A comeback effort by the Windsor Spitfires fell short in their 6-5 loss to the Spirit Saturday night in Saginaw.
The Spirit now wrestle sole possession of third place in the OHL West Division from the Spitfires. Windsor is now fourth with 50 points.
Daniel D'Amico put Windsor on the board first at 10:50 in the first period with his seventh goal of the season. Just 61 seconds later though, Saginaw scored the first of three goals over a 23-second span. Cole Coskey tied the game for the Spirit, followed by the goal-ahead goal from Max Grondin nine seconds later, then Mason Kohn finding the net after that. Ryan Stepien added one for good measure to give the Spirit a 4-1 lead after one period.
The Spits fought back in the second period by scoring twice. Curtis Douglas and Jake Smith each put the puck in the net and cut the Saginaw lead to 4-3 after two frames of play.
Smith struck again at 6:06 in the third period, tying the score for Windsor. Jake Goldowski, however, scored back-to-back goals within the next two minutes for Saginaw, and those would be all the Spirit needed. Cedric Schiemenz scored his first goal of the year for the Spitfires, but they were unable to tie the game.
Michael DiPietro had 28 saves in goal for Windsor in the loss. Evan Cormier stopped 19 shots in net for Saginaw.
The Spitfires complete their mid-Michigan trip Sunday afternoon when they visit the Flint Firebirds.