Windsor Spitfires
| Windsor Spitfires | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| City | Windsor, Ontario |
| League | Ontario Hockey League |
| Conference | Western |
| Division | West |
| Founded | 1971–72 (Tier II Junior A) 1975–76 (Tier I Junior A) |
| Home arena | WFCU Centre |
| Colours | Blue, White, Red |
| Owner(s) | Bob Boughner |
| General manager | Warren Rychel |
| Head coach | Rocky Thompson |
| Affiliate(s) | LaSalle Vipers (GOJHL) |
| Website | http://www.windsorspitfires.com |
The Windsor Spitfires are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The team is based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1971, the franchise was promoted to the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for the 1975–76 season. An unrelated OHA Jr. A Spitfires team, founded in 1946, moved to become the Hamilton Tiger Cubs in 1953 and went through other iterations/moves to become the present OHL Erie Otters in 1996.
The Original Spitfires in the Ontario Hockey Association played hockey from 1945 to 1953. During this period the Spitfires reached the league finals twice, and featured four future Hockey Hall of Fame players. Prior to 1945 local junior hockey was divided up into the 6-team Windsor Junior Hockey League. The folding of the Spitfires occurred in 1953 as hockey interests in Windsor chose to focus their attention on the OHA Senior A Hockey League. This resulted in the founding of the Windsor Bulldogs. Eventually five former Spitfires laced up with the Bulldogs and one, Bobby Brown, won an Allan Cup with the team (1963). The Bulldogs folded in 1964 after one season in the International Hockey League.
The modern Windsor Spitfires started as a Tier II Junior A team which played in the Southern Ontario Junior A Hockey League from 1971–1975. The Spitfires first game as a franchise was in Guelph, Ontario against the Guelph CMC's on October 1, 1971. The Spitfires lost the game 11-3, with Laurie Gregan scoring the first two goals in team history in the first period. Fifteen-year-old goaltender Larry Verlinde played the entire first game in team history, making 37 saves in the loss. The home game and first victory in team history occurred on October 7, 1971 at the Windsor Arena against the Chatham Maroons. The Spitfires would win 4-2 on the back of future NHLer Eddie Mio who made 49 saves for the victory. Dean Sheremeta scored what would be the winning goal.
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