2006-07 OHL Champion Plymouth Whalers Season in Review
The 2006-07 Plymouth Whalers’ season was a year in which unfinished business was completed in a big way.
It was a season that started with Team Mexico early in the preseason in September and ended against the Vancouver Giants in the 2007 MasterCard Memorial Cup Semi-Final in May.
2006-07 was a Whale of a season – a championship season.
During the late summer of 2006, the talk around the Ontario Hockey League was Saginaw looked to be one the top teams in the Western Conference. The Hockey News rated the Spirit as the top team in the OHL and #4 in the entire Canadian Hockey League.
While Saginaw received a lot of the early headlines, the Whalers remained below the radar.
If the preseason showed anything about the Whalers, it was the fact they had a lot of depth while rolling to a 5-1-0 record.
Before leaving for National Hockey League training camps, John Armstrong (Calgary), Jared Boll and Tom Sestito (both Columbus drafts) helped power the Whalers to a pair of preseason victories over the Windsor Spitfires during Labor Day weekend. Armstrong opened the preseason with a hat trick and an assist, Sestito scored in each game and Boll scored points in both games.
And then when Armstrong, Boll and Sestito – along with Dan Collins (Florida), James Neal (Dallas), Steve Ward (Toronto) and Ryan McGinnis (Los Angeles) – were all away at pro camps the following week, Plymouth got a 4-3 victory over Sarnia on Sept. 9.
Rookies led the Plymouth attack in the Sarnia victory. Right wing Kaine Geldart – a 12th round draft choice in 2005 and seeing his first ice time in the OHL this season – scored two goals and an assist for the Whalers as the game’s first star. Defenseman Frank Grzeszczak – an 11th round draft choice in 2005 and also seeing his first ice time in the OHL – added two assists for Plymouth as the game’s second star. And second-year goaltender Jeremy Smith (Brownstown Township) stopped 33-of-36 Sarnia shots as the game’s third star.
The following weekend, 15-year-old Vern Cooper had a goal and four assists in Plymouth’s 12-0 victory over Mexico on Sept. 15. Then AJ Jenks – Plymouth’s 7th round pick in 2006 – scored the game winning goal and added an assist on the insurance goal in the Whalers’ 3-1 win over Erie Sept. 16.
 Plymouth President, General Manager and Head Coach Mike Vellucci went into training camp with four goaltenders – returning netminders Justin Garay and Jeremy Smith and newcomers Michal Neuvirth and Kyle Jendra, the Whalers’ 9th round draft pick in 2005. Neuvirth – a second round pick of the Washington Capitals in the 2006 National Hockey League – played well in training camp and continued into the preseason.
Four goalies turned into a pair when Garay was traded to Erie just before the season started and Jendra was sent to Traverse City of the North American Hockey League, leaving the Whalers with two relatively inexperienced goaltenders.
After losing, 7-3, in Sarnia to start the season, the Whalers got on track with four straight wins Sept. 23-30, including three in shootouts. Chris Terry – the Whalers’ Shootout Champion from a year ago – scored the game-winner again in a 7-6 win over Erie on Sept. 23 and then emerging star James Neal scored the game-winner on successive nights in wins in Guelph (3-2) and against Sault Ste. Marie (5-4).
Although the Whalers started 8-9-0-0 over the first 17 games, goaltending was not a problem.
Through the Whalers’ first 20 games, Smith was selected first star in four starts and second star in one. Smith compiled a shutout streak of 151:37 in October, fifth-best in franchise history. Neuvirth had two-first stars, a second and a third.
“They may be rookies, but Jeremy was around our program last year and Michal has some great international experience,” Vellucci said. “I think both of them have played really well to date and hopefully, they’ll continue.”
The Whalers’ turning point of the season happened after Plymouth’s annual Eastern road trip Nov. 3-5, all Plymouth losses. The team had a meeting upon returning home to clear the air.
“I told the team that I still believed in them,” Vellucci said.
“We were really struggling and for some reason we could not find a way to win,” captain Steve Ward said. “A bunch of older guys sat out, and we were wondering what was going on.”
“We were really up and down and then we had that meeting and kind of cleared the air,” Neal said. “After that we started to play the way we knew we could. We stuck to systems and the basics. I think we really came together after that.”
Neal – a Dallas Stars’ draft – started a trend with drafted Whaler players when he was signed by the Stars Oct. 21.
Plymouth then went 9-1-1-0 through early December to move into sole possession of third place in the Ontario Hockey League’s West Division with a record of 17-10-1-0, good for 35 points, five points behind the first place Saginaw Spirit (19-9-0-2).
