’08 skaters spark Spits
A 12-2 shellacking by the Spitfires of the visiting Kitchener Rangers on Saturday showcased four of Windsor’s 2008 birth year freshmen from the 2024 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft who all figured in on the score sheet.
Power forward Ethan Belchetz sparked the Spitfire sizzle with four goals and two assists while fellow ’24 draft picks J.C. Lemieux, Carter Hicks and Ethan Garden all produced points. Lemieux had two goals, Hicks had a pair of helpers from his blue line position and Garden had a solo tally.
Belchetz was the first overall pick at the ’24 OHL draft, the Spitfires got both Lemieux and Hicks in the second round while Garden was a ninth round steal by Windsor general manager Billy Bowler.
Belchetz leads the Spitfires in scoring through three games with four goals, four assists, eight points while fellow forward Lemieux isn’t far behind with 2-3-5 totals.
Besides the youngsters, veteran forwards Owen Outwater and Noah Morneau also played huge hands in the big win over Kitchener. Outwater netted two goals and two assists while Morneau scored once and assisted on three others. Captain Liam Greentree and 2006 birth year rookie Nathan Gaymes rounded out the Windsor scoring while Joey Costanzo was kept busy despite the lopsided scored and made 34 saves.
Notably, 16 of the 18 skaters that the Spitfires dressed for the game had at least point.
The Spitfires now have five points from a record of 2-0-1 to start the ’24-25 season. Next action for the Spitfires is a Thursday, Oct. 3 home game when Windsor plays host to the Soo Greyhounds in a 7:05 p.m. start at the WFCU Center.