Music: {allcanada} Windsor tops Saginaw in first OHL outdoor game

Sunday, December 29, 2013

{allcanada} Windsor tops Saginaw in first OHL outdoor game

Work Bitch - Single - Britney Spears

DETROIT -- Montreal Canadiens prospect Brady Vail and 2014 NHL Draft top prospect Josh Ho-Sang helped the Windsor Spitfires defeat the Saginaw Spirit in a wild 6-5 victory at Comerica Park on Sunday in the first outdoor regular-season game in Ontario Hockey League history.

Vail had assists on three straight Windsor goals, and Ho-Sang added two assists during a four-goal period as the Spitfires roared back from a two-goal deficit early in the second, but then needed a late shorthanded winner from Steven Janes after taking five consecutive penalties, including a pair of double-minors, in the final period.

The game was the first of an OHL doubleheader as part of the SiriusXM Hockeytown Winter Festival, a five-day showcase in Detroit as part of the lead-up to the Bridgestone 2014 NHL Winter Classic between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs on Jan. 1 at Michigan Stadium.

Saginaw grabbed a two-goal lead early in the second period but gave it away in a span of 33 seconds and the Spitfires kept rolling. Windsor forward Cristiano DiGiacinto collected a loose puck off a faceoff and snapped a shot into the top left corner at 5:21.

Defenseman Slater Koekkoek, a first-round pick in the 2012 NHL Draft (No. 10) by the Tampa Bay Lightning, switched places at the point with Vail and ripped a straightaway one-timer past Saginaw goaltender Nikita Serebryakov at 5:54 for a power-play goal.

Windsor added another extra-man tally at 9:31 of the second. Vail and Ho-Sang earned assists when Remy Giftopoylos banged in a goal from the top of the crease to push the Spitfires in front. Brody Milne made it a two-goal cushion and a four-goal period when Ho-Sang made a pretty play to hold off a defender and drop a pass to Milne with his back to goal for a shot in the slot at 11:56.

Saginaw scored twice on the power play in the third period during Windsor's string of penalties before Janes spun and flung a shot toward the net that beat Serebryakov at 14:37 of the third.

Vail was a fourth-round pick (No. 94) in the 2012 NHL Draft by the Montreal Canadiens. He now has 15 goals and 43 points in 36 games this season. Ho-Sang, an A-rated prospect by NHL Central Scouting for the upcoming draft, has 18 goals and a team-high 44 points for the Spitfires.

The Spirits' No. 1 goalie, Detroit Red Wings prospect Jake Paterson, is currently with Canada at the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship in Malmo, Sweden.

Work Bitch - Single - Britney Spears