2003-04: YOUNGER, BUT STILL IN THE HUNT
As the 2003-04 season started, most people looked at the London Knights and Sarnia Sting as the top teams in the Western Conference. Sure enough, the Sting and Knights were Midwest and West Division winners and finished 1-2 in the Western Conference.
The Whalers – with a younger group - remained as competitive as ever, finishing with a 32-24-9-3 record, good for 76 points and second place in the West Division and tied for fourth in the Western Conference.
Plymouth overcame the graduation of Chad LaRose (61 goals with 57 assists in 2002-03), Karl Stewart (35-50), Chris Thorburn (30-41), Cole Jarrett (14-41) and Nate Kiser, replacing them with young forwards Vaclav Meidl, Gino Pisellini, Dan Collins, James Neal, Andrew Fournier, Jordan Grant and Mike Martinelli. Rookie defensemen Craig Cescon and Zack Shepley played well at times and showed over the course of the season they are Whalers of the future.
Veterans Paul Drew, James Wisniewski, Dave Liffiton, John Mitchell, Jonas Fiedler, Ryan Ramsay, Mike Letizia and John Vigilante all played major roles in 2003-04.
The Whalers’ coaching staff knew it would take time for younger players to gel into a cohesive unit.
“They’re good players and they’re even going to be better players – it just takes them a little while to grow,” Plymouth general manager and head coach Mike Vellucci said about his young forwards as training camp broke. “Some of the first-year guys don’t get better until after Christmas and really come into their own. Some guys take a whole year. We’ll keep an eye on them and break them in slowly at the start of the season.
Hopefully by the end of the year, they’ll be playing quite a bit.”
In goal, Drew capped an excellent OHL career, posting a 2.93 goals against average and .914 save percentage in 43 regular season games for the Whalers.
“Paul proved tonight why he’s won the Dave Pinkney Trophy (lowest goals against) with Rob Zepp, Jason Bacashihua and Jeff Weber over the last three years,” said Plymouth assistant general manager-associate coach Alex Roberts Sept. 6 in Saginaw. “He gives us a chance to win every night and competes so hard.”
After opening the season with losses against Kitchener and Oshawa, the Whalers got back on track with a six-game unbeaten streak, going 5-0-1 over a two-week span.
The winning streak coincided with the return of defensemen Dave Liffiton and Mike Letizia, both of whom were suspended for their participation in fights in an exhibition game Labor Day in Windsor.
“We’ve been playing five defensemen in his absence,” Vellucci said about Liffiton before Plymouth’s game Sept. 26 in Kingston. “It’s no secret that was our weak spot for the first couple of games. Now you have Liffiton and (James) Wisniewski back there and you have two of the top defensemen in the league back and you can play one of those guys on the ice at all times. It gives us a little more comfort level. We’ll get more stability when Letizia returns.”
Third-year centerman John Mitchell emerged as an offensive leader, scoring five goals during the streak. He remained consistent all season, leading the team in scoring during the regular season with 28 goals and 54 assists for 82 points, then doing the same in the playoffs (6-6 for 12).
Mitchell’s work wasn’t always appreciated by a segment of fans who thought he played a soft game.
“A lot of people don’t understand, in John’s first year he played pretty well here (9-9 for 18 points in 63 games) as an underage on a team that was stacked with veterans,” Vellucci explained. “Last year he put a lot of pressure on himself to score goals (18-37 for 55 points in 68 games) and he had a lot of chances. I’ve never seen a guy hit the cross bar or posts like John did last year. He was a little snakebitten.
“He’s a good player who’s playing well right now. He’s getting his opportunities and he’s doing things like shooting the puck a little quicker instead of holding on to it too long.”
Mitchell is well aware of the fans’ perception of his play.
“I worked very hard last summer to get bigger and stronger,” he said. “I knew coming in this year I had to bring a physical presence to the team a lot more. We lost guys like Karl Stewart and Chris Thorburn, who hit a lot. So I needed to pick up my game in terms of the physical aspect.”
Mitchell – taken in the fifth round of the 2003 NHL Draft by Toronto - discovered playing more physical and competing hard in traffic gave him more ice in which to operate.
“It really helps you to play physical,” Mitchell explained. “If you hit out there, players on the other team tend to give you more respect. If you don’t hit as much, they’ll take advantage of you. If you play physical, the other team is going to say, `Hey, this guy’s here to play.’
