All posts by Randy Russon
OHL playoffs underway
Windsor Spitfires and Flint Firebirds both began the 2026 Ontario Hockey League playoffs with home ice victories on Thursday. …[read more]
Spitfires await the Storm
A pair of first round National Hockey League draft picks are among those who the Windsor Spitfires are counting on to continue their high performance play when the Ontario Hockey League playoffs begin. …[read more]
3rd period sinks LaSalle
LaSalle Vipers were less than a full period from forcing a seventh and deciding game in their opening round Greater Ontario Hockey League playoff series with the heavily favoured Elmira Sugar Kings. …[read more]
Flint in position to Attack
They are fired up from an Ontario Hockey League regular season in which they fashioned a franchise record for most wins with 44. And now the no. 3 seed Flint Firebirds are fuelled for playoff warfare in a first round Western Conference matchup against the no. 6 seed Owen Sound Attack. …[read more]
OHL playoff matchups
Now we know who will play who in the first round of the upcoming Ontario Hockey League playoffs, which are slated to begin this week. Following is our collection of quick hits as to what to possibly expect from the matchups. …[read more]
LaSalle Vipers get even
It is now down to a best of three series between the upstart LaSalle Vipers and the Elmira Sugars Kings in the first round of the Greater Ontario Hockey League’s Western Conference playoffs. …[read more]
ONE NIGHT IN WINDSOR
EDITOR’S NOTE: The following passage is an excerpt from a chapter in the first book that I wrote, Tales Of An Old Hockey Writer. (Mature audiences only.) …[read more]
LaSalle whitewashes Elmira
Jake Windbiel made 32 saves and the LaSalle Vipers got into the win column in their opening round playoff series with the Elmira Sugar Kings before a partisan crowd of close to 800 fans tonight at the Vollmer Center. …[read more]
Mount B v. North Middlesex
Mount Brydges Bulldogs will meet their Highway 81 rival North Middlesex Stars in a best of seven series for the Provincial Jr. Hockey League’s West Yeck Division playoff title. …[read more]
Spits & Firebirds in a race
One point is all that separates the Windsor Spitfires and Flint Firebirds with both teams having two games left to play on the Ontario Hockey League regular season schedule. …[read more]
Epic comeback in Mount B
A goal by Dominic DiFrancesco at the 4:56 mark of overtime put the finish on a frantic Monday night comeback for the Mount Brydges Bulldogs and a furious four games to two playoff series verdict over the Exeter Hawks. …[read more]
Elmira up two on LaSalle
An inability to score has the no. 7 seed LaSalle Vipers down two games to none to the no. 2 seed Elmira Sugar Kings in their opening round playoff series. …[read more]
Spitfires light up Knights
Facing the London Knights minus injured forwards Ethan Belchetz, A.J. Spellacy, Nathan Villeneuve and Cole Davis did nothing to halt the Windsor Spitfires before a Sunday matinee match of more than 6,100 fans at the WFCU Centre. …[read more]
Essex ousts Amherstburg
Essex 73’s are headed to the third round of the Provincial Jr. Hockey League playoffs. Three straight wins by Essex gave the 73’s a four games to one series triumph over the upstart Amherstburg Admirals. …[read more]
LaSalle Vipers face Elmira
LaSalle Vipers will be in tough against the Elmira Sugar Kings in the first round of the upcoming Greater Ontario Hockey League Western Conference playoffs. …[read more]
Tecumseh takes BHL title
Regular season champs. Playoff champs. Two for the price of one. Tecumseh Eagles completed a two game best of three take down of the Kent Cobras tonight with a spine-tingling shootout win to lay claim to the Under 15 rep level Bluewater Hockey League title. …[read more]
OHL Spits add a rookie D
Jesse Debruyn is joining the Spitfires from the Komoka Kings of the Greater Ontario Hockey League, Hockey News Windsor has confirmed. …[read more]
Chatting it up for Chatham
Reigning Greater Ontario Hockey League champion Chatham Maroons will plan their 2026 playoff path as the no. 1 seed in the Western Conference and a first round showdown with the eighth place St. Thomas Stars. …[read more]
U15 Tecumseh cuffs Kent
Hard working forward Carter Pluss planted a pair of pucks and the Tecumseh Eagles clipped the Kent Cobras 4-1 tonight in the opening game of the championship series in the Under 15 rep level Bluewater Hockey League. …[read more]
Down on the farm in LaSalle
A plentiful presence of plum prospects via the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League are in position to be prominent performers for the nearby LaSalle Vipers in their opening round, Greater Ontario Hockey League playoff series against the powerhouse Elmira Sugar Kings. …[read more]
This is 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. Brad Smith 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]
Spits shoot down Rangers
A lengthy losing skid against the Kitchener Rangers — dating back to the second round of last spring’s playoffs — is finally over for the Windsor Spitfires. …[read more]
Tecumseh takes out Talbot
Regular season champion Tecumseh Eagles are off to the finals in the Under 15 rep level Bluewater Hockey League. …[read more]
Mount Brydges v. Exeter
It won’t be a typical no.1 seed v. no. 5 seed matchup when the Exeter Hawks meet the Mount Brydges Bulldogs in the second round of the Provincial Jr. Hockey League’s West Yeck Division playoffs. …[read more]
Belchetz breaks clavicle
A significant injury to star forward Ethan Belchetz looms as a major blow to the Ontario Hockey League championship aspirations of the Windsor Spitfires. …[read more]
Tecumseh takes it in OT
A dramatic goal by Seb Lehoux 19 seconds into overtime capped a frantic comeback for the Tecumseh Eagles in the opening game of their second round Under 15 rep level Bluewater Hockey League playoff game tonight against the visiting Talbot Trailblazers. …[read more]
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]
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]