Spitfires set for playoff journey that begins Thursday

Brett Hedges, like every Windsor Spitfires fan, has high hopes for their team's journey to the Memorial Cup.

After being one game away from winning the Ontario Hockey League championship in 2022, the super fan says this is the year. And he can't wait for the journey to begin tonight, when his beloved Spitfires host the Kitchener Rangers in Game 1 of the OHL Western Conference quarter-final at 7 p.m. at the Windsor Family Credit Union Centre.

"I think that overall, in general, this team could 100 per cent get back to the OHL finals," Hedges said. "The Windsor Spitfires are the best team in the OHL Western Conference. That's not up for debate. It's just whether or not they can put it all together during a playoff series, right."

Hedges said his prognostication comes after a roller coaster year for the resilient Spitfires.

"If you had asked me how I thought the team was going to do at the beginning of March, I thought that they maybe would make it to the second round, maybe the third best," Hedges said. "At that time, they had lost six of their past seven games. They were really dealing with a lot of injuries and illnesses on the team. But they have rattled off a fantastic month of March. They finished first in the Western Conference holding off two really good teams in London and Sarnia for that top spot."

And he said that's all because of the team's leadership, beginning with captain Matthew Maggio.

Last Season's Heartbreak is Motivation

Last season Maggio and his Spitfires watched on as the Hamilton Bulldogs celebrated the OHL championship after winning Game 7, which punched their ticket to the Memorial Cup.

With those images still fresh in the heads of the Spitfires, the 20-year-old captain and his teammates are set to take that next step.

"I don't think there's any goal less than winning," Maggio said. "We know that teams are coming at us to knock us out, being the No. 1 seed. Everyone wants to be the underdog and take us down. But we're ready for that. We are the No. 1 seed and we're going to show you why that is, so I think we're excited for that opportunity. And we're going to come in here every night and play our best."

The Spitfires come into the playoffs at the top of the Western Conference thanks to a 94 point season and record of 44 wins,18 losses, four overtime losses and two shootout losses

Though the Rangers are the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference, their 33-29-6-0 record and 72 points is nothing to take for granted.

"We know that they're super skilled and fast up front," Maggio said. "I mean, that's their strength is they have a lot of guys that can really make plays off the rush. And I think the big thing for us is just combating the physicality and really trying to be physical and make it a tough series."

Head coach Marc Savard agreed with his captain and said this series is going to be a tough one.

"There is no underdog," Savard said. "These guys (Rangers) are a good hockey team with some great players and we're gonna be ready right from Game 1.

A season of adversity

Despite earning that No. 1 seed in the west, the Spitfires have had to do it while being short staffed for much of the season, for a variety of reasons. Coach Savard said that has built the character of this 2022-23 edition of the Spitfires.

"We had a great start this year and we really had to push for what we wanted to achieve and that was first place," Savard said. "And with all the injury trouble we had this year and the way we played, I'm really proud of the guys. We got the job done, and now we roll on the playoffs with home ice."

Heading into the Western Conference quarter-final, the Spitfires will be without defenceman Roddy Dionicio, who is out for two games because of a suspension.

He received the two-game suspension after shooting the puck over the glass after the London Knights scored in Saturday's loss.

Defenceman Nicholas De Angelis still may not be available because of an upper body injury.

Overage defenceman Michael Renwick and rookie forward Liam Greentree are expected back for Thursday's game. Greentree missed six games after getting injured on March 11 against Kitchener.