All posts by Randy Russon
Admirals lower the Flags
Amherstburg Admirals have sent the favoured Mooretown Flags packing for the season. The Admirals capped a first round, best of seven playoff upset in the West Stobbs Division of the Provincial Jr. Hockey League on Tuesday with a 5-4 home ice overtime victory over the Flags. …[read more]
Area PJHL teams advance
Essex 73’s and Lakeshore Canadiens have both moved on to the second round of the playoffs in the West Stobbs Division of the Provincial Jr. Hockey League. Meanwhile, the Amherstburg Admirals can also do so tonight with a win over the Mooretown Flags. …[read more]
Tecumseh off to final four
A record of 5-0-1 through their six round robin games in the opening round of the playoffs in the Under 15 rep level of the Bluewater Hockey League has the Tecumseh Eagles headed to a best of three semi final series. …[read more]
Mount B lights up Petrolia
A whopping 32 goals in five games — 29 of them coming in their four wins — was the overwhelming statistic as the Mount Brydges Bulldogs sidelined the Petrolia Flyers in the opening round of the playoffs within the West Yeck Division of the Provincial Jr. Hockey League. …[read more]
Spitfires send a message
It was three games in three days against three teams well above the .500 mark. And who knew to expect from a Windsor Spitfires team that was coming off back to back losses to fellow contenders in the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League? …[read more]
Local link to ’26 OHL Draft
Windsor and Essex County are well sketched by three Under 16 level AAA hockey teams. And there are a good selection of 2010 birth year players from among the troika of U16 area teams — Windsor Jr. Spitfires, BioSteel Sports Academy and Sun County Panthers — who have subdividing opportunities to have their names called at the 2026 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft, which will be held on June 12-13 in Kingston. …[read more]
Spits GM not panicking
The Spitfires have been sputtering of late and have surrendered their lead atop the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. But despite the fact that Windsor has fallen behind the Kitchener Rangers and Flint Firebirds in the Western Conference standings, Spitfires’ general manager Billy Bowler (in photo above) isn’t pushing the alarm button. …[read more]
Working OT in Mount B
Mount Brydges Bulldogs have opened up a two games to none lead on the Petrolia Flyers in the first round playoff series between the two rivals from the West Yeck Division of the Provincial Jr. Hockey League. The latest win for Mount B was a 6-5 overtime verdict before a partisan gathering of more than 250 fans at Tri Town Ice Arena. …[read more]
U16 Spitfires are tied up
It is now a best of three series between the sixth seed Windsor Jr. Spitfires and the third ranked Brantford 99ers in opening round playoff action within the Under 16 level of the Minor Hockey Alliance of Ontario. Each team took a tight 3-2 overtime road triumph from the opening two matches of the best of five set. …[read more]
Tecumseh takes two more
A pair of weekend wins has the Tecumseh Eagles of the Under 15 rep level Bluewater Hockey League with a record of 4-0 with two games to go in the first round of the round robin playoff format. …[read more]
Windsor’s Motor City Smitty
He played hard over 242 National Hockey League games as a fan favourite and fearsome forward who racked up 640 minutes in penalties while backing down from absolutely no one. He has since been an NHL scout since 1991, first with the Edmonton Oilers and, for the past 30 plus years, with the Colorado Avalanche. …[read more]
Bulldogs draw first blood
Mount Brydges Bulldogs are in position to use home ice to take a commanding lead on the Petrolia Flyers in their opening round Provincial Jr. Hockey League playoff series. …[read more]
Tough test for U16 Jr. Spits
A daunting task awaits the Under 16 Windsor Jr. Spitfires in the first round of playoffs in the Minor Hockey Alliance of Ontario. …[read more]
Mount Brydges v. Petrolia
It is playoff season in the Provincial Jr. Hockey League. And in one particular closely matched series from the Yeck Division it will be the Mount Brydges Bulldogs up against the Petrolia Flyers. …[read more]
Spitfires are hitting stride
They are starting to blend as a team that added three veteran players at the Ontario Hockey League trade deadline in order to keep pace with the other Western Conference contenders. …[read more]
AAA Jr. Spitfires coaches
Windsor Jr. Spitfires AAA program has named its head coaches ahead of the ’26-27 hockey season. They are as follows. …[read more]
’26-27 BioSteel coaches
Spits finally win in Saginaw
The Spitfires remain in second place overall in the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. A 4-2 road victory over the Saginaw Spirit on Saturday’s was Windsor’s first win at the Dow Event Center since February of 2023. …[read more]
Spits in a three team tussle
