Spitfires fight off tough Guelph challenge

By Mark Brown

Windsor Spitfires winger Christian Fischer put two goals in the net and Logan Brown added the third as the Spits beat the Guelph Storm 3-2 Nov.19 at the WFCU Centre for their fifth straight victory.

The win came after a resilient effort by a struggling Guelph squad, which was 2-16-1 with five points entering the contest. Spitfires head coach Rocky Thompson acknowledges the win did not come easy.

“We didn’t play well as a team from start to finish, really,” said Thompson. “There were some nice goals that were scored but you could see it through our special teams. The four-on-three was ugly. The power play didn’t really generate anything.”

The Spitfires went 0-for-5 on the power play and while Fischer is pleased to get the victory, he believes the Storm are better than their record shows.

“They play a trap system in the neutral zone and man-on-man in their “D” (defensive) zone,” said Fischer. “It’s hard to play against them. It’s always a tough game.”

Fischer put the Spitfires on the board quickly, scoring just 23 seconds into the opening period. Guelph tied it up at 15:48 on Garrett McFadden’s fourth goal of the season. The Spitfires took the lead again in the second period with Brown’s fifth season goal. Unable to capitalize on a four-on-three situation that followed Windsor allowed another equalizer from the Storm, this time from James McEwan at 6:51. Just six seconds later, Fischer put the Spitfires ahead for good on an unassisted goal.

Late in the third period, Guelph pulled goaltender Bradley Van Schubert for the extra attacker and thought they had tied the score yet again but the goal was waved off. Thompson says he knew the Storm would not go without a fight.

“They’re an aggressive system, they come at you hard and we knew that coming in,” said Thompson. “It’s the mental side of the game that’s so important and respect is everything in this game. If you respect your opponent and respect the game, the game respects you back.”

Spitfires defenceman Jalen Chatfield left the game in the first period after taking a shot to the head and did not return.

The Spitfires host on the Owen Sound Attack Nov. 21.