Spitfires Ride Second Period Burst to 5-2 Win Over Rangers
WINDSOR, ON – The Windsor Spitfires used a strong second period and a pair of late empty-net goals to skate past the Kitchener Rangers 5-2 Sunday afternoon at the WFCU Centre in front of 5,148 fans.
Caden Harvey led the way with two goals while Joey Costanzo turned aside 25 shots to earn the victory as Windsor continued its strong push down the stretch of the Ontario Hockey League regular season.
The Spitfires opened the scoring midway through the first period when Harvey buried his first of the afternoon at 11:21. Beksultan Makysh and Andrew Robinson picked up the assists on the play as Windsor took a 1-0 lead.
Kitchener answered later in the period. Cameron Reid tied the game at 14:08, finishing off a play from Matthew Hlacar and Avry Anstis to send the game into the first intermission tied 1-1.
Windsor took control in the middle frame.
Anthony Cristoforo restored the Spitfires lead at 4:57 of the second period with a shot that beat Rangers goaltender Christian Kirsch. The goal was unassisted.
Kitchener responded on the power play at 6:12 when Jack Pridham capitalized with help from Sam O’Reilly and Reid to even the score at 2-2.
But Windsor pushed back before the period ended.
Harvey struck again at 18:47 for his second goal of the game, converting a feed from Wyatt Kennedy to give the Spitfires a 3-2 lead heading into the third period.
The Rangers pressed for the equalizer late in the game and pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker, but Windsor sealed the victory with two empty-net goals.
Ethan Garden scored at 17:58 with assists from AJ Spellacy and Liam Greentree before Garden added another empty-net marker just 35 seconds later at 18:33, again assisted by Spellacy.
Costanzo was solid between the pipes for Windsor, stopping 25 of 27 shots to earn the win, while Kirsch made 21 saves for Kitchener in the loss.
The Spitfires were outshot by the Rangers 26-27 in the contest. Kitchener finished 1-for-1 on the power play while Windsor went 0-for-1 with the man advantage.
Three Stars
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Caden Harvey (WSR) – 2 goals
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Joey Costanzo (WSR) – 25 saves
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Cameron Reid (KIT) – 1 goal, 1 assist
Windsor improves with the victory as they continue their push toward the OHL playoffs.
Final Score
Windsor Spitfires 5
Kitchener Rangers 2