“If I play a lot more physical, they give me a lot more room to see where the play is and see where I need to shoot or pass the puck. Hitting a lot more has definitely helped me this year.”
NHL scouts appreciated Mitchell’s development as well.
“I’ve always liked him,” Colorado scout Rick Pracey admitted. “We were going to take him in the (NHL) draft in the fifth round if Toronto hadn’t taken him first.”
An early season line of Mitchell, rookie Dan Collins and second-year winger John Vigilante scored important goals for the Whalers. The line scored the game-winning goal in wins Oct. 19 in Brampton and Oct. 24 against Belleville. Vigilante snapped a 3-3 early in the third period in the Brampton win and then Mitchell found Collins for the winner in a 3-0 victory against Belleville.
“We have a lot of speed on our line, which is good,” Mitchell said. “We can all shoot the puck very well. Dan has a surprisingly good shot for someone so young, so I’m glad to have him on the line. The linemates I’m with are a little smaller than I am, so I pick up a little more on the physical part of the game.”
Plymouth captain James Wisniewski had a career year, scoring 17 goals with 53 assists for 70 points in 50 regular season games en route to being awarded the Canadian Hockey League’s Defenseman of the Year.
Along with veteran David Liffiton, the Whalers’ blue-line was anchored by two or the best defensemen in the league – although they played the game in different ways.
“They’re completely different players,” Roberts explained. “David Liffiton is a work-horse who doesn’t get beat very often on the defensive side of the game. He makes the simple plays and keeps the puck out of trouble. It’s a huge strength to have someone that can play 25 minutes a game and you can count on defensively to shut the other team’s top forward line down. It’s easy for me to call on David and put him on the ice.
“On the other hand, James Wisniewski is a great puck-moving defenseman. He can join the rush at any time. Obviously, one of his strengths is quarterbacking the power play. He’s got the majority of his points on the power play this year. He’s a little more high-risk defensively, but when he’s on the ice, the other teams know it. You can compare James favorably with Trevor Daley in Sault Ste. Marie last year – he was a guy you had to be aware of anytime he was on the ice, because he can hurt you.”
Plymouth’s 5-4 victory in Sudbury Oct. 31 showcased Liffiton’s and Wisniewski’s overall strengths.
Liffiton – who won the Hardest Shot Competition in the 2003 Canadian Hockey League Prospects Game, using a wood stick – assisted on Plymouth’s first goal of the game when he ripped a hard low shot from the left point that was deflected into the net by Gino Pisellini. Later, Plymouth trailed 4-3 in the third period when Wisniewski moved in from the left point in the Sudbury to the high slot. He faked a shot and completely fooled Sudbury goaltender Patrick Enelechner, who went down. Wisniewski then passed to Mitchell, who ripped the puck in the top shelf to tie the game at 4-4.
After Plymouth took the lead on Pisellini’s second goal of the game, Liffiton and Wisniewski played for much of the final minute of regulation together as a pairing, helping shut down the Wolves for a well-earned victory.
Young players responded again in early November.
After a 4-3 loss to Windsor Nov. 7, Vellucci and Roberts switched things up, using new line combinations while giving rookies a chance to play.
A new forward combination of second-year center Brent Mahon working with rookies Vaclav Meidl and Dan Collins scored all the goals in Plymouth’s 3-0 victory over Saginaw Nov. 8. Meidl’s goal midway in the first period stood as the game winner and Mahon and Collins scored goals 18 seconds apart to seal the victory.
“We switched the lines up because we haven’t been scoring many goals and getting a lot of chances,” Vellucci explained. “We just wanted to switch things up and Mahon’s line played very well in scoring some big goals. It’s good for them.”
“We’re all pretty fast,” said Mahon. “Vaclav and Dan are pretty skilled forwards. We worked well together andby coach Vellucci switching things up, I think that helped out, too.”
Mahon scored on a partial breakaway on a Saginaw turnover at the Spirit blue line midway through the third period to turn the complexion of the game around.
“I went five-hole,” Mahon said about his goal. “I was going to deke, but then I saw a big opening between his legs, so I just shot it and it went in.”
