The Windsor Spitfires begin their quest for an OHL championship on Thursday.
The Spits welcome the Guelph Storm to the WFCU Centre for Game 1 of their quarter-final series.
Windsor capped off the regular season with a West Division championship after beating the Soo Greyhounds last Sunday 5-3.
Spits' head coach Greg Walters says he's proud of his team.
"We were able to go 7-1-1 down the stretch to accomplish one of our goals, and now we're on to the next one," says Walters.
The Spits have been without some key forwards over the last several games, including Ethan Belchetz, Nathan Villeneuve, AJ Spellacy, and Cole Davis.
Walters says it's looking positive; a couple of players will be back.
"We had four of our top six guys out battling for the division championship, and obviously Belchetz, Villeneuve, Spellacy, and Davis were all out for a long period of time," says Walters.
Believe the hype…. #whateverittakes pic.twitter.com/RibRfZJbYk
— xy - Windsor Spitfires (@SpitsHockey) March 23, 2026
He says Guelph is a good team.
"They're structured, and obviously we've got to be ready, but like I've said all year, when we're playing our game, we're tough to beat," says Walters.
The Spits and the Storm played four times in the regular season, with Windsor winning two games on home ice.
Guelph won two games in the Royal City.
Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m., with the AM800 pre-game show with Steve Bell and Manny Paiva starting at 6:50 p.m.