This is setting up as a race for first place that could go right down to the wire. With about five weeks to go on the regular season slate, there is a three-way tie for top spot in the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League between the Spitfires, the Kitchener Rangers and the Flint Firebirds. …[read more]
Tecumseh all over Lake Erie
Tecumseh Eagles made it two wins in a row to begin the playoffs in the Under 15 rep level Bluewater Hockey League with a 7-1 home ice win over the visiting Lake Erie North Stars on Wednesday. …[read more]
Spits in Western world war
There is no question that among the eight teams that will make the playoffs in the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League, five of them are not just good — they are very good. Which means that looking ahead, at least one of the Kitchener Rangers, Windsor Spitfires, Flint Firebirds, Soo Greyhounds or London Knights will definitely be eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. …[read more]
Mount B in a Yeck of a race
Mount Brydges Bulldogs are part of a five team fight for top positioning in the high octane West Yeck Division of the Provincial Jr. Hockey League. …[read more]
Tecumseh trims Belle River
First place Tecumseh Eagles soared like a top team as the puck dropped on the playoffs in the Under 15 rep level Bluewater Hockey League on Saturday. …[read more]
Spitfires in a three team tie
There is three way log jam atop the standings of the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League featuring the Windsor Spitfires, Kitchener Rangers and Flint Firebirds. …[read more]
Not bad for a 10th round pick
As it stands now, the Spitfires will not be getting high scoring defenseman Carson Woodall back as an overage player next season. That is because Woodall — a 10th round pick by Windsor at the 2022 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft — has received a Division 1, National Collegiate Athletic Association commitment to play at prestigious Boston College effective the ’26-27 season. …[read more]
Greentree part of big NHL deal
Spitfires captain Liam Greentree has had his National Hockey League rights dealt from the Los Angeles Kings to the New York Rangers. …[read more]
The legend of Billy Bowler
Nowadays, he is employed by the Windsor Spitfires as their well respected, no nonsense, vice president and general manager. But it was back at the 1991 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft that the legend of Billy (The Kid) Bowler was born en route to the lad becoming the leading scorer in the history of the OHL Spitfires. …[read more]
Winning weekend wrap up
Windsor Spitfires are back atop the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League … Windsor Jr. Spitfires of the Under 16 Minor Hockey Alliance of Ontario rallied for a third period comeback conquest of the Elgin Middlesex Canucks … Over to the Provincial Jr. Hockey League, Mount Brydges Bulldogs took three of four points from the Thamesford Trojans to retain second place in the West Yeck Division. …[read more]
Brantford Bulldogs in first
How close is the race for first place in the Ontario Hockey League? Only six points separate the top six teams among the 20 members of the OHL. …[read more]
Wild Western Conference
It is like playoff time, seven weeks early. Every outing means that much more in the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League where the Kitchener Rangers, Windsor Spitfires, Flint Firebirds and Soo Greyhounds are locked in a lusty lap for the top four levels.
Net worth of U16 Spitfires
Goalies Holten McPhedran and Ethan Dool have been a dependable duo while defending the crease for the Windsor Jr. Spitfires of the Under 16 level Minor Hockey Alliance of Ontario over the course of this season. …[read more]
Key games for U16 Spits
Two home games are on the slate this weekend for the Windsor Jr. Spitfires of the Under 16 level Minor Hockey Alliance of Ontario. …[read more]
Tecumseh nips Lake Erie
A tidy 3-1 road triumph on Tuesday in Harrow put the finishing touches on the regular season for the first place Tecumseh Eagles of the Under 15 rep level Bluewater Hockey League. …[read more]
Tecumseh takes top spot
A pair of weekend wins has stamped the seal on first place for the Tecumseh Eagles in the Under 15 rep level Bluewater Hockey League. …[read more]
Spitfires, Flint split a set
Home ice did not favour the Windsor Spitfires or Flint Firebirds as the Ontario Hockey League foes scored road victories over one another on the weekend. …[read more]
Spitfires & Flint for a pair
Tied atop the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League with 64 points apiece, the Windsor Spitfires and Flint Firebirds will face off tonight and Saturday. …[read more]
BioSteel U16 title triumph
Hall of Famer Mark Turner
He rose from the Junior B ranks with the Windsor Royals and Sarnia Bees to four years in the Ontario Hockey League as a productive forward with the Sudbury Wolves, Kingston Frontenacs, Windsor Spitfires and Soo Greyhounds before embarking on a lengthy minor pro journey that included stops with five different teams in the East Coast Hockey League. …[read more]
