Windsor rays don’t relax the gas pedal. They won the third opening season game and took care of Sudbury Wolves at home Thursday night.
The start of the 2025-26 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) season is Spitfires’ speculation. They had a lot of players at the NHL camp when they won the West last season. This allows their young players, as well as some people of depth, to play different roles. They just wanted to continue the urgency on Thursday since the two compelling victories began. These are the three gains of the game.
Spitfires’ defensive game gold
Entering Thursday, Spitfires’ 12 goals were impressive, with only two goals. Now it’s early, it’s based on last season, and in 68 games they scored 309 goals in the third best in OHL, while allowing 218 goals in the sixth place.
This is a defensive battle. Spitfires veteran Nathan Gaymes scored his only goal in the first place, while the home team shot 9-8. It was a hasty start, but the team passed. Although the second goal didn’t score anything, mainly due to the acrobatic savings from Wolves goalkeeper Finn Marshall, the Spitfires improved the offense after 40 with a decisive 21-12 advantage.
This is the third stage of the deal. Rookie forward John McLaughlin scored the first two goals, while rookie guard Jonathan Brown added his first game, so the Fierce keeps hitting the gas. Defensively, Spitfires allowed goalkeeper Joey Costanzo to make only five shots and left with a 4-0 hit. The final shot was 36-17 at home.
After the game, Spitfires head coach Greg Walters said it was a slow start and a rebound could change. However, they insist on planning and execution.
“Their goalkeeper was doing very well, and he made some huge saves,” Walters said. “A lucky bounce, they got back to the game. We just kept calm… Our youngster McLaughlin (Caden) Harvey (Two assists), Gaymes; our secondary score was big for us. It was a commendable for these kids. In the first 10 minutes, I think our execution time was.
This is the first time Costanzo has closed this season. He said that this kind of closed door piece belongs not only to him, but also to his excellent defense.
“In a game like this, you give up only 20 photos and that’s what the team gets,” Costanzo said. “These guys are great in front of me, especially the defense… I want to say that this is probably the best defensive core I have ever had since I joined the league… They did a great job in front of me and only when I was asked to do the good for them was fair. It’s my goal. Sometimes (shooting) (shooting) is rare, but I want to be there, I want to be there.”
McLaughlin and Brown make history
While Spitfires’ defensive game is impeccable, there are some bright lights on the offense. Entering the game, Spitfires has multiple rookies with at least one point. Last weekend, they saw forward Beksultan Makysh score his first three goals. On Thursday night, McLaughlin and Brown were temporarily on their turn.
In the third phase, McLaughlin got a beautiful pass from defensive Carson Woodall, shot, found his own rebound and beat Marshall’s first goal. The young man missed most of the season after his knee surgery, the moment he dreamed of.
“It feels great,” McLaughlin said. “All the boys were really happy… Just a great pass from Woodall, who played that and stuck with it. I didn’t really want the rebound to come back, and when I saw it, I was so excited…(the surgery) was a lot of adversity, but a lot of people were around me, but I really depended on me. I kept thinking about this moment of the year. It was really cool stuff.
Windsor #spitfires F John McLaughlin and D Jonathan Brown scored their first scores respectively #ohl A goal was scored at the WFCU Center Thursday night. pic.twitter.com/axtwsjite8
– Dave Jewell (@DaveJewellohl) September 26, 2025
Brown later scored a goal, he slipped from point and beat Marshall almost broke in. It happened so quickly that it was not known whether this was the target. Referee Ryan Hutchison stressed pointing to the goal as defender Conor Walton grabbed Brown’s puck. Last season, he scored four goals in the preparatory match at Shattuck St. Mary’s 18U in Minnesota.
Spitfires Youth Utilization Experience
Spitfires has the potential to be an experienced team that will make it to the playoffs this season. But while they took back most of the older players from the NHL training camp, they were missing Captain Liam Greentree (Los Angeles Kings), AJ Spellacy (Chicago Blackhawks) and Jack Nesbitt (Philadelphia Flyer).
Related: Flyer Jack Nesbitt ranked 12th overall
As a result, the Spitfires youth and secondary scorers have stood up and Thursday is no different. The rookies achieved three goals and seven assists together. Plus sophomore Ethan Belchetz and JC Lemieux got assists, while Gaymes scored a goal and now scored the club’s demand. Walters said it was honored by general manager Bill Bowler, former scout Frank Evola, player personnel Mark Seidel and other employees.
“We’re lucky here,” he said. “Brown has always been our man, a new guy. Harvey, McLaughlin (Max) Brocklehurst is really good to us. The list goes on and we’re lucky to be here.”
Walters added that last season’s playoff injury roster meant young players had a chance to step up their efforts at the time, and the experience is now paying off.
It is not clear when Spellacy, Greentree or Nesbitt will return OHL. For now, Spitfires is reaching out, and there are no problems in the process. They are now 3-0, leading their opponents 16-2, just hoping to continue riding this momentum. They have little time to celebrate, though, as they face the very tough Barry Colts on Saturday and are always naughty General Oshawa on Sunday.
