Based on the first 35 minutes, few people in the building could have predicted the final outcome.
It was the second game of back-to-back contests between the Soo Greyhounds and Windsor Spitfires at the GFL Memorial Gardens.
With the Greyhounds leading 2-1 and five minutes to go in the second period, the Spitfires scored four times before the period was over and ultimately picked up a 10-6 win over the Greyhounds.
For the Greyhounds, it was a learning experience for their young players after getting blanked by the Spitfires on Saturday night.
“Yesterday was compete, effort, decision-making (issues),” Greyhounds coach John Dean said. “Today were mistakes that (can be) corrected and have our guys learn from.”
Dean also chose to reflect on some of the positives in the game.
“As a team, we scrapped all 60 and find a way to get back into it, which was super impressive,” Dean said. “I talked to the guys yesterday about being a process-oriented team and how wins and losses are important, but how you win and lose is also important. Tonight, it’s tough not to be proud of the group of 20. We give ourselves a chance to come back and win a game that, for tough reasons, I thought we shouldn’t have been out of.”
Dean also called the game one in which “it seemed like every mistake we made went in the back of our net.”
For Spitfires coach Greg Walters, the way the Greyhounds started the game was tough on Windsor.
“They came out very hungry starting the game. They definitely outworked us,” Walters said.
Walters added that the Spitfires scoring a late goal in the final minute of the opening period and then proceeding to score four times in the final 4:24 of the second period “are gamebreakers.”
“Our talent came through,” Walters also said of the stretch.
“When (Windsor’s) third goal goes in (23 seconds later), there’s some details we missed on that and experienced teams get that puck in deep right after and go to work,” Dean said when asked if things tend to snowball for young teams when shorthanded. “I do think experienced teams get that puck in deep and go to work.”
Walters credited the Greyhounds for coming back and making the game close as well in the third period after the visitors had appeared to break the game open.
“Their team never quits,” Walters said. “Even when it got to 7-3, they kept coming and working and made it a game. We were fortunate to get some big goals from some of our big time guys.”
Walters added that the game was partially a case of the Spitfires finding a way to win despite not necessarily playing well.
“We talk about good teams finding a way to win when you’re not playing at your best and that was definitely the case tonight,” Walters said.
The Greyhounds opened the scoring as Jordan Charron got the puck from Carson Andrew and beat Windsor goaltender Jake Windbiel from the right circle at 13:12 of the opening period.
Windsor tied the game in the final minute of the period as Ryan Abraham beat Landon Miller from the left circle after the Sault goaltender stopped a shot from the right circle by Cole Davis initially.
Travis Hayes gave the Greyhounds a 2-1 lead at 9:37 of the second period as he took a breakaway pass from Keegan Gillen and beat Windbiel glove side.
Windsor tied the game again as Jean-Christophe Lemieux took a cross-ice pass from Liam Greentree and beat Miller high short side from the left circle at 15:36.
On the next shift, Davis gave Windsor the lead by converting a cross-ice pass in the right circle from Noah Morneau, beating Miller glove side on the play at 15:59.
Morneau then beat Miller from the slot after a pass by Jack Nesbitt was partially blocked and ended up on Morneau’s stick. The goal came with 1:30 to go in the period.
In the final seconds of the middle period, Laim Greentree made it a 5-2 game as he took a pass in the left circle from Ethan Garden and beat Miller.
Windsor extended the lead as Nesbitt beat Miller with a shot from the left win while much of the focus was on an altercation between Greentree and Hayes at the other end of the ice 3:05 into the third period.
Justin Cloutier made it 6-3 just 55 seconds later as he beat Windbiel with a shot from the right faceoff circle.
Windsor’s Ilya Protas continued the scoring barrage as he took a pass from A.J. Spellacy and beat Miller at 6:45 of the third to make it a 7-3 game.
The Greyhounds pulled back to within three at 7:48 as a shot from the high slot by Owen Allard beat Windbiel after getting deflected by Marco Mignosa.
The home team pulled to within two at 8:26 as Hunter Solomon beat Windbiel with a shot from the top of the right faceoff circle and then made it a one-goal game as Allard beat Windbiel through traffic with a shot from the high slot at 14:45.
Greentree added on to the Spitfires lead at 17:40 as he took a pass from Conor Walton and beat Miller stick side to make it an 8-6 game.
Windsor added a pair of late goals to cap off the scoring as Davis grabbed a Greyhounds turnover as Miller was coming out for an extra attacker and scored as the Sault netminder tried to scramble back into the goal with 2:02 to go and potted his third of the night in the final minute of action.
Allard and Cloutier had a goal and an assist each for the Greyhounds in the loss while Andrew, Chase Reid, and Erik Muxlow assisted on two goals each.
Miller stopped 20 shots for the Greyhounds.
Davis finished the day with four points (three goals and an assist) for Windsor.
Greentree had two goals and an assist for the Spitfires while Protas also had a three-point day with a goal and two assists.
Nesbitt, Abraham, and Morneau had a goal and an assist each.
Ethan Garden assisted on a pair of Windsor goals.
Windbiel stopped 32 shots.
The Greyhounds now have some time off before returning to action at home on Friday night when they host the Peterborough Petes.
The Greyhounds will take a 15-20-0-0 record into that game.
With the win, Windsor improves to 25-7-2-1 on the season,
Rookie forward Ethan Belchetz missed Sunday’s game after receiving a major penalty for checking to the head in Saturday night’s contest.
In the opening minute of the third period, Belchetz hit Greyhounds defenceman Spencer Evans along the end boards in the Sault zone. Evans was injured on the play and missed Sunday’s game.
For Evans, it was his first game back after sitting out a month due to a previous injury.
Dean said the blueliner is out day-to-day at this point.
Brady Martin missed his third consecutive game for the Greyhounds on Sunday due to an injury and remains out.
Christopher Brown also remains out due to injury.
Initially injured on Nov. 8 in Kitchener, Brown sat out four games before returning to the lineup on Nov. 21 against Niagara. The veteran forward was reinjured and has been out since, a stretch of 12 games.
Brown skated on his own prior to Sunday’s game.