Spitfires, Flint in a seesaw
They have flip flopped between first and second place in the West Division of the Ontario Hockey League for much of this season. And the Windsor Spitfires and Flint Firebirds will go head to head twice this weekend. …[read more]
Winning weekend wrap up
Tecumseh Eagles returned home as under 15 rep level champs of the Oakville Winter Classic Hockey Tournament … Mount Brydges Bulldogs have taken over first place in the West Yeck Division of the Provincial Jr. Hockey League … Windsor Lancers have moved to within two points of top spot in the West Division of Ontario University Athletics. …[read more]
Son of an old Spitfire captain
He is poised to become a first or second round pick at this year’s 2026 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft. And while Colin Kennedy — a 2010 birth year forward who is in his second season as a productive two points per game skater with the famed Little Caesars program of Detroit — is a rising star in his own right, he also holds the bonus of having high end hockey bloodlines. …[read more]
Spitfires sweep the road
Windsor Spitfires have made it back to the top of the standings of the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League by virtue of successive road triumphs this weekend. …[read more]
Max Brocklehurst to LaSalle
He is well down on the Ontario Hockey League depth chart of the Windsor Spitfires behind a dozen forwards older than him. Thus, the Spitfires have assigned youngster Max Brocklehurst to the nearby LaSalle Vipers, who are Windsor’s Greater Ontario Hockey League affiliate team. …[read more]
Potent Brantford power play
Their offensive arsenal is lethal. Little wonder that the Brantford Bulldogs have the most potent power play among the 20 teams of the Ontario Hockey League. Clicking at 33.9 percent, Brantford is more than seven percentage points ahead of the Windsor Spitfires, who are second overall in the OHL with the man advantage and a 26.8 success rate. …[read more]
Spits hit a bit of a tailspin
The week did not end as well as it started for the Windsor Spitfires. After erasing the Erie Otters 9-1, the Spitfires salvaged a point from a 3-2 overtime road loss to the Saginaw Spirit before returning home to be cuffed 7-3 by the Brantford Bulldogs. …[read more]
Tecumseh lights up LaSalle
First place Tecumseh Eagles continued their winning ways atop the Under 15 Rep level Bluewater Hockey League tonight with a 7-0 white wash of the visiting LaSalle Sabres. …[read more]
Fab four OHL contenders
Now that the Ontario Hockey League trade deadline has passed — it was a frenzied, frantic process — the 2026 segment of the regular season schedule is in resumption with rosters set for the stretch run. And from among a host of contenders for this year’s OHL championship there are four teams that stand out more than the others, at least to us. …[read more]
U16 Spitfires are into 2026
High level head coach Matthew Zuccato of the Under 16 AAA Windsor Jr. Spitfires is planning ahead to the looming leg of the ’25-26 season with outlook and expectancy. …[read more]
Spits solidify seasoned D
Windsor Spitfires have further bolstered their veteran back end with the acquisition of 2006 birth year defenseman Jakub Fibigr from the Brampton Steelheads. Fibigr, who is in his third season in the Ontario Hockey League, has been obtained from Brampton for 2008 birth year defender Carter Hicks and three draft picks. …[read more]
Spits get a Sam Bennett
Seattle Kraken scout Mike Dawson is of the notion that the Windsor Spitfires acquired a Sam Bennett type of sandpaper forward in nabbing Nathan Villeneuve from the Sudbury Wolves. …[read more]
Bowler takes a big swing
Spitfires general manager Billy Bowler pulled the pin on his first major trade of the ’25-26 Ontario Hockey League season today in a mighty exchange with the lowly Sudbury Wolves. …[read more]
Spitfires inch past Flint
Windsor is back in customary territory atop the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. The Spitfires scored two more wins this weekend, giving them five successive victories and a share of first place with the Flint Firebirds while holding a game in hand. …[read more]
Highly ranked OHL GMs
There are reasons why — year in and year out — teams in the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League combine for much better win-loss records than those clubs that make up the Eastern Conference. …[read more]
Spitfires end 2025 on high
Windsor Spitfires will skate into the 2026 segment of this Ontario Hockey League regular season on a three game winning streak. …[read more]
He is on his way to Flint
Flint Firebirds have made a major addition to their Ontario Hockey League Western Conference title hopes by acquiring high scoring captain Kevin He from the Niagara IceDogs. …[read more]
