Memorial Cup Notebook: Spitfires shine after layoff

WINDSOR, Ont. – The last game the Windsor Spitfires played was Apr. 4 in a 3-2 loss to the London Knights in the opening round of the Ontario Hockey League playoffs.

The layoff didn’t show as the team picked up a narrow 3-2 win over the Saint John Sea Dogs at the WFCU Centre in the opening game of the 2017 MasterCard Memorial Cup.

The Spitfires opened up a 2-0 lead through 40 minutes, only to see the Sea Dogs erase the lead with goals 24 seconds apart late in the third period. Aaron Luchuk would then deflect a point shot by Mikhail Sergachev with 4:48 to go for the game-winner for the tournament host.

“I’m extremely proud of our group,” said Windsor Coach Rocky Thompson. “It wasn’t easy off the bat to get those nervous jitters out in the first five minutes. Our guys settled in really nicely. We managed pucks and keep it simple. That was our game plan. If we could keep it simple, we could build off of some of that momentum. We’re a pretty good team in the offensive zone. We’re big, we’re strong. We cycle the puck well. What our objective was was to limit turnovers, advance the puck and go to work where we’re good and we were able to do those things against a very good team.”

Luchuk and Jeremy Bracco finished the night with a goal and an assist each for Windsor. Sergachev assisted on a pair of goals.

Thomas Chabot and Nathan Noel completed the scoring for Saint John.

“They did a great job of hemming us in and we did not play well,” said Saint John Coach Danny Flynn, a former assistant coach with the Soo Greyhounds. “A combination of them playing well and us having a very average game, we had a push for the last five minutes but other than that I thought we have to be way better than that if we want to compete in this tournament.”

Flynn admitted nerves played a role “but after five or ten minutes you have to melt into the game and get going.”

The tournament continues on Saturday afternoon when the OHL-champion Erie Otters face the Seattle Thunderbirds, champions of the Western Hockey League. Puck drop in Windsor is set for 3 p.m.

Windsor returns to action on Sunday night against Seattle.