Jan 06, 2014 | Justin Gauthier | 1057 views
London Recap #2
The Spitfires headed back up the highway for another Saturday afternoon matchup against the same London Knights that they defeated just before the Holiday break. And for the fans in attendance, this was one they didn’t want to miss!
From the drop of the puck the action was intense. Both teams trying to prove themselves as top contenders in the Western Division and as everyone knows, anytime you get Windsor and London on the same sheet of ice, things are going to be real!! The Spits had their legs moving early as they launched the offensive attack on the Knights but there was little to show for their efforts after 2 periods from either team.
As the Knights started to push back it was Phil DiMambro putting up the wall in net for Windsor. Phil was outstanding all afternoon against one of the most highly skilled offensive groups in the Alliance. Glove saves, poke checks and rebound control were all in play for the Windsor netminder on this day. Eventually the Knights were able to capitalize on a couple of chances and grabbed a 2 goal lead. Queue the comeback…….With only 2:30 left on the clock and London players in the box, the Spits pulled the goalie to make it a 6 on 3. With the pressure on it was Gavin Grundner banging home a rebound in front to cut the lead in half setting up a thrilling last minute and a half. With the Spits still on the powerplay and the goalie pulled the Spits were forced to start all the way back in their own end as Brendan Gouin picked up the puck behind his own net (side note…Brendan was using Matthew Mongeau’s stick after losing his 10 seconds earlier and Matthew very unselfishly giving up his own!) and skated up through 3 London defenders, cutting to his forehand and roofing a wrist shot past the London goaltender to tie the game with 20 seconds left! In the final 20 seconds it was the little ball of dynamite Ethan Olafson almost breaking loose for a breakaway before running out of gas. What a great complete team effort from all defense/forwards and goaltenders.
Sometimes a tie is as good as a win and this was one of those times! Tremendous resilience and a huge “never quit” attitude from all the boys was a great thing to see. Fantastic effort fellas!!
Next up….London again!