2008–09 Windsor Spitfires season

The Windsor Spitfires finished the 2008–09 season with 57 wins, 10 losses, and 1 shootout loss. This marked their best season in franchise history. With the first overall record in the Ontario Hockey League the Spitfires were awarded the Hamilton Spectator Trophy. The Spitfires also played their final games in the Windsor Arena.

The Spitfires were undefeated at home in the Old Barn during the 2008–09 season. Mid-season they moved to the WFCU Centre. The Spitfires and their new arena played host to the 2009 All-Star Game. On May 12, Goalie Andrew Engelage broke the OHL record for most wins by a goaltender in a single season with 46 with a 5-1 win over the Plymouth Whalers.

Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses: OTL = Overtime losses; SL = Shootout losses; GA = Goals allowed; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Playoffs
In the first round of the playoffs, the Spitfires defeated the Owen Sound Attack, taking the series in four games. In the next round, the club played the Plymouth Whalers. After trading off road wins, then trading off home wins, Windsor took Games 5 and 6 to clinch the series. In the Western Conference final, Windsor played the London Knights. Led by John Tavares, every game in the series went to overtime, but the Spitfires were victorious and won the series 4-games-to-1 to earn a berth to the OHL Final and take the Wayne Gretzky Trophy as Conference champions.

The OHL Final began with a 10-1 victory for the Spitfires over the Eastern Conference's Brampton Battalion. The Battalion fought back in Game 3, winning 4-2. Game 4 belonged to the Spitfires as they took a 4-1 win and a 3-1 series lead. In Game 5, Windsor took a 1-0 lead midway through the second period on the power play. Brampton tied the game up late in the third period to force overtime. At 2:09 of the first overtime period, Taylor Hall scored on the power play to win the Spitfires their second J. Ross Robertson Cup as league champions and a berth into the 2009 Memorial Cup. The victory was the Spitfires' first league title since the 1987–88 OHL season and marked their second time playing for the Memorial Cup. On May 9, Mayor of Windsor Eddie Francis awarded the team with the Key to the City in honour of their achievement.

League Final
http://new.windsorspitfires.com/viewcontent.php?id=3206

Playoff scoring
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty Minutes

All-Star Classic
The OHL All-Star Classic was played February 4, 2009 at the WFCU Centre in Windsor, won 11-6 by the Eastern Conference. Cody Hodgson of the Brampton Battalion won the player of the game award, as he scored three goals and added two assists. The skills competition was held the previous night on February 3, with the Western Conference winning. Honourary captains for the event were former Peterborough Petes player Steve Yzerman for the Eastern Conference, while former Windsor Spitfires player Adam Graves represented the Western Conference.

Memorial Cup
At the 2009 Memorial Cup, the Spitfires dropped their first two games in Rimouski. The first game was a 3-2 loss in overtime to the Drummondville Voltigeurs and a 5-4 loss to the Rimouski Océanic. In a do-or-die game, the Spitfires won the final game of the round robin 2-1 over the Kelowna Rockets to gain entry to the tie-breaker game.

In the tie-breaker, Windsor defeated the hometown Océanic 6-4 powered by a third period natural hat-trick by Dale Mitchell. The tournament semi-final was between the Spitfires and the Voltigeurs. The Spitfires blew an early 2-0 lead, but won 3-2 in overtime of a goal by Adam Henrique to become the second team ever to play in the Memorial Cup final after playing in the tie-breaker game.

In the final, the Spitfires again played the Rockets. The Spitfires scored on their first three shots and cruised to a 4-1 win to take their first ever Memorial Cup championship. Their victory marked the first time a team started with two losses in the Memorial Cup round robin and came back to win the championship. The feat also marks the first time that a team has survived the Memorial Cup tie-breaker game to win the championship. The Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy was awarded to Taylor Hall as Memorial Cup playoffs most valuable player. Both Ryan Ellis and Hall were elected to the tournament's All-Star Team. Throughout the Memorial Cup tournament, the Spitfires hung Mickey Renaud's jersey on their bench and the championship was won in Renaud's memory.

In the aftermath of the championship, the team was met at the Windsor Airport by a large contingent of local fans and was addressed by Mayor Eddie Francis. It was announced that the road to the new WFCU Centre would be renamed Memorial Cup Drive in honour of the victory.
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