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One race has ended for the Windsor Spitfires and one other has begun.
The Spitfires fell 5-2 on the street Saturday to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds earlier than a crowd of 4,017 on the GFL Memorial Gardens. Coupled with eighth-seeded Flint’s 2-1 extra time win over Kingston, the Spitfires have been mathematically eradicated from the Western Convention playoffs.
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“It’s clearly powerful and never the season we wished,” Spitfires’ second-year ahead A.J. Spellacy stated. “We’ve been by means of loads and it’s necessary to depart all of it on the market these subsequent six video games. I’ve little question that subsequent 12 months we’ll come out robust and hopefully have a deep run.”
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Out of the playoffs for the primary time since 2015, the Spitfires will now compete for the primary time within the weighted OHL Draft lottery for the 4 groups lacking the playoffs. The staff with the worst report, which is presently Niagara, can have a 40 per cent probability of the highest choose. The Spitfires, who’ve the second-worst report, would have a 30 per cent probability if the standings don’t change. Peterborough, with the third-worst report, would get a 20 per cent probability and Sarnia, which has the very best report of the 4 groups not in a playoff place, would get a ten per cent probability.
“You hope to get a participant that can make a distinction and, whenever you’re choosing this excessive, you hope to land high quality,” Spitfires’ common supervisor Invoice Bowler stated. “We’ve a number of picks and hopefully we land a participant.”
4 wins within the membership’s first 21 video games put the staff behind the eight-ball to begin the season and value Jerrod Smith his submit as head coach.
Bowler then traded away a number of veteran gamers to restock the staff’s draft cabinet, which was emptied in constructing back-to-back Western Convention regular-season title.
Ryan “Pucks” Pyette on the OHL
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Add that overaged Pasquale Zito’s resolution to depart the staff after 5 video games, a couple of suspensions and the lack of few gamers because of sickness or harm and the membership gave the impression to be in fixed chase mode all season.
“The beginning we acquired off to and deciding to maneuver some gamers all year long it was in all probability inevitable,” Bowler stated. “We gave it our all, however the math tells us it’s over.”
However that doesn’t imply it was a misplaced season. So a lot of Windsor’s first- and second-year gamers got ice time and performed in conditions that few gamers the identical age get on older groups. That have can solely assist down the street.
“It’s undoubtedly useful as a result of a number of younger guys, together with myself, have been taking part in a number of minutes, which has helped us develop and can assist us going into subsequent 12 months,” Spellacy stated.
And regardless of the membership dropping three-straight video games on its street journey, defenceman Adrian Manzo got here up from junior B LaSalle and was plus three in Friday’s wild 9-8 extra time loss in Sudbury. In that sport, former Fifteenth-round choose Nathan Gaymes, who additionally got here up from LaSalle, potted his second aim with Windsor.
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“Gaymes had two targets in three video games and Manzo performed 14 minutes (on Friday),” stated Spitfires’ interim head coach Casey Torres, whose staff opened with a 7-2 loss in North Bay on Thursday. “You may observe and do ability issues, however nothing takes the place of in-game expertise.”
However that have typically means studying from errors and the Greyhounds took full benefit on Saturday.
Captain Liam Greentree acquired Windsor on the board simply 10 seconds into the sport, however Brady Martin tied it earlier than the tip of the interval and Julian Fantino and Jacob Frasca has Sault Ste. Marie up 3-1 after 40 minutes.
Spellacy scored his fourth short-handed aim of the season to make it a one-goal sport and the Spitfires had one other shot to get even earlier than Jason Beck and Matthew Virgillio put the sport away for Sault Ste. Marie.
“Robust street journey,” stated Torres, whose staff was outshot 47-19 and performed the third interval with out defenceman Antony Cristoforo after wanted medical consideration for what the staff was calling dehydration. “Three actually good groups, illness, accidents, suspensions and journey and it simply makes it a troublesome street.”
The Spitfires return residence on Thursday to play the Guelph Storm with sport time on the WFCU Centre at 7:05 p.m.
jpparker@postmedia.com
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