Windsor Spitfires centre Daniel Beaudoin speaks to the media following the Spits' 7-6 overtime win over the Saginaw Spirit at the WFCU Centre in Windsor on December 17. (PHOTO/Mark Brown)Windsor Spitfires centre Daniel Beaudoin speaks to the media following the Spits' 7-6 overtime win over the Saginaw Spirit at the WFCU Centre in Windsor on December 17. (PHOTO/Mark Brown)
Chatham

Spitfires Get Wild Overtime Win

Brendan Lemieux again came through in the clutch to score the overtime winner as the Windsor Spitfires beat the Saginaw Spirit 7-6 at the WFCU Centre.

Lemieux's overtime winner, his second goal of the evening, capped a wild back-and-forth battle between the West Division leading Spits and a Spirit team that had come to Windsor having won five out its six previous games, including one against the Spitfires on November 27.

Lemieux says he was merely lucky that he was in a position to make the extra-period winner.

"I got some great passes," says  Lemieux.  "We struggled connecting on it in the past and we didn't tonight.  I was fortunate enough to put it in, but there were some good passes."

Six different Spitfires put the puck in the net, with Lemieux being the only multiple goal-scorer for Windsor.  14 different Spitfires had at least one point on the night while eight Saginaw players scored at least a point.

Saginaw had control of the entire first period, scoring the game's first two goals - the first on the power play from Artem Artemov at 3:54 into the opening stanza, the seond at 12:27 from Kirill Maksimov.  Each team also had one hooking penalty in the first period.

Saginaw took three penalties in the second period, and the Spitfires benefited with one of their two goals in the period, Bradley Latour's 11th goal of the season.  Daniel Beaudoin had scored earlier to put the Spits on the board.  Saginaw would regain the lead before the second intermission with Connor Brown's 12th of the year.

The scoring then exploded in the third period with seven between the two teams.  Windsor scored three times within a span of a minute and 27 seconds, with goals from Hayden McCool, Gabriel Vilardi and Lemieux.  Artemov's second goal of the night came on the power play at 5:09 into the period, but Aaron Luchuk would score for the 16th time on the year 45 seconds later.  Saginaw would then score two answered goals, from Mike Davies and Kris Bennett.

In the overtime period, play began with the customary three-on-three but at 1:49, Artemov was called for holding.  Windsor got the extra attacker for a four-on-three, set up in the Saginaw zone and Lemieux was able to find the opening for the winner.

The Spitfires will complete the home-and-away Saturday night at Saginaw before going on Christmas break.  The Spitfires play at home again on Monday, December 28 against the Sarnia Sting.

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