Spits blank Spirit to end calendar year

WINDSOR, Ont. — The Windsor Spitfires closed out the calendar year in emphatic fashion, blanking the Saginaw Spirit 6–0 in front of a sold-out crowd at the WFCU Centre on New Year’s Eve day. The victory moved Windsor into a temporary first place tie in the Western Conference with Flint with 52 points. The Firebirds beat the Soo 3-1 to regain the top spot later in the day.

Ethan Belchetz paced the attack with back-to-back goals, while Joey Costanzo was rock solid between the pipes, stopping all 24 shots he faced to record his league-leading fourth shutout of the season and 19th win overall.

“I thought everyone was good in front of me today,” said Costanzo. “Just trying to give the team a chance to win. Obviously we were good offensively today so glad we could get the win.”

Windsor opened the scoring late in the first period when Andrew Robinson found John McLaughlin streaking behind the Spirit defence. The rookie went low blocker giving the home team the early lead. The Spitfires doubled their advantage midway through the second as Belchetz struck for the first of his two goals, cashing in on the backhand following an Anthony Cristoforo opportunity.

Belchetz made it 3–0 early in the third with a highlight-reel effort that showcased his compete level and hockey sense. After Jack Nesbitt was waved out of the faceoff circle to the right of Saginaw goaltender Kaleb Papineau, Belchetz stepped in, won the draw, pounced on the loose puck and rifled home his 22nd goal of the season.

“Nezzy (Jack Nesbitt) gets kicked out. He wins the majority of the faceoffs he's taking,” Belchetz explained. “I kinda go in there, just trying to snap it back or kinda try to create a scrum and just not lose it cleanly. I see the puck sitting there in the slot and just thought throw it to the net and luckily it went in. I was pretty pumped.”

Nesbitt continued to make his presence felt later in the third, scoring a power-play goal at 7:45 and adding an assist to finish with a two-point night. Cole Davis added an empty-net marker at 16:00, and Caden Harvey capped the scoring less than two minutes later as Windsor pulled away.

The Spitfires’ complete team effort was reflected in the game’s three stars. Belchetz was named first star after scoring twice and posting a plus-2 rating. Costanzo earned second star honours for his flawless performance in goal, while Nesbitt took third star recognition with a goal, an assist and a plus-3 rating.

The Spitfires have come out of the break with two strong wins and hope to continue building on the momentum Friday in Niagara and Saturday in Erie.