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

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

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Windsor’s big line of Noah Morneau, Liam Greentree and Ilya Protas has dominated the first two games of the club’s first-round playoff series with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.

For the second game in a row on Saturday, the trio combined for four goals and 10 points in a 7-1 win over the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds at the WFCU Centre.

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“I think we were awesome,” Spitfires’ rookie forward Ethan Garden said of the team’s performance. “Everyone in the lineup seemed to be going hard, making plays.”

But in reality, the Spitfires have gotten big contributions from far more than the top unit and that includes a trio of players from the 2024 OHL Draft that are pitching in with bigger roles as the club battles some injuries.

“They stepped up and that was awesome,” Protas said of the young players.

Overage defenceman Tnias Mathurin has been sidelined nearly a month with an upper-body injury, which has forced 16-year-old Carter Hicks, who was a second-round pick last year, into a regular rotation on defence.

The club is also without first overall pick Ethan Belchetz (lower body) and second-round pick J.C. Lemieux (upper body) up front while Tanner Winegard (upper body), who has swung from defence to forward, is also out. That’s forced the club to play seven defencemen and 11 forwards with third-round pick Andrew Robinson, who only joined the team this month, suiting up as a seventh defenceman.

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“If everyone’s going, I think we can go up against anyone,” Garden said of his team.

Hicks jumped into the rush, took a feed from Garden and scored to give Windsor a 2-0 lead less than three minutes into Saturday’s game with what was the eventual game-winning goal.

After the Sault had closed the gap to 2-1, Garden circled in the offensive end and put a shot high over the goalie’s shoulder to give Windsor a 3-1 lead and the Spitfires never let up from there.

“It’s not shocking to us, to me or to the players,” Spitfires’ head coach Greg Walters said of the young contributions. “You watch both of them practice every single day, they care so much about their teammates and about our structure. They both just want to learn and get better. Ethan Garden killing penalties, he’s on the second power play unit, and it’s all deserved.”

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A ninth-round pick by the Spitfires, Garden has moved up to play on a line with veterans A.J. Spellacy and Cole Davis and has three points in the first two games of the series.

“You look at guys like Ethan Garden and Hicksy, 16-year-olds, and they play like men out there,” Walters said.

The Greyhounds have tried to outmuscle the Spitfires in the first two games, but Windsor has matched Sault Ste. Marie hit-for-hit.

“Obviously, the Sault’s has one game plan to hit us and, in my opinion, they’re going overboard, but our young guys are right there in their face every time,” Walters said.

 The five-foot-eight, 166-pound Garden has absorbed more than a few of those hits, but has been a testament to the club’s get up and battle on attitude.

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“It’s a lot of fun,” Garden said of playoff hockey. “It can be hard on the body, you’re going to take more hits and you have less time (to make plays), but it’s fun.

“If you show it bothers you, they’re going to keep doing it and coming at you. So, you have to get up, keep pushing through and let them know that nothing bothers you.”

Windsor has plenty of offensive potential with Morneau scoring three goals, Greentree and Spellacy scoring one as the Spitfires took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference quarter-final series heading into Game 3 in Sault Ste. Marie on Monday. Any additional support will only make the Spitfires that much more of a formidable opponent in the playoffs.

“We all know we’re good hockey players, but to be producing the way we have, it’s been great,” Garden said. “We’re all really happy for each other, so hopefully we can keep going.”

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