The Attack will see adversity for the first time in the post-season

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By David Clark
In Play! Magazine

Owen Sound has been waiting for Windsor. The Memorial Cup winning Windsor Spitfires will come into their house and try to finish off the team that secured the top spot in Western Conference at the end of the regular season. Guys like Hishon, Wilson and Blacker are three good reasons to respect the Attack who also have three good goalies to choose from for game 1. It is likely that over-ager Scott Stajcer who has four playoff wins under his belt already will probably get the call.

Regarding the Spitfires, they now have a record for winning ten straight playoff series in the history of the Ontario Hockey League by defeating the Saginaw Spirit who just seemed to fold at the end. Windsor celebrates the win but the Attack are ready and in the dressing room already, looking at video, discussing the match-ups and figuring out the best way to get done in their favour. The Spitfires prepared themselves for the Attack by beating clubs like Erie and Saginaw who were considered favourites but the Spitfires proved them wrong.

If Zack Kassian stays hot for the Spitfires that would make a huge difference in this upcoming series. He is red-hot, coming off his first hat-trick in the playoffs against Saginaw. His physical presence is understood out there by all opposing teams who move as far away from him as possible because he brings on the pain. When he’s on the ice, they know it.

The most decorated defenceman in OHL history, Ryan Ellis is tied for second in the playoff scoring race. In fact, Windsor has five other Spitfires joining him in the top ten in scoring for the 2011 playoffs. Kuhnhackl and Johnston are even with Ellis at 16 points and Khoklachev just one point shy from the others has 15. Some of the muscle on the team including Carrick and Kass are at 14. Carrick leads the team with nine goals and sits in 8^th overall in the OHL at the moment.

Another defenceman, Adrian Robertson who came from the Peterborough Petes in the big trade is showing up for every game, and scoring in a few. He is a scrappy defender for sure but he has 13 points additionally.

Jack Campbell has been outstanding since he started this campaign in a winning fashion in Game 2 against a very offensive Erie team who had a few snipers who knew how to finish. Campbell kept Windsor in it, stopping the Luciani’s, McKegg’s and Varone’s most of the time.

Near the end, Campbell had outplayed Sadikov in this tight series. Saginaw had an even harder time solving him but Shalla gave him fits. Campbell is one of the main reasons the Spits are going to the conference finals. Campbell is a big game goalie from the US National Junior Development System and is playing to the max right now, like the two World Junior Tournament medals including a gold he received for a winning performance. This is his A game and fans happy to see it.  

     The coaching staff in Windsor are very experienced at winning titles, particularly Bob Jones who has a winning system to work with, inherited from part owner and former coach Bob Boughner. Jones has his own way of doing things too with the help of D.J. Smith and David Matsos, showing the team how to win.

In the upcoming series against a formidable Owen Sound team, the players are buying into the system Jones has implemented. The team also shows they know how to cope with the pressure associated with going far into the playoffs, a task for the coaching staff has instilled on them.

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