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A pair of goals late in the second period got them back in it. And Gemel Smith's marker early in the third period put the home side ahead for good, as the Owen Sound Attack beat the Windsor Spitfires, 4-3, on Saturday night.
Tom Kuhnhackl continued his red-hot play for the Spits, scoring his 12th and 13th goals of the season, while Joey Hishon had a goal and an assist for the Attack (14-4-0-1).
The Spitfires (11-9-0-1) got off to a quick start, as Kuhnhackl scored on the power play - at the 2:40 mark - to put the Spitfires up 1-0.
Windsor extended its lead just 11 seconds into the second period.
Streaking in on a 2-on-1, Stephen Johnston tried to slide a pass across to Brady Vail, but the play was broken up and the puck ended up right back on Johnston's stick. And he knew what to do with it, sliding it past Jordan Binnington, for a 2-0 Windsor lead.
After Cameron Brace made it 2-1, at the 6:28 mark, Kuhnhackl was the beneficiary of a nifty set up by linemate Alexander Khokhlachev.
Showing great speed and puck skills, KoKo juked past Attack defenceman Matt Stanisz, cut to the middle of the ice and fed Kuhnhackl, who deftly deked Binnington on the backhand, giving Windsor what looked at the time like a commanding, 3-1 lead.
But a 90-second lapse late in the period cost the Spits.
Joey Hishon's power play goal at 17:29 cut the lead to 3-2. Then, Andrew Fitsch scored on a quick shot from the slot just 1:25 later, after the Spits lost a key defensive zone face-off, to even things at 3-3.
Making matters worse, Michael MacIntyre took a four-minute high-sticking penalty in the final minute of the second.
And although Windsor was able to kill it off, thanks to some stellar work by goalie Troy Passingham, the Spits couldn't recapture the lead.
Smith's third of the season, at the 4:42 mark, put Owen Sound up for good.
And Binnington made the goal stand up, robbing Khokhlachev, Ryan Ellis and Nick Ebert, in succession, on a Windsor power play in the final four minutes.
NOTES
*Windsor D Craig Duininck left the game in the first period and did not return. Forward Brendan McCann played a few shifts on the blueline in his place.
*Kuhnhackl's first-period marker made it four straight games with at least one goal. The German rookie now has seven goals in his last four games.
*Alexander Khokhlachev's two assists give him 18 on the season. KoKo leads the Spits in points with 27, and is second among all OHL rookies.