Although the Whalers received contributions from everyone on the hockey club in a 4-0 victory in Guelph on Dec. 3, center Evan Brophey – celebrating his 20th birthday – emerged as the game’s first star, figuring on all four Whaler goals with a goal of his own and three assists.
“That’s just the luck of the birthday,” Brophey said with a smile. “I felt pretty good on the ice.”
 Besides Brophey, Tom Sestito (14th), Steve Ward (7th) and James Neal (team leading 17th) also scored for the Whalers. Plymouth goaltender Michal Neuvirth posted his first-ever OHL shutout in stopping 28 Guelph shots.
Brophey – a Chicago Blackhawks’ draft – lead Plymouth in scoring at that time with 11 goals and 35 assists for 46 points in the first 28 games. He did everything to make the ‘Hawks sign him in 2006-07, leading Plymouth with 36 goals and 71 assists for 107 points while playing in all 68 regular season games.
“I’m not looking at that right now,” Brophey said at the time. “I’m focused on the team’s success. I’m just trying to do whatever I can to help the team win. If it’s getting points, that’s what I’ll do”.
In three games over the weekend (all victories) Brophey was directly responsible for nine of Plymouth’s 13 goals scored with three goals and six assists. Brophey was also the first star the night before on Dec. 2. The line of Brophey, Neal and Jared Boll scored all four goals in a third period comeback as the Whalers defeated Guelph, 5-3, at the Compuware Sports Arena.
Although Brophey, Neal and Boll were hot right then, the Whalers remained one of the top defensive teams in the OHL. Plymouth was second in the OHL with just 84 goals allowed, trailing Kitchener (81) for the top spot in the OHL.
The Whalers were on a roll, using the best overall depth in the OHL to move up the standings.
“This season has been the first time I have not been obsessed with line matches, where I am trying to protect one of my players from checking someone else,” said Vellucci. “It’s a great situation to be in as a coach.”
The next game, eyebrows were raised around the OHL when Plymouth went into London and thumped the Knights, 7-1, before a sellout crowd at the John Labatt Centre. Sestito led the Plymouth attack with a natural hat trick, while Boll, Ward, Terry and Neal added singles.
Sestito continued the next evening with another hat trick in a 5-3 win over Sudbury on Dec. 8 and suddenly, one of the most improved players in the OHL lead the Whalers with 20 goals. Showing resiliency that would become a trademark, the Whalers came back from deficits of 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 to win the game.
 Sestito’s hat trick against the Wolves was significant with the Stanley Cup on display for fans at the Compuware Sports Arena and Chad LaRose’s parents (Sandy and Grant) participating in a ceremonial faceoff. LaRose, who holds the Whalers record for goals in a season with 61 in 2002-03, became the first former Whaler (along with Justin Williams) to win the Stanley Cup when the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Edmonton Oilers in 2006.
Sestito’s work netted him the OHL Player of the Week Award and gave him four hat tricks on the season.
Boll and Sestito – both draft choices of the Columbus Blue Jackets – were watched with great interest all season long by Columbus scouts.
“Tommy is such a big man with a great skating stride,” said Columbus scout Don Boyd. “He has the ability to kill penalties and has a tremendous reach on him. I do think both of them will have a great opportunity to play for us sooner than later. The thing about Boll and Sestito is they seem to work so hard and they have fun playing. They’re not afraid to take a chance or try something or get their noses dirty and go into traffic.”
The Blue Jackets signed both Sestito and Boll during the 2006-07 season.
The Whalers completed their pre-Christmas portion of the season by sweeping through a three-game Eastern Ontario road swing, defeating Peterborough, Oshawa and Brampton by identical 5-1 scores.
Plymouth moved into a first place tie in the OHL West Division with Saginaw, each with 46 points. The Whalers' ascent up the OHL standings caught the attention of National Hockey league scouts as Plymouth cracked the CHL Mosaik MasterCard Rankings for the first time during the season at #10 overall in the Canadian Hockey League.
Brophey had another hot weekend with two goals and six assists for eight points over the three games. Brophey – with 14 goals and 46 assists for 60 points in 34 games – was tied with London’s Sam Gagner for the league lead in assists and was fifth in the OHL in scoring.
The Whalers were playing at the time without Neal (18-21-39), who made Canada’s National Junior Team for the World Junior Championships and helped Canada win a gold medal.
The Whalers continued to lead the league in penalty killing, going into the Christmas Break with an 86.9 percent success ratio.
Plymouth captain Steve Ward says the Whalers were playing with confidence.
