Spits blown out at home

The Windsor Spitfires need to have instant amnesia after an 8-2 shellacking at the hands of the Plymouth Whalers Jan. 24.

The Spits got out to a quick start but couldn’t capitalize on two early power plays. Windsor’s pressure was brought to a halt when Whalers forward Vincent Trocheck came in all alone shorthanded and roofed a backhand shot past goaltender Jaroslav Pavelka.

From that point on Windsor was on the defensive, only managing six shots in the period compared to the Whalers’ 16.

“We just didn’t have the effort, the heart, the desire,” said Spits forward Alex Aleardi. “We’ve just got to reload, go back at it tomorrow.”

Windsor’s sloppy defensive zone play allowed the Whalers two more goals before the period was over.

Late in the first period frustration seemed to boil over for the spits when Kerby Rychel dropped the gloves with fellow projected first round draft pick Ryan Hartman.

Aleardi stopped the bleeding with a goal on an early second period powerplay.

Spits goalie Jordan Dekort came in to replace Pavelka to start the second period, and things seemed to go from bad to worse.

“Getting ran around in your home rink, it’s a tough thing and it really hurts you inside,” said Aleardi.

The Spits gave up five consecutive goals in a 10-minute span including two from Plymouth forward Matthew Mistele and one more from Trocheck who capped off Plymouth’s scoring barrage with his second goal and third point of the night.

“We knew coming in this was a big game,” said Trocheck. “I’m really just going out there and trying to play my game. I’ve got a lot of guys that I can play with right now.”

A mostly quiet third period saw Windsor put on some pressure and come close to burying another goal. Spits forward Ryan Verbeek jammed away at a loose puck at the side of the Whalers net but couldn’t put it home.

The Spits head on the road to face the Sault St. Marie Greyhounds tonight and the Sudbury Wolves on Sunday.

“We just have to be more prepared for next game,” said Aleardi. “If we just stick to the grind here, we can hopefully come out with four points.”