The first round of the Ontario Hockey League playoffs gave many of the Windsor Spitfires their first taste of playoff success.

The Spitfires had 14 drafted players on the roster that had never won a playoff series going in. Five others, who came over via trades, were also seeking their first taste of playoff success as the club prepared to open the first round against the Owen Sound Attack.

"I’ve never won (a playoff series) ever," Spitfires third-year forward Richard Greenop said. "It would be nice to be in a winning situation."

It didn’t take the Spitfires long to display their dominance over a very young Owen Sound squad. "Owen Sound’s been a good team, but if we play our game, there’s not many teams that can play with us," Spitfires defenceman Ryan Ellis said. Windsor averaged nearly 60 shots a game in the series and 6.5goals-per-game as the Attack struggled all series to contain Windsor’s speed. "Our game plan is to try and put 50 or 60shots at any team," Spitfires third-year centre Adam Henrique said. "We’ve got three or four lines and that helps."

There were some struggles from the team on the road in Owen Sound where backup goalie Josh Unice came off the bench in relief. "Usually, when you come in like that, you’re coming into a hectic environment and you just want to calm the game down," Unice said. "If you can calm it down, usually everyone picks it up." Unice did and the Spitfires rallied to win both road games.

"We knew it was a matter of time as long as we kept shooting," Spitfires forward Taylor Hall said. Hall, in his second season, had a solid first round with seven goals and 12 points, but the club also found a new offensive threat in third-year forward Eric Wellwood. He had four goals and eight points in four games and was among the league’s top10 in playoff scoring.

"My first 20 games, I think I had three goals," said Wellwood, who actually needed 36 regular-season games to reach three goals. "It’s just going in for me. I don’t think about it. I just try to take it one game at a time."

After opening with a 7-4 win at home, the Spitfires would rally for a 7-5 victory on the road in Game 2. Back home, the club was dominant in a 6-1 victory before again rallying to complete the four-game sweep of the best-of-seven series witha 6-3 win on the road.

"I think we’re a lot more confident this year," Henrique said."We’re the top team in the league."

The Spitfires won a playoff series for the first time since 2005and marked the first series sweep by the club since 1995."It’s something to be proud of," said Spitfires coach Bob Boughner, who got his first series win in three years behind the bench. "It’s a huge goal and now we can move on."