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windsorspitfires.com staff reports
With the Plymouth Whalers and Spitfires It should have been the game of the year. But instead, it turned into the game that never was on a blustery Saturday night in Plymouth.
Jamie Devane scored twice, while James Livingston and Robbie Czarnik added a goal and two assists apiece, as Plymouth beat Windsor, 6-2, in front of 4,050 fans at the Compuware Sports Arena.
The win moves the Whalers back into fourth place in the Western Conference, a point up on the Spitfires.
The Spitfires (34-22-3-3) were up against it even before the game started here tonight. With Jack Campbell at home with a touch of the flu, John Cullen was penciled in as Windsor's starting goalie. But, already not feeling well on the short ride to Plymouth, Cullen suffered an injury in the warm-up.
That forced Michael Nishi to make his first start of the season, with no back-up in sight. And the 17-year-old didn't get much help off the start, as the Spits were whistled for three minor penalties in the first seven minutes.
The Whalers converted on two of those, on goals by Beau Schmitz and Jamie Devane to take an early 2-0 lead.
James Livingston's 21st of the year made it 3-0 Plymouth before the opening 20 minutes was done.
The teams traded goals in the second period before fight night got underway.
Nick Czinder, Craig Duininck and Saverio Posa all grabbed a partner after Posa was taken in awkwardly along the endboards in the Windsor zone by Garrett Meurs.
Czinder and Posa were ejected, along with Plymouth's Beau Schmitz and Mitchell Heard.
With the score 6-1 Plymouth, more fireworks erupted in the closing seconds of the second period, as Jake Carrick got tangled up with goalie Matt Mahalak.
Tom Kuhnhackl rounded out the scoring, on a 5-on-3 advantage in the third. His 36th of the season puts him alone in top spot among Spitfire skaters.
SCORING
FIRST PERIOD
PLY Schmitz, (6) (Livingston, Devane), 3:17 (PP)
PLY Devane, (15) (Czarnik, Noesen), 7:28 (PP)
PLY Livingston, (22) , 12:09
SECOND PERIOD
PLY Czarnik, (32) , 2:44 (SH)
WSR Kassian, (26) (Khokhlachev), 5:36
PLY Brown, (25) (Trutmann, Livingston), 13:35
PLY Devane, (16) (Czarnik, Brown), 17:09
THIRD PERIOD
WSR Kuhnhackl, (36) (Ellis), 7:57 (PP)
SHOTS ON GOAL
WINDSOR: 9 - 21 - 22 = 52
PLYMOUTH: 9 - 13 - 8 = 30
POWER PLAYS
WINDSOR: 1-FOR-8
PLYMOUTH: 2-FOR-9
