3 Takeaways From Spitfires’ 8-5 Win Over Knights

A near-capacity crowd of 6,245 saw the back-and-forth battle, their second largest of the season (New Years Eve – 6,462). Head coach Greg Walters said the atmosphere played a big part.

“We had some unbelievable fans, (nearly) sold out, and our guys were ready to go,” he said. “As the game went on, it was close. Our second period was awesome, they really got into that. As we talk all the time, never count these guys out.”

Davis finished with two goals and four points, including an impressive end-to-end goal, giving him a career high 21 goals and 44 points. He said the crowd played a vital role.

“Playing at home, the atmosphere fuels us, especially against the Knights,” he said. “It’s the loudest rink and we appreciate the fans so much. The support they give us, especially against London, it really just fuels us. We feed off that and we push a little harder.”

Every Spitfire-Knights Game Has Meaning

While the teams have locked up their places in the standings, there were plenty of bragging rights on the line. The Spitfires had two wins over their rivals and wanted a third. Both clubs saw several players out but that just meant that it was Walters’ “next man up” mentality. Davis said that you want to send that message before the playoffs.

“It’s not going to alter the standings at all, but we came in here to win tonight,” he said. “Kind of send a little message if we see them in the playoffs. That’s our goal; show we can play with them and beat them.”

While Davis had four points, Walton scored his second of the season on one of the strangest goals you’ll see. With the Knights on the power play late, and their net open, he cleared the puck off the boards from his own corner. However, it slowly curled down the ice, into their net. He said he was shocked.

“You probably get one of those in your career,” Walton said. “It was great. I rimmed it, I saw it go around and I went ‘go, go, go!’ I was just trying to get it out. When it starts curling, I’m thinking ‘oh come on, no way’, right? I’m like ‘let’s go, go!’ It went in and it was the loudest I’ve heard Morneau yell (laughs).”

He said games like this may not mean anything in the standings but the mental game is still important.

“The rivalry is alive and well,” he said. “We’re missing guys, they’re missing guys, but the rivalry is still good. You always want those bargaining chips at the end of the season. You say you beat them three times before you play them in a playoff series.”

Spitfires Need Prime Costanzo

The Spitfires defence was outstanding, allowing just 22 shots against a Knights team that leads the OHL in scoring (313 goals in 65 games now). However, while the defence was there, the goaltending had issues.

Veteran goaltender Joey Costanzo had been their rock until Christmas and was near the top of the league in many categories. However, he has since taken a bit of a dip including his current streak of seven-straight games where he allowed at least three goals per appearance.

Sunday was no different, allowing five goals on 22 shots. In the first period, after allowing just one goal, Walters made a statement by pulling the veteran for rookie Carter Froggett. While Costanzo initially refused, he finally accepted and had a conversation with the coach on the bench.

“It’s been an ongoing thing for us with four of maybe the last six games with first shots going in,” Walters said. “I said ‘Joey, you’re not meeting my expectation level.’ I told him I didn’t like (what happened). I said ‘if you’re ready to play, I’ll put you back in.’ He went back in and played a great game. He made some big saves for us early in the second for us to get on the roll. He’s so good, he’s our guy.”

It was a strange sequence but it shows that Walters isn’t messing around, even when the game means nothing in the standings. He wants his goaltenders playing their best and knows Costanzo can play with the best in the league. With two games left in the regular season, the club is hoping the veteran can find his old self to get this team to where it wants to be. The club is now off until Thursday when they welcome the Sarnia Sting to the WFCU Centre.