Spitfires Revive the Tombstone, Firebirds Write the Epitaph

Retro night brought back a familiar look at the WFCU Centre Friday, as the Windsor Spitfires revived their classic tombstone logo and throwback shirts. But instead of rising from the past, the home side found itself buried by another Western Conference contender.

Two days after a loss to Kitchener, the Spits dropped a 4-2 decision to the Flint Firebirds, who took over the top spot in the West Division and solidified their #1 seeding the conference standings.

Flint goaltender Mason Vaccari was the story, turning aside 28 shots — many of them grade-A chances — to earn his league-leading 25th win and first star of the game.

Flint struck first when Ihnat Pazii opened the scoring early in the first period, finishing a setup from Alex Kostov and Christopher Thibodeau.

Anthony Cristoforo tallied late in the first with his 14th of the season to tie the game and Ethan Belchetz notched his team-high 29th goal on the powerplay late in the second to give Windsor a 2-1 lead heading into the final frame.

Kostov put the team's on even ground midway through the third and then scored a shorthanded goal at 18:29 to give the visitors a lead they would hold on to. Darian Anderson added an empty-net insurance goal seconds later to close the scoring.

Windsor travels to Flint looking to salvage the weekend Saturday night at the Dort Financial Centre.