Spirit Continue to Be a Thorn in the Side of the Spitfires
The Saginaw Spirit remain a persistent problem for the Windsor Spitfires. While Saginaw battles to stay in the Western Conference playoff race, its success against the conference-leading Spitfires has been a major factor. With Saturday’s 2–1 win at the Dow Event Center, the Spirit have now won three of four meetings with Windsor this season, including one via shootout.
Putting It Into Context
Windsor has dropped both of its road games in Saginaw, largely because of Spirit goaltender Stepan Shurygin.
“ Their goalie was the best player on the ice, and those things happen,” Spitfires head coach Greg Walters said.
Shurygin, who stands six-foot-five, stopped 31 of 32 shots on Saturday despite Windsor outshooting Saginaw 32–22. In the Nov. 1 matchup, he turned aside 40 shots while the Spitfires held a 43–28 advantage, once again being the difference-maker.
Windsor’s only goal on Saturday came with just over a minute left, when Carson Woodall hit the post and the puck ricocheted off Shurygin and trickled in. The Spitfires generated a few late chances to tie the game but couldn’t beat Shurygin a second time.
“When you only get one goal, you’re not going to win many games,” Walters noted.
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