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TOTALLY ... STUNNED
That's how the Windsor Spitfires left fans at the Essar Centre in Sault Ste. Marie on Saturday night.
Ryan Ellis capped a late comeback with his second goal of the night, as the Spits overcame their third two-goal deficit to beat the Soo Greyhounds, 6-5 in overtime.
Windsor's all-world team captain added two assists, for a four-point night. Zack Kassian had three assists, while Eric Locke and Alexander Khokhlachev each had a goal and two helpers, as the Spitfires (13-9-0-1) won a huge road game for the second straight night.
Things looked bleak for the Spits after the Greyhounds (8-12-4-0) took a 5-3 lead on Trevor Morebeck's third of the year, near the midway mark of the third.
But having already overcome a pair of two-goal deficits in the first period, coach Bob Jones called a timeout, to settle his young club down.
"A great move by Bob," Ellis said, during a jubilant bus ride home. "He told us to relax a little and get back to playing our game. And we did. We won every puck battle after that ... and won it."
The move paid off with four minutes to go, with a little help from some shaky defensive play by the Greyhounds.
Ryan Ellis picked up a loose puck - after Carson Dubchak coughed it up in his own zone - and fed Khokhlachev, who beat Soo goalie Chris Perigini with a nifty backhand, to cut the lead to 5-4 at the 16:04 mark.
That set the stage for more of Locke's heroics.
With the Windsor net empty, the rookie centre sent the Spits bench into a frenzy, as he buried a slick pass from Kassian to tie the game at 19:43.
"Locker's been huge for us," Ellis said. "A hat-trick last night...a huge goal tonight. He seems to bury big chances a lot, and to make a key play for an assist when we need it. He's becoming a huge part of this team...as a rookie."
Big praise from a guy who knows all about big plays.
And, fittingly, it was the dynamic vet who capped the win, and the kid who set him up. Locke spotted Ellis darting in off the point, and he calmly beat Perugini in tight.
Brett Findlay had two goals in a losing cause for the Greyhounds. Brett Thompson and Jake Carrick added two assists each.
NOTES
*Several Spits exploded during this two-game road trip. Ellis (4G, 3A, +5), Kassian (7A, +2) and Locke (4G, 2A, +3) all played a huge role.
*Tom Kuhnhackl kept his hot streak going. He scored his team-leading 15th goal of the season in the Soo, giving him at least one in six straight games.
*The Spits scored twice on the power play, extending their streak to eight games with at least one PPG.
*Troy Passingham picked up both wins on the trip, improving his record to 6-2-0-1. Jack Campbell has seven wins in 15 appearances.
*The win gives Windsor five wins in 12 road starts and ends a stretch of eight games in nine away from the WFCU Centre.
SCORING
1. SSM Catenacci, (12) (Thompson, King), 5:22 (PP)
1. SSM Findlay, (5) (Carrick, Archibald), 7:45
1. WSR Ellis, (7) (Kassian, Khokhlachev), 11:12
1. SSM Cousins, (10) (Thompson), 13:08
1. WSR Kuhnhackl, (15) (Kassian, Ellis), 13:48 (PP)
1. WSR MacQueen, (6) (Locke, Johnston), 18:08 (PP)
3. SSM Findlay, (6) (Carrick), 6:31
3. SSM Morbeck, (3) (Cousins, Omelyanenko), 9:21
3. WSR Khokhlachev, (11) (Ellis), 16:02
3. WSR Locke, (10) (Kassian, Khokhlachev), 19:43
OT. WSR Ellis, (8) (Locke), 2:19
