It’s why the Windsor Spitfires feel so good about now and the future.

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That’s why Windsor Spitfires feels so good now and in the future.

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Windsor’s Noah Morneau, Liam Greenree and Ilya Protas have dominated the first two games of the club’s first round playoff series. Mary Greyhound.

In Saturday’s second straight game, the trio beat Sault Ste 7-1, scoring four goals and 10 points. Mary Greyhound at WFCU Center.

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“I think we’re great,” Spitfires rookie forward Ethan Garden said of the team’s performance. “Everyone in the roster seems to be working hard.”

But in fact, Spitfires contributes far more than the top units, including three players in the 2024 OHL draft, with a bigger role as the club suffers some damage.

“They stepped up, that’s great,” Protas said of the young players.

Excessive defensive player Tnias Mathurin was nearly a month after being injured in an upper body, forcing 16-year-old Carter Hicks to be a second-round pick last year and often rotate.

The club also has no first pick Ethan Belchetz (lower body) and second-round pick JC Lemieux (top body), while Tanner Winegard (top body) has also turned from defense toward forward. This forced the club to beat seven defenders and 11 forwards along with third-round draft pick Andrew Robinson, who joined the team this month as a seventh-place defender.

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“If everyone is going, I think we can compete with anyone,” Garden said of his team.

Hicks jumped into a hurry, took the offense from Garden and led 2-0 to the goal to win the game in less than three minutes on Saturday’s game.

After Sault narrowed the gap to 2-1, the garden circled offensively and shot on the goalkeeper’s shoulders, giving Windsor a 3-1 lead, and the Spitfires would never relax from there.

“It’s not shocking for us, me or the players,” Spitfires head coach Greg Walters said of his young contribution. “You both practice every day and they care a lot about teammates and our structure. They both want to learn and get better. Ethan Garden Killing Penalty, he’s the second Power Game Unit, which is well deserved.”

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Garden was the Spitfires’ ninth round pick, playing alongside veterans AJ Spellacy and Cole Davis, scoring three points in the first two games of the series.

“You look at guys like 16-year-old Ethan Garden and Hicksy, who play like men,” Walters said.

The Greyhound tried to beat the Fierce Man in the first two games, but Windsor already matched Sault Ste. Mary strikes.

“Obviously, Sault has a game plan to hit us, and I think they’re going to be overdoing it, but our young people are in their face every time,” Walters said.

The five-foot-eight, 166-pound garden absorbs several of these hits, but has proven the club’s wake-up and attitude to fight.

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“It’s fun,” Garden said of playoff hockey. “It can be hard on the body, you will need more blows and you have less time (to play the game), but it’s fun.

“If you express trouble to you, they will continue to do it and catch you.

Windsor has a lot of offensive potential, with Morneau scoring three goals, Greentree and spelling scores one goal as Spitfires led 2-0 in the seventh best Western Conference quarterfinal series to enter Game 3 of Sault Ste. Mary Monday. Any additional support will only make the Fire stronger opponent in the playoffs.

“We all know we are good hockey players, but it’s great to produce the way we do,” Garden said. “We are all very happy for each other, so hopefully we can keep moving forward.”

jpparker@postmedia.com

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