Sometimes a win is more than just two points. The Windsor Spitfires made a statement on Sunday, picking up a big win at home against a heated conference rival.
With the 2025-2026 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) season just two weeks away from the playoffs, the Spitfires are competing for the West Division title and the Western Conference title. With seven games remaining, they entered Sunday’s game against the Kitchener Rangers two points behind the Flint Firebirds for the division (with two games in hand) and nine points behind the Rangers for the conference’s top seed. There was plenty at stake here, including the mental edge. Here are three takeaways from a busy Sunday at the WFCU Center.
The youth of Spitfires are stepping up
The Rangers came into the game having lost just once in regulation (and twice in overtime) since Monday, December 30 (26 games). That included two victories over the Spitfires. The home team had won three of four, but lost to the Firebirds 24 hours earlier, and Ethan Belchetz and Cole Davis were out with injuries. They also lost forward Jack Nesbitt (Philadelphia Flyers) to an illness before the game. This was going to be a test.
Fortunately, the youth of the Spitfires stepped up. Newcomer Caden Harvey scored his first of the evening midway through the first. The visitors responded on par after twenty minutes.
In the second, the teams each added one before Harvey brought home his second of the night. That’s all they needed. In the third, the Spitfires continued to apply the pressure, kept the pucks away from goaltender Joey Costanzo and, thanks to two empty-net goals from sophomore Ethan Garden, came away with a 5-2 victory.
Not only did the Spitfires get going early knowing it was a short lineup, but they also kept it going when forward Nathan Villeneuve (Seattle Kraken) was injured late in the second. Head coach Greg Walters was full of pride after the game.
“The will, the competition, that’s Spits hockey, man,” he said. “So proud of those kids… Garden, (Beksultan) Makysh and Harvey compete against each other (Rangers’ forward Sam) O’Reilly(Jack) Pridham and (Dylan) Edwards, and they do the work. It’s fun to coach.”
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Harvey’s two goals gave him 10 on the season. He is used to playing with Garden and Makysh and said that even though there was some pressure, they knew what to do.
“A little busy,” Harvey said. “Our line played well the entire game, so it was nothing new. Just keep doing what we’re doing… If you stick to your game, everything will be fine. You’re in the OHL for a reason.”
The Windsor #Spitfires got two goals from Caden Harvey and two more from Ethan Garden in a 5-2 win over the Kitchener #Rangers at the WFCU Center on Sunday. #OHL pic.twitter.com/fMyBXNPbpJ
— Dave Jewell (@DaveJewellOHL) March 9, 2026
Costanzo made 25 saves for the win. He said the kids have a swagger that has helped the club immensely in tougher times.
“They are doing a great job,” he said. “All they have is swagger. As they get older they’re going to develop, but to already have that sense of ‘we don’t care who’s not in the lineup, we’re going to play hard,’ I think that’s really critical for us.”
Costanzo reaches another milestone
The victory not only gave Costanzo and the Spitfires two important points, but it also gave the veteran goalkeeper another important milestone: his 100th win as a Spitfire.
JOEY MAKES HISTORY!!! Joey Costanzo is the first Spitfires goaltender ever to reach 100 wins with the club! What an amazing achievement, congratulations Joey!#windsorspitfires pic.twitter.com/1L0rRvAi2G
— Windsor Spitfires (@SpitsHockey) March 8, 2026
He is not one to take credit for a win and often passes it off to his teammates as team stats. He said it is humbling to be the first player in Spitfires history to achieve that goal.
“It’s definitely big and definitely humbling to be the first guy in team history to do that,” Costanzo said. “There have been a lot of great goalkeepers before me and I’ve had some good teams play for me. I’m really proud of it.”
With the season almost over, life is chaotic for the 20-year-old Toronto native. Has he had a chance to sit back and reflect on the performance so far? He said it had to go home before it sunk in.
“We had a few days off about a week ago, and it really started to work,” Costanzo said. “I was just chatting with some of my friends, and it took me a while to get home to relax a bit. Slow down the pace. Looking back, I’m so incredibly grateful.”
One stat that really stands out is that he is only the third goaltender in OHL history to reach 100 wins with the same club. Kyle Gajewski (Soo Greyhounds) And Devin Williams (Erie Otters) were the others. Costanzo said he’s not much of a statistics guy now, compared to his friends, but he’s proud to be part of the Spitfires organization.
“My friends back home are a little more statistics people than I am,” Costanzo said. “I try not to look at it. It got into my head when I was younger. It took someone else to let me know during my time off, which is really cool. I’m so proud to be part of this organization, the number one, and to do that is really special.”
In September 2022, general manager Bill Bowler got Costanzo of the Niagara IceDogs for a future fourth-round pick and a future 12th-round pick. It’s safe to say the business went well.
Spitfires deserve a mental edge
The win moved the Spitfires within two points of the Firebirds with a game in hand. It also gave the club a much-needed mental boost.
After winning four straight games last season to eliminate the Spitfires in Game 7 of their second-round playoff series, they had also defeated the Spitfires in all three meetings this season by a combined score of 13-4. A 5-2 victory, even with two empty goals, gives Walters’ club a nice boost of self-confidence. Costanzo said it shows they have a chance no matter who is in the lineup.
“It’s a very strong club, they’ve had our number here for a while,” he said. “To do this without a full lineup is an even bigger boost because we know that no matter who is in the lineup, we have a chance. That is of the utmost importance to us today.”
Last season in the playoffs, the Spitfires had that no fewer than eight regulars against the Rangers due to illness or injury. They used players like Garden for big minutes. Walters said this is another win that shows their mental game and character.
“Look at that list of guys that were out, and the guys joined in,” he said. “We’re used to it against them. We’ve had success, and we had it again. Great job, and hopefully we’ll see them in the playoffs and get some bodies back.”
The Spitfires are now off until Thursday when the Greyhounds come to the WFCU Center. It is the start of four matches in six days, three of which are at home.
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