Spitfires fail to contain fourth-ranked Sting

The Windsor Spitfires hosted the Sarnia Sting on Feb. 1 in what turned out to be a test for the young Spits lineup.

The Spitfires, holding onto the second last playoff spot in the OHL’s Western Conference. Looking for points to create some breathing room, the young lineup was in for a battle. The Sting are not only one of the best teams in the OHL, but also rank fourth in the CHL, with a record of 34-12-3-0. By comparison, these numbers did not seem to phase the Spitfires who sat 23-20-2-2 before the game.

The Spitfires took an early lead with a goal from Luke Boka from a bizarre angle. They followed up with another goal just minutes later, this time off the stick of Daniel D’Amico. All momentum seemed to sway in favour of the Spitfires, but late in the first period the Sting struck back. Pounding pressure onto the Spitfires’ goaltender Jordan Kyrou put the Sting on the board. The St. Louis Blues’ prospect is having an impressive campaign so far with the Feb. 1 contest being game number 39 on the season for him. His goal brought him to 81 points for the year. 

The Spits scored once more to open the second period of play with a deflection off the stick of Chris Playfair. From that point on, it was all Sarnia, with Philadelphia Flyers prospect, Anthony Salinitri, netting two goals on the night. Up 3-1 at one point, the Spitfires ultimately fell 5-3. They did not hang their heads in defeat.

“I was not disappointed with the effort,” said Spitfire forward, Cole Purboo. “We just made some mistakes and we gave them a bunch of opportunities and they buried them.”

Purboo, playing his second season with the Spitfires, sits at 38 points through 48 games played.  

“We were up 3-1, it is too bad we could not come away with the win,” said Spitfires rookie, Nathan Staios. “They are a good team, it would have been a big win for us.”

The Spitfires took Staios with their first-round pick in the 2017 OHL Draft (seventeenth overall). Staios has played 41 games this season and currently has eight points with the team, he was named the Third Star for the Feb. 1 game. Staios is one of eight rookies on the 18-man roster.

The Spitfires will be back in action Feb. 3 as they travel to Barrie to take on the Colts. An afternoon game on Superbowl Sunday, Feb. 4, in Oshawa against the Generals follows.