2000-01 Plymouth Whalers

Former Plymouth captain Randy Fitzgerald was succinct when he addressed the crowd at the Whalers' banquet at the end of 1999-2000 season.

"I hope next year's team takes it one more step," Fitzgerald said in a tearful farewell. "I'm pulling for them to win the Ontario Hockey League title and play in the Memorial Cup.

Much like Fitzgerald's final season, the 2000-2001 Whalers came within a couple of games of taking their goal one more step. After finishing second overall during the regular season to the Erie Otters, Plymouth beat Sarnia, Windsor and Erie in the first three rounds of the playoffs before losing in the Ontario Hockey League Championship Series to Ottawa.

Ironically, the Whalers' second place finish in the overall regular season standings was their lowest in three seasons.

Plymouth used a proven formula for success in 2000-2001. General manager-head coach Pete DeBoer and assistant general manager-associate coach Steve Spott stressed excellent team defense and superior depth. The Whalers tied their existing Canadian Hockey League record by allowing just 162 goals during the regular season, a mark they set in 1998-99. Plymouth's depth was sorely tested all season as just two regulars - rookie Karl Stewart and veteran defenseman Andre Robichaud - played every game during the regular season.

In addition, the Whalers anticipated the return of forward Justin Williams (37-46-83, plus 47 in 1999-2000) for the season. But Williams graduated to the Philadelphia Flyers after being selected in the first round of the 2000 National Hockey League Entry Draft.

Although the Whalers rarely had their best lineup on the ice, one constant was the play of veteran goaltender Rob Zepp, who set all-time franchise career marks in games played and minutes played (139-7974), goals against average (2.39) and won-lost record (89-32-5). He also appeared in three OHL all-star games.

Zepp - originally drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers in 1999 - wasn't signed by Atlanta, went back into the draft and was selected by Carolina in last summer's NHL Entry Draft

The Whalers' excellent team defense allowed them to close out games efficiently. Plymouth went 38-0-2-2 when leading going into the third period last season. Stretched over the last three seasons, Plymouth is an amazing 112-1-3-2 when leading after two periods of play.

Second-year centerman Stephen Weiss (40-47-87) quickly established himself last year as one of the premier players in the OHL. Often drawing comparisons to the Detroit Red Wings' Steve Yzerman, Weiss finished last season as the third ranked player in North American by the National Hockey League's Central Scouting Bureau. The Florida Panthers eventually selected Weiss in the first round (fourth overall) in last summer's NHL Entry Draft.

"Weiss has made a commitment to team defense since the first day he got here," DeBoer said. "I tell people, when they ask about his point production, that he could have at least 15 to 20 more points on the year if he played on a team that didn't demand he play defense the way he does."

Damian Surma missed the first six games of the regular season with a knee injury, but made an impact in his first game back, scoring the game-winning goal and an insurance marker in the Whalers' 4-2 win in Brampton October 12. Surma - a Carolina draft who could return this year to the Whalers as an overage player - is tenth in the Whalers' all-time scoring list with 77 goals and 93 assists for 170 points in 186 games.

On the Whalers' blue line, Libor Ustrnul and team captain Jared Newman both missed significant time last year due to injuries, suspension and the World Junior Championships. But when they were in the lineup, they made up one of the best defensive duos in shutting down the opponents' top lines. Rookie James Wisniewski - considered a top prospect in next summer's National Hockey League draft - contributed grit and skill to the Whaler blue line. Andre Robichaud, Nate Kiser, Bryan Thompson and Ryan O'Keefe also contributed to arguably the best defensive group in the OHL last year.

The Whalers went into the Christmas Break in first place in the West Division at 22-6-4-1, seven points ahead of Windsor but four points behind the top team in the OHL, the Erie Otters. Looking for more offensive punch, the Whalers made three deals before the OHL's final trading deadline, acquiring Chad Wiseman from Mississauga, signing free agent Chad LaRose and adding overage forward Preston Mizzi from Sarnia.

All three forwards made an immediate impact.

LaRose - a local player from Fraser who returns this season - is a fan favorite. His gritty, in-your-face style prompts comparisons of Dino Ciccarelli.

"He plays with a lot of heart," DeBoer said. "He's 5-feet-10 and plays like he's 6-foot-3."

Rookies Karl Stewart and Gregory Campbell established themselves as excellent penalty killers and earned a more regular role later in the season.

"When I'm killing penalties, all I'm thinking of is skate, skate, skate, skate," Stewart said. "It's hard to move the puck when someone's always skating (after you). I think where Gregory and I have our best penalty killing is in the offensive zone. As soon as we get the puck out, it's hard for them to get the puck back in our zone, because we're always on them."
The Whalers clinched their third straight Western Division title in typical fashion. Playing through a power outage that delayed the first period at venerable Windsor Arena, Plymouth short-circuited the Spitfires, 5-3, mathematically eliminating Windsor in the race for the West Division.

