Thrills in the Third
The location changed, but the recipe stayed the same: get great goaltending and dominate the third period.
It worked Saturday night in Peterborough, and again Sunday in Oshawa, as the Spits scored five times in the third period for a 6-3 win over the Generals.
Troy Passingham had another outstanding game, making 26 saves in his second straight start. Kenny Ryan scored twice and Ryan Ellis added a goal and two assists, as Windsor (17-11-0-1) won their seventh road game of the season, and second in two nights.
After a fast-paced, but scoreless first period, the Spitfires got the game's first goal early in the second.
Just 32 seconds in, Tom Kuhnhackl grabbed an Ellis pass, streaked in on a breakaway, and beat Oshawa goalie Kevin Bailie for his team-leading 16th goal of the season.
Mark Petaccio quickly tied it for the Generals at the 2:07 mark. Then, the Generals took what would be their only lead of the night, as Lucas Lessio whipped a shot from the right circle and through a screen to beat Passingham at 7:34.
Down 2-1 after 40 minutes, the Spits went to work in the third period.
Kenny Ryan evened things at two with a blue-collar goal, as he and Zack MacQueen stormed the Oshawa goal less than three minutes into the frame.
Troy Passingham kept the game tied with several outstanding saves, denying Josh Graves near the six minute mark and then making an even better stop on a Christian Thomas wraparound, a couple minutes later.
Passer's handywork allowed the Spits to take a lead they wouldn't give up.
Off a face-off in the Oshawa zone, Zack Kassian was left all alone, to Bailie's left, and he finished off a nifty cross-crease pass from Stephen Johnston, to make it 3-2, at 11:04.
A five-minute, checking-from-behind penalty to Jeff Brown gave the Spitfires a golden opportunity to extend their lead. And they did just that, as Zack MacQueen slid home the eventual game-winner with about six minutes to play.
Christian Thomas scored his 21st of the year to cut the lead to 4-3 at 18:37. But empty-net goals from Ryan and Ellis salted away the win.
SHOTS ON GOAL
WINDSOR 44, OSHAWA 29
POWER PLAYS
WINDSOR 1-FOR-7
OSHAWA 0-FOR-6
SCORING
FIRST PERIOD
No scoring
SECOND PERIOD
WSR Kuhnhackl, (16) (Ellis), 0:32
OSH Petaccio, (3) (Graves), 2:07
OSH Lessio, (10) (Brown, Valentine), 7:34
THIRD PERIOD
WSR Ryan, (7) (MacQueen, Ellis), 2:57
WSR Kassian, (15) (Johnston, Ebert), 11:04
WSR MacQueen, (8) (Kassian, Kuhnhackl), 13:44 (PP)
OSH Thomas, (21) (Jenner, DeHart), 18:37
WSR Ryan, (8) , 19:03 (EN)
WSR Ellis, (10) (Johnston), 19:34 (EN)
