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windsorspitfires.com staff reports
The newest of the Spitfires made a big impression in his first game Friday night, in a gutsy, 6-3 win over the high-powered 67's in Ottawa.
Jake Carrick had a pair of goals and four-point night, Jeff Brown had a goal and an assist and Taylor Carenvale added a pair of assists for Windsor (22-15-1-1).
Ryan Ellis added three assists and new defenceman Adrian Robertson played a solid all-around game, as the Spitfires snapped a nagging, five-game losing streak in their first game since the trade deadline, which brought six new faces to the lineup.
The teams exchanged goals in the first period, before Tyler Toffoli scored his league-leading 40th goal of the season to give the home side its first lead seven minutes into the second.
But the Spits played the rowdy guest from that point on, answering firmly with three goals in a span of 3:35 that shifted the momentum and gave Windsor a 4-2 lead.
Leading the charge was the new checking line of Kenny Ryan, Stephen Johnston and Jeff Brown.
Johnston got things started at 10:34, batting a rebound off a Brown shot past 67's goalie Petr Mrazek to tie the game at 2-2. Then, just 20 seconds later, Brown's hard work led to the go-ahead goal, as he charged to the net and shovelled home a second chance to give the Spits a 3-2 advantage.
Carrick snapped one past Mrazek after busting in on the right wing for his first as a Spitfire, at 14:09, extending the lead to 4-2 after 40 minutes.
The 67's cut the lead to one early in the third when a Jack Campbell turnover left Ryan Martindale alone with an empty net, for this 25th of the year.
But Carrick's second of the night, again off a quick shot, high on Mrazek, restored Windsor's two-goal lead.
The Spits deftly killed a Zack Kassian penalty near the midway mark of the frame and proceded to squeeze the 67's defensively, thwarting any further rally.
It was Kassian's 18th of the season, with a little more than a minute to go, that rounded out the scoring.
Jack Campbell made 31 saves for the win.
The Spits continue their Eastern swing tomorrow as they visit the Bulls in Belleville. Game time is set for 7:05 pm, fans can watch the game live on TVCOGECO or tune to AM800 with Spits Play-by-Play Announcer Mike Miller calling the action.
SCORING
FIRST PERIOD
WSR Khokhlachev, (20) (Carrick), 3:53
OTT Toffoli, (39) (Prince), 19:31
SECOND PERIOD
OTT Toffoli, (40) (Gibbons, Martindale), 7:25 (PP)
WSR Johnston, (10) (Brown, Robertson), 10:34
WSR Brown, (8) (Ellis, Johnston), 10:54
WSR Carrick, (14) (Ellis), 14:09
THIRD PERIOD
OTT Martindale, (25) (Toffoli), 2:05
WSR Carrick, (15) (Ellis, Carnevale), 8:10
WSR Kassian, (18) (Carnevale, Carrick), 18:54
SHOTS ON GOAL
WINDSOR 36 OTTAWA 34