Belchetz sparks Spitfires
The Spitfires came off the holiday break the same way they went into it. With a win. Ethan Belchetz banged in his 19th and 20th goals of the season and Windsor rang up a 4-1 road romp over the Flint Firebirds. …[read more]
Mount Brydges in the mix
Riding the crest of a four game winning streak the Mount Brydges Bulldogs will begin play in the 2026 portion of the Provincial Jr. Hockey League regular season calendar in victory mode. …[read more]
Firebird is fit for a King
Jimmy Lombardi has his Christmas present from the Los Angeles Kings. The Flint Firebirds forward, who is among the top 10 scorers in the Ontario Hockey League, has been signed to a National Hockey League entry level contract by Los Angeles. …[read more]
Western ways of the OHL
Saddle up. It is setting up to be a wild ride in the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League in the 2026 portion of this season’s schedule. No less than five teams are vying for any one of the top four spots — which means home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. …[read more]
Silver Sticks for Tecumseh
There is more to come from this nest of 2011 birth year performers. It is on to the next round of Silver Sticks tournament play for the Under 15 rep level Tecumseh Eagles of the Bluewater Hockey League. …[read more]
Spitfires break on a high
The Spitfires reached the 34 game mark — and halfway point of the ’25-26 regular season schedule in the Ontario Hockey League — with a decisive 6-2 home ice victory over the Soo Greyhounds tonight. …[read more]
Paul Gagne was a good one
He was playing juvenile hockey in his small, remote northeastern Ontario home town of Iroquois Falls when the head coach and general manager of the Windsor Spitfires happened to take note of his skills. And Wayne Maxner thought so much of Paul Gagne that the Spitfires coach and GM took the 5 foot 10, 180 pound forward with the ninth overall pick in the first round of the 1978 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft. …[read more]
Weekend wanderings
Tecumseh Eagles of the Under 15 rep level Bluewater Hockey League and Mount Brydges Bulldogs of the Provincial Jr. Hockey League both had a perfect weekend. Meanwhile, the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League wrapped up a three game road swing with a pair of narrow losses. …[read more]
Old days of Windsor Arena
To be sure, there will always be the “good old” Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League. Man, so many games and players watched at venerable Windsor Arena, the iconic old barn located at the corner of McDougall and Wyandotte streets in the downtown core.
Shtefan a top OHL prospect
Windsor product Roman Shtefan has been identified as one of the Top 80 prospects in the province well ahead of the June, 2026 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft. A 5 foot 8, 155 pound forward with a 2010 birth date, Shtefan is the leading scorer for the Windsor Under Jr. 16 Spitfires of the Minor Hockey Alliance of Ontario. …[read more]
What will the Spitfires do?
Will he or won’t he? Does Spitfires general manager Billy Bowler make a major move ahead of the looming January 10 Ontario Hockey League trade deadline or does he stay the course with what he has? …[read more]
New kid helps St. Mary’s
Third place St. Mary’s Lincolns skated into Chatham Memorial Arena on Sunday and left with a 5-4 win over the Maroons, who are in top spot in the Western Conference of the Greater Ontario Hockey League. …[read more]
Tecumseh wins and ties
A home and home set with the Kent Cobras produced a win and a tie for the Tecumseh Eagles this weekend in the hotly contested under 15 rep level Bluewater Hockey League. …[read more]
First star … Ty Dubreuil
Spitfires draft pick Ty Dubreuil had a game winning outing for the Sudbury Cubs of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League on Saturday night. …[read more]
Spits take down Knights
A road victory in one of the toughest places to play in the Ontario Hockey League was the 20th of the ’25-26 season for the Spitfires. …[read more]
U16 crosstown classic
It was an old school type of game complete with body checks that rattled the boards and open ice hits that were on the border line. And fittingly perhaps, Tuesday’s under 16 crosstown showdown between the Windsor Jr. Spitfires and Sun County Panthers at Central Park Athletics ended in a 1-1 draw. …[read more]
Firebirds are in overdrive
Who are these guys? Not appearing on many if any forecast lists as a high end contender ahead of the current ’25-26 Ontario Hockey League season — we projected them to finish fifth among the 10 teams of the Western Conference — the Flint Firebirds are nonetheless accelerating in the fast lane. …[read more]
Weekend wanderings
A selection of recent game activity relative to various teams in the Ontario Hockey League, Greater Ontario Hockey League, Ontario Jr. Hockey League and Provincial Jr. Hockey League: …[read more]