Second-year goaltender Ryan Nie pitched his first OHL shutout in the game for Plymouth and now stands at 4-0 in his four starts in the league over the last two seasons. With veterans Paul Drew and Jeff Weber entrenched in goal for the Whalers, Nie has patiently waited for his chance. When Drew went on the injured list in October with a high ankle sprain, Nie is making the most of his opportunity to play.
“He deserves the opportunity,” said Vellucci. “He’s 4-0 and he played really well again last night and did the same in relief against Windsor. We have to see what Ryan can do. The more games he plays, the better idea we’ll have of him.”
Meidl scored the first goal of the game the next afternoon in Saginaw 31 seconds in on assists to Mahon and Collins. And then more Whaler pups got into the act.
Tony Iaquinto – a 7th round draft pick last summer playing in his second OHL game – scored his first OHL goal to give the Whalers a 2-1 at 45 seconds of the second period. Iaquinto took a Ryan Ramsay pass at the right wing doorstep to beat Saginaw Mike Brown cleanly.
Less than two minutes later, rookie Jordan Grant – playing in his fourth game after being acquired from Belleville – converted a feed from Jonas Fiedler from the left wing lip of the crease across to the right. Grant’s first OHL gave Plymouth a 3-1 lead at 2:25 of the second period.
Although they didn’t score any goals against Saginaw, Fiedler and linemate Tim Sestito played some of their best hockey of the season, forechecking effectively and winning most of their battles for puck deep in the Saginaw zone.
Sestito saved some of his best hockey of the season in late November when the Whalers were shorthanded.
Trailing 2-1 in Sarnia on Thanksgiving night with less than ten seconds to play, Sestito scored the equalizer with 3.5 seconds left in regulation to force overtime, then figured in on both Plymouth goals the next night as the game’s second star.
Sestito showed in those games why he awarded the “A” as an assistant captain.
“We were missing some guys and it’s always a tough game against Sarnia,” Sestito explained. “It was a tight game, so I was just trying my hardest to make something happen. I was at the right spot at the right time at the end.”
Sestito played his best game of the season against Sarnia – and it was far more than scoring the tying goal. He was flying all over the ice and tenacious on the puck all night. Sestito’s tying goal came off a face-off in the Sarnia and was a planned play – but not the way the play was originally diagrammed. Free lancing was required after the Whalers won the draw in the Sarnia zone.
Wisniewski took the puck in the high slot and with time winding down, skated to the right face off circle and threaded a pass to the left wing. Sestito then guided the puck by Sting goaltender Ryan Munce for the equalizer with 3.5 seconds left in regulation.
“The planned play was for me to get open for a one-timer on the right side,” Sestito said. “But things kind of got muffled up a bit, so I snuck around back to the left. James made a good pass back-door to me and I was able to put the puck in the net.”
The next night, Plymouth played against Peterborough with Mitchell, Mike Martinelli, Sean Thompson, Wisniewski and Mike Lombardi all out with injuries. The Whalers wanted to call up rookie James Neal, but found out he was sick, too. Jordan Grant was suspended for his participation in a fight in Sarnia.
Sestito opened the scoring with a short handed goal at 9:02 of the first period when he beat Peterborough goaltender Matt Iorianni for his fifth goal of the season.
“I try to show the young guys what it takes to win,” Sestito said. “It takes the little things in order to win – taking a hit to get the puck out of your own zone or taking an icing when you have to. It takes time to learn those things. I’m here to help those guys any way I can.”
As it turned out, the Peterborough game was Jeff Weber’s last as a Whaler and he was dealt to Barrie, leaving Plymouth with Drew and Nie in the Whalers’ goal. Nie played one of his best games of the season to close out the first half of the season in a 3-2 loss against London Dec. 20 at the Compuware Sports Arena.
Injuries and suspensions took a toll on the Whalers’ depth as Plymouth hit the second half of the schedule. Still, the Whalers (16-11-6-3 through Christmas) were chasing first-place Sarnia.
Liffiton missed 20 games with a wrist injury suffered during the Christmas Break. Wisniewski won a gold medal playing for the United States at the World Junior Championships during the same time frame – missing nine games - then was handed a five-game suspension by the Ontario Hockey League office after he called Owen Sound’s Stefan Ruzicka a “Euro” in a 7-4 loss Jan. 30 at the Compuware Sports Arena.
