]

This is the money game......Time to bring it all Windsor. We really need to send a message that we are here to take you out. Next man up, whatever it takes boys !!

 

[OHLTG]

This is probably the most nervous I've been about a game all playoffs. I'm 100% fine with them at home but, on the road, especially in Kitchener, it's rough. Get the split, at worse, and do what's needed. If Kitch sweeps at home, this thing is likely going seven.

 

[DetSpitsFan]

This is probably the most nervous I've been about a game all playoffs. I'm 100% fine with them at home but, on the road, especially in Kitchener, it's rough. Get the split, at worse, and do what's needed. If Kitch sweeps at home, this thing is likely going seven.

I’m excited for it. Making my first trip to the Aud.

A lot more to lose for Kitchener than Windsor.

Windsor wins tonight 3-0, and miracles happen, but I don’t think against this current team. I see the Spits the least likely team in the conference to blow that lead.

Kitchener wins tonight, Spits can still split and come home 3-1.

I know playoff money, is free money, but if my Friday Night becomes free, I’ll have no problem finding something else to do.

A win tonight, breaks Kitcheners heart. A loss tonight, still puts us in position to come home 3-1
Now if we lose tonight, yeah, I become a bit nervous for Wednesday.

Tonight? I’m not opposed to an open, unstructured game. I doubt it happens, but if we play pond hockey and get into a shoot out with the Rangers, I don’t think we’ll lose it.