Windsor Spitfires Jump out to a 2-1 lead in OHL Championship Series with Hamilton Bulldogs
The Windsor Spitfires have a 2-1 edge in games over the Hamilton Bulldogs after the first three games of the Ontario Hockey League Championship Series. Just two days after eliminating the Flint Firebirds 4-0 in game seven of the OHL Western Conference Championship series, Windsor traveled to Hamilton to take on the Bulldogs in game one of the series between the NHL’s top teams not only during the 2021-2022 OHL regular season, but also the top play-off seeds in their respective conferences
The Bulldogs entered the series with the Spitfires with a perfect 12-0 record in the post-season but that unblemished mark went by the wayside in game one against the Spitfires on Friday, June 3 in the first game game of the OHL Championship Series versus Windsor.
Avery Hayes, Colton Kammerer and Mark Duarte all scored to stake the Bulldogs (0-1) to a 3-1 lead with less than eight minutes remaining in the third period before Will Cuylle scored his second goal of the game and Oliver Peer both scored for the Spitfires (1-0) within four minutes of each other late in the final frame of regulation play to send the game into overtime and set the stage for the game-winner in overtime by Michael Renwick. Cuylle scored his first goal of the game in the second period.
Xavier Medina made 43 saves to pick up the win in net for the Spitfires while Marco Constantino made 31 stops at the other end of the ice.
The Bulldogs evened the series with a 5-4 at the First Ontario Centre on Sunday afternoon two days later.
Hayes scored twice for Hamilton and Mason McTavish, Lawson Sherk and Arber Xhekaj all added single markers as the Bulldogs (1-1) evened the series with a 5-4 win over the the visitors from Windsor in game two. Matthew Maggio scored twice for the Spitfires (1-1) who also received goals from Louka Henault and Andrew Perrott.
The series switched venues to the WFCU Centre in Windsor on the following day (June 6 game photos) with the Spitfires emerging with a 6-3 record to take a 2-1 series lead.
Logan Morrison opened the scoring for the Bulldogs (1-2) before Alex Christopoulos and Wyatt Johnston both replied for the Spitfires (2-1) Randy Winterton also scored for the Bulldogs to round out the scoring in the first period as the teams emerged deadlocked 2-2 after 20 minutes of play. The goals by Johnston and Winterton came just 26 seconds apart in the last minute of play in the period.
Johnston, the OHL’s regular season scoring champion who also leads the OHL in play-off scoring, scored his second goal of the contest in the second frame and Jacob Maillet also scored for Windsor as the Spitfires held a a 4-2 lead after 40 minutes of play.
In the final frame of regulation play Christopoulos scored his second goal to put the Spitfires up by three goals before Mason McTavish scored for Hamilton to bring the Bulldogs back to within two just past the midway point of the third period. Windsor team captain Cuylle scored in the last minute of play into an empty net to round out the scoring in the game as the Spitfires emerged with a 6-3 win to take a two games to one lead in the OHL’s final playoff round this spring.
Matthew Onuska made 35 saves to pick up the win in goal while Constantino made 26 stops at the other end.
Game four of the series goes Friday (June 10) at the WFCU Centre with a 7 pm opening face-off before the teams return to Hamilton for a 2 pm matinee game on Sunday (June 12) at the First Ontario Centre. Games six and seven, if needed, will be played next Monday (June 13) in Windsor before a deciding seven game back in Hamilton next Wednesday (June 15) Opening face-offs for those games would be 7 pm.
The winner of the OHL Championship Series advances to the 2022 Memorial Cup to be played in Saint John, New Brunswick starting June 20.