They were bruised, but the second seed Windsor Struggle continues to move forward. A exhausted roster found a way to beat the seventh-seeded Soo Greyhounds in Game 5 Friday, winning the first-round playoff series in the 2024-25 Ontario Hockey League (OHL).
Entering the series, Spitfires knows it will be a battle. Weak greyhounds are tough, physical and eager to prove that they can hang with their competitors. Both clubs have been playing teeth and nails throughout the season, and this series is no different. After Sault Ste separated the 3rd and 4th game. Marie, the club returns to the WFCU Center in Windsor, improving three games to one at home. This is a hype. These are three gains.
Special teams lead special games
In Games 1 and 2, Spitfires outscored the Greyhounds with a 14-3 score, showing the dynamic offense and strong defense we’ve seen throughout the season. However, games 3 and 4 show the toughness of the Greyhounds, defensively, which is expected. Unfortunately, for tourists, this trend has not continued.
Although the Greyhound disengaged Spitfires from the board in the early days, this did not last. Forward Jack Nesbitt opened the scoring halfway through the first. Then, the visitors encountered fines, including multiple majors, and the home team went to work. Captain Liam Greentree (Los Angeles Kings) and Ryan Abraham both led 3-0. When Carson Andrew scored 3-1 with a score of 3-1, Greentree and Ilya Protas (Washington Capital) added more in terms of human advantages. Noah Morneau is home another while Brady Martin scores for visitors in the power play, with 0.1 second left after 20 and a 6-2 lead after 20.
The Greyhounds added two more, including another powerful goal from Martin. However, in the second game of Abraham’s second game, Greentree’s third inning was once again in the empty net, again with a Spitfires final in the power game. This puts the series on a 4-1 title. After the game, Spitfires head coach Greg Walters said they wanted to end this at home.
“We want to end it,” he said. “(Greyhound head coach) John Dean is one of my best friends and we know what the trend is for everyone. It just comes down to who wants more, the death penalty. Injured and lost a lot of people, we are led by the best players. We’re so happy to be with them.”
A few shots from Windsor #spitfires‘Win SOO 8-4 on Friday #greyhounds In Game 5 of the first round series. It won the 4-1 series title. #ohl pic.twitter.com/slrf4dwn9l
– Dave Jewell (@DaveJewellohl) April 5, 2025
This is a special team game; out of 12 goals, 9 scored against the special team. The Spitfires scored an astonishing 6-for-6 in the power play, their highest of the season. Their previous highs were 7-4 against Ottawa 67 on Saturday, November 23. After the game, Walters said assistant coach Casey Torres and his best players were their best players.
“Torres did a great job with our guys, breaking the penalty kills on another team,” he said. “At the end of the day, it made our job easier when you can put Protas, Morneau, Greentree, Nesbitt, Anthony) Cristoforo and (Carson) Woodall on the board. Be proud of these kids.”
Greyhound has not exited
While Greyhounds can’t find a solution to Spitfires’ attack on talent, they have a lot to be proud of. It was a team that got together later this season, showing a huge heart and determination throughout the series and not resigning when things got tough.
When you lose 1 and 2 games with a 14-3 overall, it will be easy to enjoy going home and enjoying 3 and 4 games regardless of the result. Instead, they showed Spitfires that it wasn’t an easy four-game victory.
This continues on Friday. They scored some goals and frustration made them better, thus giving Spitfires a long game chance to play. However, they reorganized at halftime and played a strong 40 minutes. They gave home court, which was everything both teams needed. For Walters’Club, it’s a realization that you can’t sit down no matter the lead. For Greyhounds, this means you can never quit. They did a game until late in the third phase.
The Greyhound is a team that has been difficult to face throughout the season. With players like Martin, Justin Clothier, Travis Hayes and Chase Reed, there is a lot of optimism about the future. They gave Spitfires throughout the series, and Friday was no exception. Despite the losses, formally, this is what they can build for the future.
Related: Brady Martin: 2025 NHL Draft Profile
After the game, Greentree said the Greyhounds would not resign and he also paid tribute to the fans.
“We know them, we know they’ll work hard without giving up,” he said. “We gave them a good one the first one, but slowed down the pace the second time. I think we’re a little comfortable. We got it back in the third inning and the fans played a big role in it. They’re really big, which makes it easier to put out this fire.”
Spitfires needs rest and recovery
Every team is injured or suspended, and it’s the life of Spitfires since Christmas. From early March defensive Tnias Mathurin to rookie forward Ethan Belchetz was eliminated in the final game of the season, plus a few other games, it was a tough game for the club. The series has just been added, including Friday night.
Earlier in the series, they put veteran forward AJ Spellacy (Chicago Blackhawks) in a loss of upper body injury, but he has not returned yet. They also lost Cristoforo, but he returned with rookie forward Jean-Christoph Lemieux, who has not played since early March.
It was a whirlwind, and the scratches forced the club to call up several players. The injury list grew and did not return when Woodall left the game with an upper body injury on Friday. Fortunately, everyone strengthened when they needed it most.
Now, a few days before the next series begins, everyone can take a breath and recover. Walters said they are taking advantage of it.
“Of course, they’ll (take a few days of rest)” he said. “Their (players)’s job is simple, they’re just going to play (laughs). We (coaches) have to watch the game over and over and over and break up. We give these guys a few days of rest and they deserve it.”
This is Spitfires’ first playoff series since defeating the Flint Firebirds in the 2021-22 Western Conference Finals. Now, they are the first time since the Rangers to go along with the third-seed Kitchener Rangers. We’ll preview the next series soon!
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