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It was only a matter of time before frustration got the best of the Windsor Spitfires.
As the prospects of a playoff spot continue to dwindle each game, the frustration for the Spitfires continues to build.
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Sunday’s 6-1 loss to the Mississauga Steelheads before a crowd of 4,994 at the WFCU Centres was Windsor fourth-straight defeat. Coupled with back-to-back loss to Flint, which holds down the final playoff spot. As hopes dwindle with the Spitfires sitting 13-points back of Flint with nine games left in the season, frustration bubbled over in the third period of Sunday’s game
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“You’d be lying if you thought there wasn’t a little bit of that (frustration),” Spitfires’ interim head coach Casey Torres said. “I think we felt a little bit sorry for ourselves because I think in Flint, for a large portion of both those two games, I thought we outplayed them and then you look and you find yourself in a game or down and sometimes that’s hard to comprehend when you think you’re outplaying (them) or you think you’re playing well and they’re finding ways to get goals.”
After Spitfires’ overage defenceman Djibril Toure and Mississauga’s Gabriel Chiarot exited the penalty box after serving coincidental roughing minors, the two locked up in a bout. Before that was settled, Windsor defenceman Josef Eichler got pulled into a fight with Mississauga’s Luke Dragusica, which could cost both players a two-game suspension for a second fight during the same stoppage of play. Meanwhile, defenceman Anthony Cristoforo ended up with a roughing minor along with Mississauga’s Angus MacDonell, who was more the rougher than the roughee.
“We’re ultra competitive, it’s kind of natural for everyone to kind of be a little competitive and show some frustration like that,” Cristoforo said.
Ryan “Pucks” Pyette on the OHL
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“It’s a game, for us, we wish we could win, but sticking up for each other and being in the battle is what we’re looking for.”
But this game got away from the Spitfires early with the Steelheads jumping to a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes on goals by Luke Misa and MacGregor Richmond.
“First period, we didn’t seem to have legs,” Torres said.
Windsor coughed up the puck in front of its own net and Adam Zidlicky pushed Mississauga’s lead to 3-0 less than three minutes into the second period.
A.J. Spellacy scored on a two-man power play to get Windsor on the board, but, as has happened so often this season, the club gave up a goal in the dying seconds of the period.
“It’s been an issue, to be honest, all year where we have goals in the first minute or goals in the last minute,” Cristoforo said. “It’s something we have to tighten up.”
Zidlicky went in alone to make it 4-1 for Mississauga with eight seconds left in the period.
“We came back, fought hard and then we let it slip away at the end of the second period,” Spellacy said. “That’s on us players. We’ve got to manage the game better at the end. We can’t give up goals like that at the end.”
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The Spitfires also lost rookie Cole Davis in the period as he went off holding his left shoulder after crashing into the boards after being tripped by Mississauga’s Finn Harding.
“It doesn’t look good, but we’ll see what doc says after (Monday),” Torres said of Davis, who is fifth in OHL rooking scoring with 20 goals and 39 points in 58 games.
Mississauga’s Porter Martone, with a power-play after the line scuffle, and Jack Van Volsen, with 10 seconds to plays, closed the scoring in the third period.
“We want to keep fighting after that goal, and we’re going to do everything to try to win, but when it goes from 3-1 to 4-1it’s a big jump going into the third period,” Spellacy said. “We had momentum and it got taken away when they got that fourth goal.”
Things don’t get any easier for the Spitfires, who begin a three-game road trip on Thursday in North Bay with a Friday match in Sudbury and a Saturday match against Sault Ste. Marie.
jpparker@postmedia.com
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Game Summary
Sunday Result
Steelheads 6 Spitfires 1
Mississauga 2 2 2 – 6
Windsor 0 1 0 – 1
First period: 1. Mississauga, Mia 24 (Fibigr, Zidlicky) 5:46, 2. Mississauga, MacGregor 2 (Chiarot, Sharpe) 11:41. Penalties: MacDonell M (roughing) 7:10, Fibigr M (tripping) 18:47, Davis W (holding) 19:42.
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Second period: 3. Mississauga, Zidlicky 7 (unassisted) 2:42, 4. Windsor, Spellacy 16 (Abraham, Morneau) 9:02 (pp), 5. Mississauga, Zidlicky 8 (Sharpe) 19:52. Penalties: Dragusica M (tripping) 3:26, Leskovar M (holding) 7:25, Harding M (tripping) 8:02, Walton W (holding) 12:05, Harding M (tripping) 14:42.
Third period: 6. Mississauga, Martone 32 (Zidlicky, Harding) 11:37 (pp), 7. Mississauga, Van Volsen 17 (unassisted) 19:50. Penalties: Toure W (roughing) 3:46, Chiarot M (roughing), Toure W (roughing) 8:00, Chiarot M (fighting), Dragusica M (fighting, game misconduct), MacDonell M (roughing), Toure W (slashing, fighting, misconduct), Eichler W (fighting, game misconduct), Cristoforo W (roughing) 10:05, Nesbitt W (high sticking) 19:53.
Game stats – SOG – Mississauga 14 7 14 – 35 Windsor 12 10 9 – 31 Goal (shots-saves) – Mississauga: Ivankovic (W,10-4-4-0) (31-30). Windsor: Donoso (L,13-18-2-1) (35-29). Power play (goals-chances) – Mississauga 1-5. Windsor 1-6. Referees: Chad Ingalls (12) and Joe Monette (25). Linesmen: Kurtis Pare (70) and Geoff Rutherford (62). Att.: 4,994 at the WFCU Centre.
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