Windsor Spitfires’ tough guy Ryan Baldwin isn’t known for scoring goals, but that’s exactly what he did on Sunday afternoon.

Unfortunately for Baldwin and his teammates, the goal wasn’t enough as the Spitfires fell to their division rivals, the Sarnia Sting, 6-5 at the WFCU Centre before 5,555 fans.

The game started off well for Windsor as Adam Henrique got the scoring barrage started just over a minute into the game. Adam Wallace and Taylor Hall drew the assists. Despite both teams having power-play chances in the frame, that was the only goal before the headed into the dressing rooms at the intermission. The shots on net were 16-6 for Windsor as they peppered Sting goaltender Shayne Campbell. He stood tall in the pipes, though.

Once the second period started, though, it went downhill a bit for Windsor. While on the power-play, Sting rookie Brett Ritchie got his second of the season at 5:20 to tie it up at one. Sting enforcer Kyle Neuber got his first of the season at 6:58 in a scramble around the net, also on the power-play, to give Sarnia the one-goal edge. Both goals came during a series of six-straight Windsor penalties. After Neubers goal, Baldwin got in on the act, scoring his first of the year at 8:03, tying it up at two. The toe-to-toe scoring would continue at 11:04 when Zack MacQueen scored his first of the game, giving Sarnia the 3-2 lead. MacQueen then hit the mark again, this time on the power-play, at 16:09, giving Sarnia the 4-2 lead. That’s how the second period ended. The Spitfires outshot the Sting in the frame 10-9.

A late bench minor to the Sting had Windsor on a two-man power-play to start the third period. They chipped away at the lead when Taylor Hall scored a minute in, reducing the deficit to one. Momentum was creeping towards Windsor, but would it be enough? Ask Greg Nemisz. He broke in on glove-side wing and put a wrist-shot over Campbells glove at 7:22, tying the game up at four and restoring the roar in the arena. It stayed that way until Tyler Peters had his way. He blocked a point-shot and broke down the ice with only Spitfire goaltender Troy Passingham in between him and the lead. Peters made no mistake and Sarnia had the one-goal lead with less than five minutes to go. With 1:29 remaining, though, Eric Wellwood had an answer. Some tic-tac-toe passing found Wellwood out front and he quickly put it past Campbell to tie it up at five. However, with 49-seconds to go, Ben O’Quinn found a loose puck next to Passingham and put it home, giving Sarnia the 6-5 lead. Windsor pulled Passingham for the extra attacker but it didn’t help either club. Sarnia takes this one 6-5. The final shots on net were 46-27 Windsor.

The win sees Sarnia improve to 3-4-1-0 on the season while Windsor falls to 6-3-0-1. The Spitfires have no time to rest as they’re in action Monday afternoon when the Sudbury Wolves make their only regular season appearance at the WFCU Centre. Game time is 3 p.m.