Other defensemen logged major minutes in their absence.
“We’ve really missed them the last 15 games or so,” said defenseman Rich Power. “Wiz is one of those go-to guys that can score that goal when you need one.”
“I can’t complain whatsoever about ice (time) for the last 30 games or so. But its’ the time of the season when we want everyone healthy. When we get eight defensemen back it makes everyone else it improves everyone else’s game, because you’re fighting for six spots to play every night. When Wiz and Liffiton come back, they’re going to be fresh and make our team so much better. You’re going to see a whole new team with a lot of energy.
“Obviously, I love the ice time – playing 30+ minutes per game,” said Mike Letizia. “But Wiz and Lif are two of the top defensemen in the league and they’ll definitely help out the back and the team when they come back."
To help offset the loss of Wisniewski and Liffiton, Vellucci made one deal at the OHL Final Trading deadline, picking up right wing Rane Carnegie and defenseman Mike Knight from Belleville for left wing Mike Lombardi.
Carnegie made an immediate splash, scoring a goal in his first shift as a Whaler in at 4-2 victory over Sault Ste. Marie Jan. 9. But Carnegie ran into team discipline problems off the ice and was sent home before the season ended, scoring 6 goals with 9 assists for 15 points in 14 games. Knight saved some of his best hockey for the playoffs.
Mitchell scored six points in an 8-2 victory over Mississauga Jan. 16 – the first time since the 1999-00 season a Whaler scored six points in a game.
A season highlight happened Jan. 17 before a sell-out crowd at the Compuware Sports Arena when the Whalers spotted Kitchener a 3-0 lead, then game all the way back for a 4-3 victory. Wisniewski became the highest scoring defenseman in franchise history with a goal and three assists and former Ranger Ryan Ramsay added two goal and two assists.
Plymouth finished the regular season on a high note, going 9-3-0 over the final 12 games and drawing Kitchener in the first round of the playoffs – the team that knocked the Whalers out the season before in the 2003 Western Conference Finals en route to the OHL Championship and Memorial Cup.
The Whalers’ depth was tested once more when Paul Drew injured his ankle a couple of days the series started, meaning Nie – with no previous playoff experience – was thrown into the playoffs.
The day of Game 1 – Mar. 19 in Kitchener – the Kitchener-Waterloo Record sports page had a front page headline that said, “Bring It On, Rammer” , in honor of Whaler veteran and former Ranger Ryan Ramsay. Any doubts about Nie were answered in Game 1 when he turned in a 33-save performance as the game’s first star in a 3-2 Plymouth victory before 5,491 at the Memorial Auditorium. Wisniewski, Letizia and Mitchell scored the goals, but Nie was brilliant.
“I just go back to when I told Ryan that Paul was hurt,” Vellucci told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record. “He was sorry for Paul but had a big smile on his face for two, three hours. He accepted the challenge and that made me feel good as a coach, too, because I hadn’t played him a lot (20 games during the regular season).”
“It was a big shock,” admitted Nie. “I was backing Drew up and doing the best I could with the time I got, getting ready for next year. Then I come to the rink Monday and found out.”
“Am I surprised? Probably not,” said Ramsay about Nie’s work. “He’s out there half an hour before practice, half and hour after practice taking shots. He’s worked hard and he’s earning his number 1 status now.”
The Whalers took Game 2, 6-3, the next night before 2,843 at the Compuware Sports Arena. Wisniewski led the attack with two goals and an assist as the game’s first star; John Vigilante, Andrew Fournier, Sestito and Mitchell all scored single goals.
Special teams emerged as a factor in the series as the Whalers went 2-for-4 in game 2 after going 2-for-11 in Game 1.
Injuries to the Rangers emerged as a factor as captain Mike Richards played in the first game, then missed the rest of the series with a concussion.
Kitchener needed to dig down in Game 3 and got a spectacular performance from Petr Kanko in a 5-4 victory before 4,676 March 22 in Kitchener. Kanko scored twice and added an assist as the game’s first star.
Plymouth – down 5-2 late in the game – made things tight on a pair of goals 0:33 second apart by Knight (17:25) and Letizia (17:58) but could not find the equalizer.
