4 Takeaways From Spitfires’ 7-3 Win Over Spirit

Head coach Greg Walters said, against an elite team, this was a total team effort.

“I thought our whole team played one of the best games of the season,” he said. “We were physical, structured, worried about the little things … We’re a defence-first team and I challenged the guys today … Obviously it was a four-point game and they showed their best today.”

Protas Gets Into History Books

Not only was this an important win, but it was also historic. Protas’ 40th goal sets a new Spitfires’ single-season record for goals by an Import player. The previous high was 39 by German forward Tom Kuhnhackl in 2010-11.

The club’s 2024 Import pick from Belarus, third overall in last July’s Canadian Hockey League Import Draft, was a bit of an unknown coming into the season. While he’s a Capitals’ prospect, and his brother Aliaksei plays for them already, the Spitfires haven’t had great luck with offensive Imports in over a decade. Defensively, they’ve been great with players like Ruben Rafkin (Finland), Daniil Sobolev, and Mikhail Sergachev (Russia), but getting an OHL-ready talent up front was a challenge.

Fortunately, general manager Bill Bowler found Protas with the United States Hockey League’s Des Moines Buccaneers where he had 51 points in 61 games in 2023-24. The 6-foot-5, 200-pounder came over and has been gold ever since. His first goal on Sunday, to break the record, was a wrist shot in close. He rarely misses those. The second one was a shot glove side off a faceoff. He doesn’t need much room to work and has shown many times this season that he can get the job done in the tightest of spaces.

Protas is 18, turning 19 in the summer, and there’s a chance he could go to the Capitals’ American Hockey League team, the Hershey Bears, next season. If he comes back, though, he has a chance to become the first Spitfires’ Import player to score back-to-back 30-goal (or even 40-goal) seasons. It’s a target worth watching for if all goes well.

Abraham Comes Up Clutch

While a lot of the focus this season has been around Protas and captain Liam Greentree (Los Angeles Kings), the overage (20-year-old) forward Abraham has slipped under the radar. The 5-foot-8, 165-pounder came into the game with six points in his last two games, including a hat-trick on Saturday night against the Flint Firebirds.

It’s been a streaky season for the veteran as he entered this weekend with 18 goals and 48 points in 52 games. It put him on pace for fewer points than last season (66 points in 60 games). It’s not an easy pill to swallow, but the production is there. It’s just a matter of getting it out of him, and Sunday seemed to do the trick. He assisted on both of Protas’ goals and then scored a pair of his own. Walters said when the game is on the line, Abraham’s the competitor you want out there.

“Protas and Greentree have been doing it, but putting Abraham on that line, he’s such a competitor,” he said. “You saw him tonight. When the game is on the line, he shows up. He’s got 10 points in three games playing with those guys. Real proud of him.”

So what has been Abraham’s secret for the recent success? His answer was completely unexpected.

“I don’t know, I’ve been eating a lot of pancakes,” he said with a laugh. “Maybe that has something to do with it? I’m not quite sure … We played together a bit in the first quarter this season. I don’t think that chemistry ever went away.”

If pancakes are what it takes to get him back on the scoresheet consistently, it’s time to load the locker room and billets houses with as much as they can handle.

Spitfires Widen Divisional Gap

This game didn’t just mean two points. It was an opportunity for the Spitfires to build their lead, or for the Spirit to close the gap and keep some hope alive.

As we mentioned, the Spitfires had a 15-point lead coming into the game but the Spirit won eight-of-11, including winning their last two head-to-head matchups. A 17-point gap is much easier to look at for Walters’ team than a 13-point one, even with 11 games left. Fortunately, they got the effort they needed from start to finish.

Abraham has been with the Spitfires through a run to the 2021-22 OHL championship, a disappointing first round exit a season later, and then missing the playoffs last season. He said the more they can hold off the Spirit, the better it is for everyone in the room.

“Keeping that gap is huge,” he said. “Just from playing in the playoffs, that experience, being in the second-place spot would be huge for us.”

Defenceman Anthony Cristoforo didn’t see the long playoff run, but has seen the frustration from the last two seasons. He said that last season was a character builder and they’re keeping an eye on the magic number to clinch the division.

“We’ve had control from the start (this season) and we have the magic number to clinch it in the back of our heads,” he said. “We’re just trying to execute maybe a little more against them because those games are worth four points … Being here (last season) was tough, you learn a lot in a season like that. Just the full turn-around would be pretty special.”

The Spitfires now head east for their annual eastern swing, facing the Peterborough Petes on Thursday, the Kingston Frontenacs on Friday, and the Ottawa 67’s on Sunday.