Patrick King

The highly-anticipated game between the Barrie Colts and Windsor Spitfires lived up to the hype.

WINDSOR, Ont. -- Very little separated the top two teams in the Ontario Hockey League and if Thursday's game was a preview of the championship series, fans will be in for another treat this May.

After going head-to-head with each other as buyers on the trade market, the Colts and Spitfires finally met on the ice. Thursday's game also marked the first game for both teams since adding some big-name players for the championship drive and one player was a focal point in the contest.

Zack Kassian endeared himself to the home crowd by tipping in a point shot for his first goal in his new uniform, but will be remembered for his vicious hit on Colts forward Matt Kennedy. Kassian delivered a bone-crushing hit at center ice while Kennedy had his head in the sky looking for the puck.

Kassian's night ended early as he was given five minutes for charging, five for fighting and a game misconduct. A suspension could be forthcoming for Kassian.

When asked if it was a dirty hit, Colts head coach Marty Williamson responded by saying, "Absolutely."

"Kassian is a good hockey player - he sure doesn't need to leave his feet to make hits like that," Williamson added. "One thing (commissioner) Dave Branch says is targeting head hits."

Kassian agreed his next game in a Spitfires uniform could be later, rather than sooner.

"I think there will probably be a suspension here," he said. "Branch normally doesn't like when people get injured on hits so he's probably going to react and throw some games. Hopefully not too many."

As a power-forward, Kassian is known for his physical game, which was one of the reasons the Spitfires added him to their lineup.

"I'm not going out and trying to hurt people," he said. "I'm trying to play my game and do whatever I can to be successful in helping the team win.

"That's the way I'm going to play. No one's going to change that."

Kassian wasn't the only player whose night was cut short. Colts captain Stefan Della Rovere hit the showers midway through the third period after being assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for a hit to the head of Craig Duininck.

Williamson felt the game misconduct penalty to his captain was a make-up call by the referees following Kassian's hit.

The penalty call ended up being a blessing in disguise for the Colts. Slick-skating Russian forward Alexander Burmistrov scored a shorthanded goal that stood up as the game-winner. Overage forward Luke Pither added an empty-netter to seal the Spitfires' fate.

Alex Pietrangelo, who was named the top defenceman at the recently completed world junior hockey championship, suited up in his first game of the season in the OHL. He was acquired from the Niagara IceDogs last week and looked good with his new teammates.

It wasn't hard for Pietrangelo to get prepared for a game against the defending Memorial Cup champions.

"You always want to win the games against the best teams - potential team you can play in the finals," he said. "But that's what we're here for - send a message. We know we can beat them now and they're a good hockey team.

"We can't take anything away from them. Tonight was our night and hopefully in a seven-game series we can do the same things and we shouldn't have a problem."

Pietrangelo wasn't the only player looking ahead to what almost seems like an inevitable championship series.

"They came in our barn and they beat us and that's not acceptable come playoff time," Spitfires forward Taylor Hall said.

Both coaches felt there was room for improvement from their respective clubs. Both teams had five opportunities with the man advantage, including one of five-minutes. The Colts did not score on the power-play, while Windsor scored once, but gave up the deciding goal while shorthanded.

"Enough said right there," Spitfires head coach Bob Boughner said of Burmistrov's goal. "That's inexcusable. Shameful, actually.

"We had some guys that really played well and we had, for the most part, a lot of average players or below average players tonight. You're not going to beat a team like Barrie if you don't have everyone going and I thought too many guys were just passengers tonight."

The Colts and Spitfires will lock horns for the second and final time this season in Barrie on Feb. 20.