In Play on Facebook
by John-Eric Iannicello
windsorspitfires.com
Zack Kassian had a goal and three assists in his first game of the season just one day after being returned to the Spitfires from the Buffalo Sabres, as the Spitfires beat the Sudbury Wolves 6-3 on Sunday afternoon.
The Spitfires carried the play from the opening draw. And it didn't take long for them to hit the score sheet.
Zack MacQueen opened the scoring at 8:39 of the first period, after Kassian found him with a tape-to-tape pass in the high slot.
With under a minute to play, Kassian snapped a low wrist shot past Wolves goaltender Alain Valiquette on the power play, giving the Spits a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes.
Windsor out-shot Sudbury by a commanding 21-4 margin in the first.
The visitors looked like they might get back in the game, just past the midway point of the second period. A Michael MacIntyre turnover allowed John McFarland to get the Wolves on the board, cutting the Spitfires lead to 2-1 at the 11:37 mark.
But a series of penalties quickly doused Sudbury's chances.
The Spitfires scored four goals in under five minutes - including goals on the man advantage from Kenny Ryan, Ryan Ellis and Michael MacIntyre - to blow the game wide open. Former Wolves forward Kyle Tarini also scored - his first of the year - to give the Spitfires a 6-1 lead heading into the third period.
The third was uneventful, until the Wolves got goals from Jake Cardwell and Marcus Foligno in a twenty-second span late in the period. But it was too little, too late, as the Spitfires had what they needed, for the 6-3 win.
NOTES
Troy Passingham made 24 saves in his first start of the season, while Valiquette turned aside 37 shots for the Wolves. The Wolves were coming off a big 8-4 win over the Plymouth Whalers on Saturday. The Spitfires went 4-for-7 on the power play. Sudbury was 2-for-6. Alexander Khokhlachev and Stephen Johnston each recorded two assists in the game. Grant Webermin recorded his first OHL assist on Tarini’s goal. Nick Ebert is sidelined with an upper-body injury, his status is day-to-day. Craig Duininck will return to the line-up Thursday after serving a two-game suspension for his fight with Darren Archibald (SSM) on September 30th. Other Spitfire scratches include Andrew Clouthier, Josh Malecki and Cam Fowler, who remains with the Anaheim Ducks. Attendance at today’s game was 5,881.
THREE STARS
1. WSR – 19 Zack Kassian
2. WSR – 6 Ryan Ellis
3. WSR – 13 Kyle Tarini
