The Soo Greyhounds offensive production had been struggling through much of the holiday break.
Without the likes of leading scorer Jeff Carter, who was attending the World Junior Hockey Championships, and Blair Jarrett, who was nursing a knee injury, the Greyhounds went through a string where they scored just nine goals in six games.
On Friday night, with Carter and Jarrett, among others, back in the lineup the Greyhounds matched their highest offensive output of the season by knocking off the Windsor Spitfires 7-3 in front of a sold out crowd of 3,928 fans at Memorial Gardens.
The Greyhounds opened up a 4-1 lead in the opening period and never looked back as they fought off a third period rally by the Spitfires and held on for the victory.
Reg Thomas opened the scoring for the Greyhounds knocking a loose puck past Spitfires goaltender Kyle Knechtel on the power play at 9:16.
Jordan Smith, who was playing his first game since having emergency surgery, gave the Hounds a two-goal advantage beating Knechtel with a shot from the top of the circle at the 13-minute mark.
Paul Giallonardo cut the lead in half for Windsor at 13:47 but Tyson Aitcheson notched his first goal in a Greyhounds uniform at 14:31 to restore the two goal lead.
Carter then notched his first goal of the evening while the Greyhounds were enjoying a two-man advantage late in the period. Carter beat Knechtel through a screen to send the game into the second period with the Hounds leading 4-1.
The Hounds added to their lead in the second period as Carter scored a highlight reel goal just 22 seconds in by cutting around the Windsor defencemen and in front of the goal before sliding the puck past Brad Topping, who entered the game at the start of the period in relief of Knechtel.
Thomas then picked up his second goal of the evening as he beat Topping at 11:11 to give the Hounds a 6-1 lead heading into the final period.
The third period saw the Spitfires attempt to claw their way back into the game. Ryan Garlock scored on the power play at 3:45 to make the score 6-2 before David Lomas again cut into the lead at 10:46.
That was all the offence Windsor could produce and Jacob King sealed the win for the Greyhounds scoring at 19:18 to make the final score 7-3.
The game was also the first game back for a number of players.
Prior to the game, Carter, defenceman Martin Tuma and goaltender Jakub Cech were all honoured for their roles in the World Junior Hockey Championships.
Carter won gold and tied a Team Canada record by notching his twelfth career World Junior goal which tied him with Eric Lindros for most career World Juniors goals for Team Canada. Tuma and Cech each won a bronze medal with the Czech Republic entry in the tournament.
Also honoured were Ryan McInerney, who played with Team Ontario, and Josh Day, who played with Team Atlantic. Both players suited up in the recent World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.
As for the game itself, Hounds coach Craig Hartsburg was pleased with the fact that his team is now back together but the sloppy play at times was a problem.
"It's just a completely different lineup (with the likes of Carter, Jarrett and Smith back in)," Hartsburg said. "(The players) get to play more of the role they're supposed to be playing. I thought tonight we were sloppy with the puck. We're going to have to be really sharp on Sunday (against Plymouth)."
Hartsburg was also pleased with the play of Carter and Smith, who were both named stars in the game.
"(Carter) was a horse tonight. He did some unbelievable things out there. If he comes focussed every night he's tough to play against for even the best of defencemen," Hartsburg said of his captain.
"(Smith) brings a lot of leadership and character," Hartsburg added. "I'm not sure we didn't miss him just as much as we missed Jeff Carter after Christmas."
Next action for the Hounds will be another important divisional match up as the Plymouth Whalers will take the ice against the Hounds on Sunday night at Memorial Gardens. Game time is 7 p.m.
*** AROUND THE O:
* Bobby Ryan scored twice and Derek Brochu chipped in with two assists as a short-staffed Owen Sound Attack defeated Guelph 4-2. Robin Big Snake scored the other two Owen Sound goals.
* John Adams scored twice, including the overtime winner as the Toronto St. Michael's Majors defeated the Kingston Frontenacs 5-4. Darryl Boyce chipped in with three assists in the win. Kingston goaltender Dayne Davis was strong despite the loss, stopping 46 shots. Bobby Hughes scored twice for Kingston.
* Michael Richards, who was the captain of the gold medal winning Canadian entry in the World Junior Championships, scored two goals and picked up two assists as Kitchener defeated Brampton 5-1. Evan McGrath chipped in with three assists in the victory.
* Ryan MacDonald stopped all 20 shots he faced and David Bolland scored just over six minutes into the third period as the London Knights defeated the Oshawa Generals 2-0.
* The Mississauga IceDogs scored four times in the third period en route to a 7-2 victory over the Barrie Colts. Patrick O'Sullivan paced the IceDogs offence with a goal and two assists.
* Danny Battochio stopped 35 shots and former Greyhound Jamie VanderVeeken scored the game winner in the second period as the Ottawa 67's defeated Erie 3-2. Mark Mancari had a pair of assists for Ottawa.
* A Jesse Gimblett goal with under two minutes left was the winner as the Saginaw Spirit earned a 3-2 victory over the Sarnia Sting. Jeff Weber stopped 38 shots in the Saginaw goal.
* Dan Collins scored 48 seconds into overtime to give the Plymouth Whalers a 3-2 victory over the Sudbury Wolves. James Neal had three assists in the victory.