Torres and the Spitfires
Windsor Spitfires are still at the bottom of the standings among the 10 teams of the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. But the Spitfires have now won more games with interim head coach Casey Torres at the helm than they did under his fired predecessor Jerrod Smith.
A clutch 6-3 home-ice win over the Flint Firebirds today has moved the Spitfires to within 10 points of a Western Conference playoff spot. And the turnaround in Windsor can be traced to the recent coaching change from Smith to Torres.
Under Smith, who was in his first season as the head coach in Windsor after several seasons as an assistant, the Spitfires were sputtering with a 4-16-1 record when general manager Billy Bowler opted to make a coaching change.
And since Torres was promoted from assistant coach to interim bench boss to replace Smith, the Spitfires have posted a 5-3-0 record in eight games.