The Whalers finished the regular season 43-15-5-5 and took on Sarnia in the first round of the playoffs. Using the tried and true method of excellent defense and depth, Plymouth swept Sarnia in four games.

Sarnia had no answer for the Whalers at full strength, scoring just one of their 11 goals in the series at even strength.

Once again, Ustrnul and Newman proved they don't have to score to be effective. Paired against leading Sting scorer Eric Himelfarb, Ustrnul and Newman got into the psyche of Himelfarb early in the series. Himelfarb didn't seem to play his normal game.

Plymouth faced Windsor in the second round in an emotional series and knocked the Spits out in another sweep.

Bryan Thompson's breakaway goal late in the second period snapped a 3-3 tie in game 1 to give Plymouth a 4-3 victory. Two nights later, Plymouth spotted Windsor a 2-0 lead in the first period and then came all the way back with four unanswered goals in the second for a 4-2 win. The Plymouth goals came in bunches - Wiseman scored a pair in 22 seconds to tie the game. Then Weiss scored to give Plymouth the lead for good at 15:09 and Kris Vernarsky scored some insurance on the power play 1:23 later.

Plymouth eliminated Windsor with a 5-2 victory in Windsor April 12.

The Whalers and the Erie Otters met in the Western Conference finals. Plymouth secured its' place in the Championship Series by winning the OHL Western Conference April 29 in its' home away from, the Tullio Arena in Erie. The Whalers withstood a couple of runs by the Otters to defeat Erie, 7-4, to take the Western Conference title in five games.
The Whalers have gone 14-0-1 in Erie since March 1, 1998

"Plymouth just had too much speed for us," admitted Erie assistant coach Peter Sidorkiewicz. "They really come at you. They pay attention to things like cycling and are really effective at a lot of little details."

Ironically, some of the Whalers' best players in the playoffs struggled at times during the regular season

As a rookie last season, Tomas Kurka often dazzled the opposition with highlight reel plays en route to 36 goals and 28 assists and a second round selection by the Carolina Hurricanes. But a hip flexor injury stalled Kurka's progress this year and he scored just 15 goals.

Kurka (8 goals with 10 assists) bounced back to have an excellent playoff, scoring in every game but one he played through the first three rounds.

"After my (regular) season, I decided I needed to turn it up and score some goals," said Kurka. "My season was very shaky. I missed 25 games after the injury and I didn't score a lot of points.

"It's important for me to play well in the playoffs. I have to keep it going."

Kris Vernarsky was recently voted one of the best defensive forwards in the Western Conference, but had a great playoff run in the offensive zone.

Wiseman led the Whalers in the playoffs with 10 goals through the first three rounds and found a home on a line with Kurka and Weiss

The Whalers met the Ottawa 67's in the Championship Series. Led by veteran coach Brian Kilrea (900 + career wins), the 67's finished fourth overall in the Eastern Conference, but caught fire late in going 15-2-1 over the last six weeks of the regular season. Ottawa came into the Finals with just two playoff losses.

For the second straight year, Plymouth fell a little short of their goal of an OHL title.

Ottawa eliminated the Whalers in six games, clinching the title in game six in a 2-1 victory at the Ottawa Civic Centre before 9,029.

Ottawa never trailed in the series, as the Whalers and 67's split the first four games. Game 5 was the pivotal game of the series. Ottawa came from behind to beat Plymouth, 5-4, on May 13 at the Compuware Sports Arena to take a 3-games-to-2 lead in the series.

In the game Plymouth - fresh off a 3-0 victory in Ottawa May 11 to tie the series at two games apiece - raced to a 3-0 lead in the first period on goals by Weiss, LaRose and George Nistas. But Ottawa came all the way back, tying the game at 4-4 in the second period on rookie Sean Scully's second goal of the game. Midway through the third period, Ottawa captain Joe Talbot won the game with a fine individual effort with 2:22 left in regulation.

"I broke down the left side and a defender got caught in a rut on the ice and fell and gave me the open ice I needed to get to the net," Talbot explained. "I just outwaited Zepp. He's a great goalie, but I showed a little more patience."

The 67's clinched the series two nights later.

The Whalers didn't have to wait long to start a new season. Just ten days later, DeBoer and Spott resigned to take over the same positions with the Kitchener Rangers.

Plymouth owner Peter Karmanos wasted no time, appointing team president Mike Vellucci new general manager-head coach. Vellucci named former University of Michigan player Alex Roberts assistant general-manager-associate coach.

Clearly, a new era started for the Plymouth Whalers.

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