Spits fall to IceDogs

Spitfires shootout woes continue

by Mitchell Brandner

The Windsor Spitfires lost 4-3  in a shootout to the Niagara IceDogs Sunday afternoon at the WFCU Centre.

The IceDogs got on the board first when forward Mitchell Theoret banged home a rebound off a shot from the top of the circle. The Spitfires killed off three penalties in the period but couldn’t seem to get any offence going.

Windsor forward Kerby Rychel had a big game for the Spitfires, finishing with two goals and an assist. All three points came in the second period when Windsor built a 3-1 lead. Rychel, playing with Josh Ho-Sang and Chris Marchese, said he hopes his line can keep the momentum going forward.

“We feed off each other well,” said Rychel. “We’re three pretty skilled players and we seem to have some chemistry so far.”

Ho-Sang scored his second goal of the season off of a no-look pass from Rychel on the power play in the second period. Ho-Sang attributes playing with Rychel as a reason for his success so far.

“He creates a lot of space for me, which is good,” said Ho-Sang. “(Our line) got three today, so everything feels like it’s starting to come together.”

The Spitfires had the lead until late in the third when Niagara forward Ryan Strome tied it up on the power play.  The IceDogs had struggled with the man-advantage until that point. Defenceman Dougie Hamilton said it was frustrating but they stuck to their offensive plan.

“Five on three (a goal) was bound to happen with the players we have,” said Hamilton. “Our power play was alright and we were getting chances, we just couldn’t bury.”

Steven Shipley and Luke Mercer scored for Niagara in the shootout while Michael Clarke and Josh Ho-Sang were stopped by goaltender Brent Moran.

The Spitfires are back in action Oct. 18 when they take on the Erie Otters at the WFCU Centre.