The Whalers took over the series for good in Game 4, posting a 2-0 shutout before 3,087 at the Compuware Sports Arena Mar. 24. The game wasn’t as close as the score might indicate as Plymouth had a considerable edge in play, outshooting Kitchener 39-28. Nie pitched his first-ever playoff shutout and the Whaler power play provided the offense on goals by Sestito and Knight.
The intrigue before Game 5 centered on the availability of Richards, who practiced the day before. But Richards was a scratch for Game 5, played Mar. 26 before 5,831 at the Memorial Auditorium and the Whalers dominated in a 5-0 victory to take the series four-games-to-one.
Nie pitched his second straight shutout and the game’s first star and the Whaler power play went 2-for-5. Mitchell led the attack with a pair of goals with Knight, Sestito and Letizia adding singles. Wisniewski assisted on every Whaler goal as the game’s second star.
Next up? The Guelph Storm, a team that got stronger as the regular season wore on and finished with the second best record in the league at 49-14-5-0. Plymouth matched up well during the regular season with the Storm, taking the season series with a 2-0-2 record.
But the Storm dominated the playoff against the Whalers, pulling away with a four-game sweep.
The games were closer than the sweep might indicate. Guelph won Game 1, 4-0, April 2 before 4,357 at the Guelph Sports and Entertainment Centre. Guelph goaltender Adam Dennis – considered a question mark by many as the playoffs started – was the game’s second star, stopping 19 Plymouth shots.
Guelph broke open a tight 1-0 late in the second period on a shothanded goal by veteran Ryan Callahan, then added third period goals by Matt Ryan (8:20) and Daniel Paille (17:00).
A pattern emerged early in the series – whenever Guelph need a key play, Storm veterans provided it. In Game 2, Paille, Ryan, Callahan and Kyle Spurr scored the goals in a 4-1 Guelph victory before 2,546 at the Compuware Sports Arena. Dennis stopped 30-of-31 Plymouth shots. Rookie Andrew Fournier scored the lone Whaler goal.
Game 3 was the key to the series, as Brett Trudell deflected Dan Girardi’s shot from the right point at 4:54 of double-overtime to give Guelph a 3-2 victory before 3,664 at the Sports and Entertainment Centre. The game 84:54 - was the second-longest in Whalers’ history. Only Plymouth’s 4-3 victory over Sault Ste. Marie on Mar. 22, 1997 is longer at 90 minutes.
Guelph’s mastery continued in the overtime, as they moved to 10-0-5 in regular season and playoff OT’s during 2003-04.
Drew returned to the Plymouth lineup and played well, stopping 37 of 40 shots. Dennis was a thorn in the Whalers’ side again, stopping 31 of 33 shots. The Whalers’ appeared to have the game won early in the second overtime when Fiedler split the Guelph defense and got two shots on Dennis. Television replays showed
Fiedler’s rebound was over the goal line, but referee Terry Hobor ruled no goal and the game continued.
That set the stage for Trudell’s game winner.
“Marty (St. Pierre) won the draw back to Girardi and I just went to the net and directed it through Drew’s legs,” Trudell told the Guelph Mercury.
“We have a chance of heading into Plymouth up 3 games-to-0 or heading into Plymouth 2-1,” Guelph head coach Shawn Camp said after the game. “Adam Dennis was huge for us.”
Guelph closed out Plymouth in Game 5 on April 7, breaking open a tight 2-1 game with three unanswered power play goals in the third period to win, 5-1. Defenseman Kevin Klein led the Guelph attack with 2 goals and 2 assists; St. Pierre added a goal and two assists, while Trudell and Callahan added single goals.
Guelph went on to beat London in the Western Conference Finals, then beat Mississauga for the OHL Championship. The Storm then represented the OHL in the Memorial Cup championship at Kelowna, BC, getting swept out of the championship in three games.
Wisniewski signed a contract with the Chicago Blackhawks and is expected to start the 2004-05 in their minor league system. Liffiton signed a contract with the New York Rangers and may return to Plymouth.
Three Whalers were selected in the 2004 National Hockey League Entry Draft, held in Nashville. Meidl was taken in the third round (81st overall) by Nashville, Pisellini was selected by Philadelphia in the fifth round and Fiedler – who was taken in the third round by San Jose in the third round of the 2002 NHL Draft – went back into the draft and was selected by Carolina in the eighth round.
