Kelly Steele
Windsor In Pictures
Spitfires solid in snapping losing skid with 3-0 road win over Spirit
Jim Parker, Windsor Star
SAGINAW, MICH. – Ending the longest losing streak of the season was the Windsor Spitfires' top goal.
However, there was a level of satisfaction for the club with how that goal was accomplished on Saturday.
"I think we might have gotten away from our game a little bit, but that's pretty much all," Spitfires' defenceman Connor Corcoran said. "We got back to it.
"We played a full 60 minutes, which is nice to see. We came out flying and we just kept going and didn't stop. That's the way we have to do it every night."
The Spitfires won puck battles, were solid defensively and skated away with a 3-0 win over the Saginaw Spirit before a crowd of 3,211 at the Dow Event Center to snap a three-game losing streak.
"A tough little stretch there and I think it's the first real adversity our team's faced this year and we responded well," Spitfires forward Will Cuylle said. "It's nice. It's good to get back in the win column.
"There was a bit of frustration, but we knew we were still in a good spot if we just stuck to what got us on that (13-game point) streak in the first place it would get us out."
Saginaw was coming off an 11-goal performance in a win over Sarnia on Friday, but found little room to skate against the Spitfires, who outshot the Spirit 16-6 in the first period with Cuylle giving Windsor an early lead.
"I'm just excited how the team played," Spitfires head coach Trevor Letowski said. "I thought that was the best game we played all year. The attention to detail on the defensive side of the puck was outstanding."
Penalties have been an issue for the Spitfires in recent games and the club allowed six chances to the Spirit on Saturday and has yielded 20 power-play chances in the last three games, but Saginaw generated little with the man advantage.
"Outside of the penalties, five-on-five we didn't give them much," Letowski said. "That's the brand of hockey we want to play. I thought we were at the top of our game, and when we play that brand of hockey we're tough to beat."
Unlike the recent slump, where good starts have been squandered by sloppy second periods, the Spitfires got a Kyle McDonald goal to grab a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes.
"The second period was a lot better than it has been the last couple of games and a big reason we came out with the win," Cuylle said. "It definitely involves everyone giving 100 per cent the whole game.
"When it's a close game like this, it helps build our team game and sets us up good for the future."
After holding Saginaw to just 11 shots through two periods, the Spirit fired a dozen at goalie Kari Piiroinen, who was solid in earning his second career shout and the first by a Windsor goalie in 64 regular-season games since last year's trade of Mikey DiPietro to Ottawa.
"It's awesome," Piiroinen said of the effort. "It's so much easier to play with wins under your belt and I feel like we're getting our confidence back."
Corcoran ended any Saginaw comeback hopes with a late goal as the Spitfires beat the West Division-rival Spirit for the third time in four meetings this season.
"To a man, I think we knew how important this game was to us," Letowski said. "Everyone was good.
"We loved the first period and we wanted to play 60 (minutes), not worry about results or goals, but shift-to-shift intensity and that's what we did."
jpparker@postmedia.com
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Saturday Result
Spitfires 3 Spirit 0
Windsor 1 1 1 – 3
Saginaw 0 0 0 – 0
First period: 1. Windsor, Cuylle 9 (Angle) 12:57. Penalties: Rafkin W (double minor high sticking) 4:59, Duhart S (slashing) 7:41, Codd S (hooking) 19:16.
Second period: 2. Windsor, McDonald 7 (Playfair) 10:47. Penalties: Robinson W (holding) 4:56, Henault W (tripping) 13:11, Katic S (hooking) 15:02.
Third period: 3. Windsor, Corcoran 10 (Douglas, D'Amico) 16:09. Penalties: Robinson W (roughing), Antropov S (unsportsmanlike conduct) 1:15, Corcoran W (hooking) 7:16, Douglas W (high sticking) 19:03, Katic S (slashing) 19:52.
Game stats – SOG – Windsor 16 7 9 – 32 Saginaw 6 5 12 – 23 Goal (shots-saves) – Windsor: Piiroinen (W,12-4-2-0) (23-23). Saginaw: Frappier (L,6-3-1-1) (32-29). Power play (goals-chances) – Windsor 0-3. Saginaw 0-6. Referees: Jason Goldenberg (19) and Morgan MacPhee (11). Linesmen: Brad Horan (75) and Kyle Rodgers (59). Att: 3,211 at the Dow Event Center.
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