SPITFIRES LOOK TO STING SARNIA
The last time the Windsor Spitfires saw the Sting – they left the RBC Centre with a bad taste in their mouths.
Back on September 24th, Sarnia beat our guys by a 4-0 count.
But even back then, it was hard to put much stock in it either way. It was the Sting’s home opener and a tough situation for the Spits – being their first crack at games on back-to-back nights, after an emotional home opening win.
What the Spits did learn that night, however, is that the Sting are no longer an OHL bottom-feeder. Despite losing two straight, Sarnia comes in at 3-3-1-0, good for sixth in the Western Conference.
And their early season resurgence is thanks in large part to a pair of talented rookies.
Nail Yakupov (5 G, 8 A – 13 PTS) and the first overall pick in last Spring’s OHL draft, Alex Galchenyuk (5 G, 6 A – 11 PTS), have both been everything Sting Head Coach and General Manager Dave MacQueen could have hoped for and more.
And along with second-year winger Tyler Peters (4 G, 8 A – 12 PTS), they hold down three of the top-15 spots in OHL scoring.
So the Spits will have their hands full with a team that is averaging just under four goals per game. And the locals will be looking to build on some of the momentum they gained in storming back from a 4-0 deficit against the London Knights on Saturday.
Zack Kassian’s goal in the final two minutes of regulation tied the game at 4-4, capping an improbable comeback for Windsor. And Assistant Coach David Matsos said he hopes it helped the Spits gain more than just a valuable point, in an eventual 5-4 shootout loss.
“We battled back, we started getting pucks to the net and started tidying our end up,” Assistant Coach David Matsos told windsorspitfires.com. “And we’ll try to ride that into Monday’s game.”
Matsos credited Troy Passingham for allowing the Spits to get back into the London game. ‘Passer’ made 13 saves and shut the door on the Knights, after taking over for Jack Campbell with about seven minutes to go in the second period.
There’s been no word yet on who will get the start in goal for the Spits against the Sting. But you have to figure that things will get better for Campbell before they get worse. Whether he gets the nod or not, Campbell will sport a 4.99 goals against average and a save percentage of .855 heading into tomorrow’s game – ranking him 28th among OHL goalies in the early going of the season.
On the upside for the Spitfires, Alexander Khokhlachev continues his outstanding production. ‘KoKo’ now has six goals in just eight games – tying him for second in the league behind Plymouth’s Alex Aleardi and Oshawa’s Christian Thomas, with eight apiece.
Zack Kassian brings a three-game point streak into this one. Big Kass has looked very good since returning from training camp with the Buffalo Sabres, potting two goals and adding five assists.
GAME TIME BETWEEN THE SPITFIRES AND STING IS 3PM. TICKETS ARE STILL AVAILABLE AND CAN BE PURCHASED AT THE TEKSAVVY.COM BOX OFFICE (GATE 2 AT THE WFCU CENTRE) BY CALLING (519) 254-5000 OR AT WINDSORSPITFIRES.COM.
JOIN ME FOR FULL COVERAGE OF THIS GAME IN OUR LIVE, IN-GAME BLOG. THEN CHECK BACK IN FOR A FULL POST-GAME RECAP AND, LATER ON, FULL HD QUALITY VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS. IT’S THE BEST SPITFIRES COVERAGE ANYWHERE!
