Spitfires captain Greentree makes history, shatters playoff game goal record

The last time an OHL player scored five goals in a playoff game, it was Connor McDavid. 

Ten years later, Windsor Spitfires captain Liam Greentree has made club history by doing the same. 

Greentree led the team to victory Monday night by netting five goals in a commanding 6-3 win over the Kitchener Rangers.

"I don't think that's a night that I will forget for a long time," Greentree said Wednesday.

The Los Angeles Kings prospect recorded two goals in the first period alone. By the second period, he'd already scored a hattrick, and added two more goals – including an empty-netter – in the third. 

"Going into a game like that, you're not expecting to do anything like that," Greentree said from Kitchener. "But I think it just kind of happened, and I just have to thank the guys and my team for just being there."

Greentree's scoring surge helped the Spitfires take a commanding 3-0 lead in the second round OHL playoff series against the Rangers, pushing the Kitchener squad to the brink of elimination. 

The captain's five-goal display broke a 44-year team record held by Ernie Godden, who scored four goals in a playoff game against Brantford in 1981. 

Greentree chalked up his historic performance to a bit of luck, but also "staying dialed." That means sticking to his pre-game routine, which includes stickhandling with headphones in and playing "sewer" – a game of keep-up with a soccer ball – with teammates.

Longtime Spitfires broadcaster Steve Bell said Tuesday that the "the sky's the limit" for this year's team, which has notched dominating playoff wins despite a "depleted lineup."

"Unbelievable what they're doing with seven or eight regular players out of the lineup," Bell told Windsor Morning.

Bell, who's being inducted into the Windsor-Essex County Sports Hall of Fame, said that if the Spits take the series against the Rangers, they could face the London Knights next.

"London could very well be the best team in Canada, so that's going to be tough," Bell said from Kitchener. "But it's been a real fun run, and it's just a real good group of kids this year. They're really tight."

Greentree agrees that this year's team is close-knit. "I consider them all brothers and I love every last guy on our team," he said. They hang out often outside the rink, which he thinks makes a difference.

"The culture that we've created is the foundation of why we are so successful," he added.

Greentree said he's focused on the current series against the Rangers, but pointed out that the Spits had an even record against the Knights this regular season.

"They're not a team that gives up, and we know that," he said.  

And the Spits aren't celebrating anything yet. Greentree said the team needs to stay focused and not take anything for granted ahead of Wednesday night's game four against Kitchener. 

"It's a big game for us," he said. "If you look back two years ago, they swept us in the first round, so there's a little bit of fire in our stomachs here."

In fact, he hasn't even really celebrated his record-breaking performance yet. He said that after Monday's game, he watched a movie and went to sleep.

But sharing the memory with his teammates has already made the experience unforgettable. 

"It was super exciting, the guys were super excited for me and they were loving it, so obviously that made it a lot more special," he said.