Spitfires take commanding 3-0 series lead with gritty 2-1 win in Guelph
Windsor holds off late Storm rally to move one win from series sweep
GUELPH, ON — John McLaughlin was the hero on Tuesday night at the Sleeman Centre, scoring twice as the Windsor Spitfires defeated the Guelph Storm 2-1 to take a commanding 3-0 lead in their Ontario Hockey League playoff series. The Spitfires now need just one more win to complete the sweep, with Game 4 set for Thursday night in Guelph.
McLaughlin opened the scoring at 3:41 of the first period, finishing off a pretty setup from AJ Spellacy and Andrew Robinson to give Windsor the early lead. The Spitfires carried that 1-0 advantage through two periods of tight, physical hockey, with goaltender Joey Costanzo holding the fort against a desperate Storm squad.
Guelph’s Rylan Singh looked to have the game-tying goal in the second period, but the Spitfires quickly challenged the goal for being offside.
The third period was where things got interesting. McLaughlin struck again at 18:34, this time connecting with Conor Walton and Robinson once more to seemingly put the game out of reach at 2-0. But Guelph refused to go quietly. Rylan Singh cut the deficit to one at 19:25 — with just 35 seconds remaining — setting up a frantic finish that had the 3,416 fans on their feet. Windsor held on, and Costanzo stopped 27 shots he faced to earn the win.
Costanzo was nothing short of sensational all night, turning aside every Storm chance until that final desperate tally, earning first-star honours. McLaughlin took third star honours for his two-goal effort, while Guelph netminder Zach Jovanovski — who faced 38 shots — earned second star recognition despite the loss.
The game had its share of fireworks. A fighting double at 15:20 of the first period — Nathan Villeneuve for Windsor and Leo Serlin for Guelph squaring off — set the tone for a series that has had no shortage of intensity. Neither power play unit found the net, with Windsor going 0-for-3 and Guelph 0-for-2 on the man advantage.
Game 4 goes Thursday night at the Sleeman Centre in Guelph. 7:07 Puck Drop
