Patrick King

The defending Memorial Cup champions find themselves in a deep hole to the Kitchener Rangers.

WINDSOR, Ont. -- The shock was palpable. The disappointment was obvious.

The defending Ontario Hockey League and Memorial Cup champion Windsor Spitfires were pushed one step closer to elimination on an improbable center ice dump-in. Kitchener’s import rookie, Gabriel Landeskog, meant only to avoid an icing call as he took a hit from Adam Henrique, but instead wound up scoring the game-winning goal.

"I was trying to put one on net because I wasn’t sure if I was over the red line or not," Landeskog explained. "I was just trying to put it on net and then I fell too at the same moment as the shot and then I stood up and I saw the net move.

"I was very shocked."

Had it not been for a small collection of visiting Kitchener fans and the surprised, collective gasp from the hometown faithful, a pin could have been heard dropping at the Windsor Family Credit Union Centre.

The Spitfires’ hill had just turned into a mountain. Windsor, the heavy favourite over the young, up-and-coming Rangers, is now looking at a 3-0 series deficit. The chink in the defending champs’ armour has now turned into a dent and the damage is nearly irreversible.

The Spitfires take comfort in the fact they have stared down adversity before. Windsor became the first team in Memorial Cup history to rally from losing its first two games before going on to win the national championship last season.

Many felt the hockey Gods may have been smiling on them in Rimouski. But if the hockey Gods were on Windsor’s side during that run, they’re now clearly against them.

The Spitfires thought they had taken the lead minutes before Landeskog’s surprising goal. Henrique slid a loose puck past Brandon Maxwell as the Kitchener goaltender was knocked to the ice. The referee called the goal back and assessed Taylor Hall a penalty for goalie interference.

"We scored a goal, it didn’t count," Spitfires coach Bob Boughner said. "(Kitchener’s) John Moore pushed Taylor Hall into the goal, it was called interference. Henrique batted it in, (referee) Sean Reid’s arm went up after the goal was already over the goal line. Terrible, terrible, terrible call. We should be up 4-3 there.

"To say I’m frustrated about that (disallowed) goal is an understatement."

It was just one more example of either bad luck or bad breaks that have plagued the Spitfires in this series. Where pucks were once bouncing off Kitchener players and in, now they were finding the post or cross bar at the other end as Spitfires’ shots continued hitting more metal than twine on Sunday.

"It seems like the puck is the sixth player on their team every shift," Spitfires defenceman Marc Cantin said.

"(The Rangers) know they got some bounces, they got some breaks," Hall added.

The Spitfires are looking at Game 4 from the perspective of an animal backed into a corner: they’re going to come out fighting.

"I think you’re going to see us empty our tanks (for Game 4) on Tuesday night and we’ll throw everything we have at them and see what happens," Boughner said.

Not only can they draw on their improbable comeback at last year’s Memorial Cup, but also from the league championship series two years ago. The Rangers, who were then hosting the Memorial Cup, saw a 3-0 series lead evaporate to the Belleville Bulls before capturing the league title in the decisive seventh game.

Cantin and Stephen Johnston were part of that resilient Bulls team and Cantin is confident the Spitfires can repeat that feat and force a seventh game.

"With all due respect, the Kitchener team that they had (in 2008) was unbelievable and our Belleville team was not even close as being as skilled as we are now," he said. "We battled back, forced a Game 7. We lost, but I mean, if there’s a team to do it in the CHL, this is the team."

Perhaps lost in the mix of bounces and breaks has been the strong play of the underdogs. Many predicted the Rangers would be nothing more than a speed-bump along the road to the final for the defending champs.

Kitchener was perceived as a team fortunate just to be playing for the Western Conference championship after beating the London Knights in Game 7 of Round 2. With a core of players so young and the future so bright, the Rangers are now looking more like a team ahead of schedule.

"I lost the Memorial Cup two years ago to (head coach) Bill Peters and the Spokane Chiefs and they told everybody they were a year early too," said Rangers head coach and general manager Steve Spott, an assistant coach in 2008. "I’m not saying we’re going to get to that point, but at the same time, in junior hockey you never know."

The unpredictable nature that is symbolic of junior hockey came to the forefront in this series. Although a comeback appears unlikely, Boughner’s message to his team is clear.

"I’m not quitting, (assistant coach) D.J. (Smith’s) not quitting, (associate coach Bob Jones isn’t) quitting," he said. "That word isn’t even in our vocabulary."