Greentree, Windsor Spitfires Sweep Aspinall, Battaglia's Flint Firebirds

What was expected to be a close and exciting second round meeting in the OHL playoffs, turned into a quick, though hard-fought, battle as the Windsor Spitfires quickly took control of their series against the Flint Firebirds. While the Firebirds had the chance to force overtime and even up the series in game two, the Spitfires remained in the driver's seat and went on to sweep their opponents in four straight games.

Game 1: Windsor Spitfires Win 4-2, Liam Greentree 0 G, 1 A

All three of the Rangers prospects involved in this series were held pointless through the majority of the opening game. Windsor led 2-0 in the second period and with three minutes to go, Flint scored to bring it within one. Midway through the third, the Firebirds tied the game. But with five minutes left, Philadelphia Flyers prospect Jack Nesbitt scored to regain the lead for the Spitfires. As the Firebirds pulled their goaltender to try and tie things up once more, Liam Greentree picked up an assist on Nesbitt’s second of the night, capitalizing on the empty net to solidify win, 4-2. Flint had out-shot the Spitfires 24-22 but it wasn’t enough to come out on top. 

It's worth noting that while both Nathan Aspinall and Jacob Battaglia were held off the scoresheet, they would still end up on the stat sheet. Early in the third, Battaglia and Cole Davis were exchanging pleasantries along the boards which resulted in Battaglia dropping the gloves and going after him. Perhaps it was an attempt to spark some energy for his team, but tensions were also rising in the game up to this point. 

Game 2: Windsor Spitfires Win 6-5, Aspinall 2 G 0 A, Greentree 1 G, 0 A

After Windsor took an early 1-0 lead, Greentree made a break for the net near the midway mark of the first and all alone, cut to his backhand to beat Mason Vaccari to extend the Spitfires’ lead to 2-0. Flint cut that lead in half shortly after, but following an eventful opening period, the Spitfires still led by a score of 3-2. Darian Anderson quickly tied the game for Flint early in the second and that’s where the captain of the Firebirds, Nathan Aspinall, took charge. 

As the puck danced around the top of the crease, Aspinall was able to kick it ahead to his stick where he guided it home to give his team their first lead of the series. In the final minutes of the period, Aspinall picked up his second, as he opened himself up again for a one timer on the right side where he quickly fired a pass from Jimmy Lombardi home to make it a 5-3 game.

This third period could very well become the game changing moment of the series. The Firebirds were twenty minutes away from tying the series, had a two goal lead. Instead, they gave up three unanswered goals to drop the game 6-5. 

With five minutes to go, Greentree dropped the gloves with Anderson:

Game 3: Windsor Spitfires Win 2-1, Aspinall, Greentree 0 G, 0 A, Battaglia 0 G, 1 A

It was a quiet night on the Rangers prospect front in this one. The Spitfires took a 2-0 lead into the third period when Alex Kostov scored two minutes into the period to bring the Firebirds within one. Jacob Battaglia picked up the secondary assist on the play as he moved the puck up to the point which set up the shot from Kostov high in the slot. That's where the score would stay, as Windsor took a commanding 3-0 series lead.

Game 4: Windsor Spitfires Win 5-3, Aspinall 2 G, Battaglia 2 A, Greentree 1 A

Midway through the first, Battaglia rang the puck around the boards to find James Paul closer to the point. The shot from far out snuck through to give Paul his first of the postseason and to put Flint on the board, 1-0. While the Firebirds held onto the lead through the first, it was short lived in the sense that Windsor answered with three goals between the start of the second and third period to make it 3-1. 

In desperate need of an answer, Aspinall did what he’s done all season and came up with a big goal for his team. Using the defenseman as a screen, Aspinall pulled off a slight toe drag to let the shot go through the defenseman's legs to bring his team within one. For as big as that goal was, Flint couldn’t hold onto the momentum as two minutes later, Jakub Fibigr scored to make it a 4-2 game. 

With just over five to go, Flint ended up on the power play as Battaglia picked up his second assist of the night. Anderson set up Aspinall for a quick one time snap shot at the door step for his second of the night, making it a 4-3 game. Once again, Nesbitt picked up an empty net goal, with Greentree picking up an assist, to seal the deal, 5-3.

Nathan Aspinall

When Joe did his Top 25 Under 25 series over the summer, Aspinall wasn't even on the radar for that conversation. Two seasons ago when Roberto and I did our prospect rankings at the beginning of the season, Aspinall was towards the bottom of our forward rankings. This is a player the Rangers essentially took a gamble on in the fifth round, and that bet is paying off. He finishes his final season of juniors with 33 goals, 61 assists for 94 points in 65 regular season games played. His playoff run ends with 10 goals and seven assists for 17 points in eight games.

This is a player to keep an eye on during Rangers training camp next season. He has the Matt Rempe or Adam Edstrom build but, as proven this season, he has the offensive skill to be a contributing factor on a team's bottom six. The Rangers already have a crowded bottom six with Jaroslav Chmelar, Adam Sykora, and several others already in the conversation. But there's a very good chance Aspinall can become an important player for the Hartford Wolf Pack next season.

Jacob Battaglia

That brings us to another prospect who could become a very important player for Hartford next year. Battaglia had an Aspinall-like season last year for the Kingston Frontenacs, but stepped his game back up after getting traded to Flint. In 64 games split between Flint and Kingston, Battaglia collected 26 goals, 22 assists for 48 points this season. In the eight playoff games, Battaglia finished one point higher than Aspinall with five goals and 13 assists.

All things considered, this was a great pick up for the Rangers in a change of scenery, your-problem-for-my-problem type of trade. Brennan Othmann will go down as another disappointing high draft pick for the Rangers, but there is a chance they can correct that mistake by turning Battaglia into an effective NHLer down the road. I'd say he's still a ways away from cracking the Rangers lineup and, between the two, I can see Aspinall making a stronger case in preseason. Nonetheless, I believe I speak for many Rangers fans when I say I hope to see these two on a line together in Hartford next season.

Liam Greentree

The Spitefires captain is up to 10 points in eight games played and will lead his Spitfires into the next round where they'll face the Kitchener Rangers. It's certainly an encouraging sign seeing Greentree have the success he's having in his final year of junior as he can very well push for a third line role with the Rangers next season.