An aggressive third-period effort by the Windsor Spitfires fell short Saturday afternoon.
The Spitfires outshot the defending OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs 13-2 in the final period, but they were unable to overcome a two-period bump, losing in Hamilton 3-2. Windsor remains in third place in the OHL West Division, tied with the Sarnia Sting with 28 points.
Cole Purboo only needed 20 seconds to put Windsor on the board first, with his 11th goal of the season. Hamilton tied things up over four minutes later with a score by Navrin Mutter. The Bulldogs outshot the Spits 11-7 in the opening 20 minutes of the game.
Hamilton extended their game lead to 3-1 after the second period thanks to a pair of goals by Mackenzie Entwistle, both on the power play.
Despite the Spitfires knuckling down on their offence and rebounding in the third period, it resulted only in one goal scored, by Curtis Douglas just before the halfway point of the frame. Hamilton had a chance to add even more to their total, but missed several empty-net opportunities.
Michael DiPietro faced 23 shots in goal for Windsor, stopping 20. Nick Donofrio had 23 saves for Hamilton.
The Spitfires conclude their weekend road trip Sunday afternoon when they visit the Oshawa Generals.