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Apparently there is no such thing as a meaningless game between the Windsor Spitfires and London Knights.

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With the Spitfires locked in as the West Division champs and the London Knights having claimed the Midwest Division title and top seed in the Western Conference, the two rivals were basically playing a meaningless game on Sunday.

“It’s two competitive teams going at it and everyone wants to win no matter what it is,” Knights’ defenceman Henry Brzustewicz said.

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That was clear from start to finish as the Spitfires twice erased a two-goal London lead to beat the Knights 8-5 before a crowd of 6,245 at the WFCU Centre on Sunday.

The Knights have not won in Windsor this season with the Spitfires the first team in the OHL to defeat London three times in regulation this season.

“It’s a hostile environment here,” Brzustewicz said. “You can see that when you watch the games. It’s a tough place to play and they’ve got a good team. If we see them down the road, we have to find a way around it.”

Ilya Protas, who is second in league scoring, and Windsor’s top defensive duo of Anthony Cristoforo and Tnias Mathurin were out of the lineup on Sunday along with rookie regulars J.C. Lemieux and Ethan Garden. The Spitfires played a man under the limit and had two 16-year-olds on defence.

London also did not ice its best lineup with Sam Reilly, Oliver Bonk and Denver Barkey sitting out for the Knights.

“Rivalry is strong and well,” Spitfires defenceman Conor Walton said. “We’re missing guys, they’re missing guys, but the rivalry’s still good.

“You always want those bargaining chips at the end of the year. You say you beat them three times before a playoff series when it really matters. You want those wins down the stretch, especially with guys out, you want guys to step up.”

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Spitfires’ head coach Greg Walters made it clear he wasn’t viewing it as just another game after Easton Cowan opened the scoring by poking a puck past Windsor goalie Joey Constanzo.

Walters immediately sent backup Carter Froggett out to replace Constanzo, who tried to wave him back to the bench before finally relenting.

“It’s been an ongoing thing for us in four of maybe our last six games with the first shot going in,” said Walters, who had an extended conversation with Constanzo on the bench. “I told Joey, ‘You’re not meeting my expectation level.’ I told him I didn’t like that. I said, ‘When you’re ready to play, I’ll put you back in there.’ He went back in (97 seconds later before Froggett had faced a shot) and played a great game. He made some real big saves, especially early in the second.”

Logan Hawery buried a turnover with 63 seconds left in the opening period to put the Knights up 2-0 after 20 minutes. Jack Nesbitt got Windsor on the board with a rebound goal, but Landon Sim restored London’s two-goal lead midway through the second period.

But it was at that point the Spitfires turned things around with four goals in just over seven minutes to close out the period and take a 5-3 lead.

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“I never, as we’ve talked about, never count these guys out,” said Walters, whose team held a 36-22 edge in shots. “Our second period was awesome. They really got into that.

“It’s three wins against them on home ice this year and they’re obviously all in to win, so just really proud of our guys.”

Nesbitt’s second of the game made it a one-goal game and Luke McNamara walked around a check to tie it 55 second later. Davis went end-to-end to put Windsor in front for good and Liam Greentree roofed a shot to give the Spitfires a 5-3 lead after two periods.

“It’s not going to alter the standings at all, but we came in to win,” Davis said. “Kind of send a little message when we see them in the playoffs. That was our goal (Sunday), to show them we can play with them and we can beat them.”

Cowan scored to make it a one-goal game early in the third period. Sam Dickinson drew his second assist of the game on the play and moved into a tie with Evan Bouchard and Rick Corriveau for the most points in a season by a London defenceman with 87.

Even after Davis restored Windsor’s two-goal lead, the Knights had a great opportunity to tie the game late.

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Wyatt Kennedy was called for interference and just over a minute later Greentree was handed a five-minute major, and game misconduct, for a cross check on Dickinson, who did not miss a shift.

With the goalie pulled for a six-on-three advantage, Jacob Julien made it a one-goal game with 73 seconds left in regulation. However, still on the power play, Walton watched his clearing pass hit the boards and the saw the puck roll onto it side and curl into the empty London net.

“I’ll take those,” Walton said. “You probably get one of those in your career. I just rimmed it and I saw it going. I was like, ‘Go, go, go.’ I’m just trying to get it out. When it starts curling, I’m like, ‘Come on, no way, (go) right and then, ‘Go, go, go.’”

Noah Morneau added another empty-net goal as the Spitfires ended London’s seven-game winning streak while Windsor claimed its ninth-straight win on home ice.

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