“The key for us is we’re playing with a lot of confidence,” Ward said. “We’re going into games now with a bit of a swagger knowing we should win if we work hard. That’s been the key – we know if we work hard, we have enough skill to win most of the time.”
The Whalers received improved play from defensemen Zack Shepley, Brett Bellemore and Leo Jenner.
 “Everyone’s stepped up huge,” Ward said. “Shepley’s been an unsung hero on this team the way he can defensively shut down the other team.”
Bellemore was a healthy scratch early in the season, but developed into an excellent partner with Shepley as the season wore on. Together they were often matched against the OHL’s top lines.
“I love playing with Shep,” Bellemore said. “We’re both defensive guys and it’s definitely fun when you shut down the top offensive guys. It’s a challenge, but our plus/minus is going up. I’m not one of those flashy guys. Keeping it simple is my game. Positioning is the key to everything in the battles along the boards and that’s what I try to work on.”
The Whalers went into the Christmas Break 23-10-1-1 and started the second half with a convincing 6-1 win over Windsor at the Compuware Sports Arena. A pattern was starting to emerge in Plymouth victories as the Whalers pulled away from the young Spitfires with four unanswered goals in the third period.
Neuvirth then got a shutout streak of his own, going 164:18 from Dec. 28-Jan. 6, in posting consecutive shutouts Jan. 1 in a 5-0 win in Owen Sound and a 3-0 win in London on Jan. 5. Neuvirth’s streak is second on the Whalers’ all-time list.
Boll was the dominant player on the ice in London, getting into a fight with London Josh Beaulieu two seconds in and then scoring two goals as the game’s first star.
With the OHL’s Final Trading Deadline looming, the Whalers swung three deals to acquire veteran depth, picking up 19-year-old right wing/center Sean O’Connor (Brownstown, MI) from the Erie Otters in exchange for Grzeszczak and a conditional fourth round draft choice and also acquired 19-year-old defenseman Steve Whitely from the Belleville Bulls for a future fifth round draft choice.
O’Connor had scored 49 goals with 97 assists for 146 assists and 208 PIM’s in 223 games in Erie. Whitely was originally drafted by Toronto in the 14th round (274th overall) and has played for Toronto, Saginaw and Belleville in his career.
Plymouth then acquired 19-year-old center Daniel Ryder from the Peterborough Petes in exchange for Armstrong.
Plymouth also traded 2007 third-round and sixth-round draft choices and a second round draft choice in 2008 to Peterborough to complete the deal.
“Daniel is a proven goal scorer in our league and last season’s Playoff MVP,” Vellucci said. “We’re excited to have him in our lineup. We’re sad to see John leave because he is a good player and an excellent person who will be missed by everyone, but you have to give up quality to get quality.”
Ryder was in his fourth season for Peterborough and had scored 111 goals with 164 assists for 275 points and 149 PIM’s in 225 career games with the Petes. Ryder helped Peterborough win the OHL Championship last season, scoring 15 goals and 16 assists for 31 points in 19 playoff games. Ryder was awarded the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award as last season’s Most Valuable Player in the OHL Playoffs.
Ryder was selected in the first round (14th overall) by Peterborough in the 2003 and is a third round pick (74th) overall of the Calgary Flames in the 2005 National Hockey League Entry Draft. He was signed by the Flames during the season.
The Whalers’ depth gave the rest of the OHL severe match-up problems.
“They would be a tough team for opponents to pre-scout because it is hard to say who their most dangerous is,” Washington Capitals Scout Steve Bowman said. “You can’t say, ’Okay, shut down one line and you shut down the team.’ It does not work that way with them.”
The three new Whalers – along with Neal, fresh off helping Canada win the Gold Medal in the World Junior Championships – made their Plymouth debut in a dominating 7-2 victory over Saginaw at the Dow Event Center on Jan. 12. O’Connor and Ryder scored a goal apiece while Whitely fit in nicely with defensive partner Ryan McGinnis, contributing an assist while going +2.
“It was an unbelievable feeling in being able to put on the Canadian jersey,” Neal said at the time. “You grow up watching the World Junior Championships in Canada and everyone stops to watch them in Canada. So to put that jersey on for the first time was a very special moment. Then, being able to help win a gold medal is something I’ll always remember.”
Although the feeling was the Whalers didn’t acquire a dominant defenseman at the trade deadline, Plymouth’s regular six d-men – Ward, Cunningham, Shepley, Bellemore, McGinnis and now Whitely – played well as a group.
“Everyone thought we were going to get a big-name defenseman (at the deadline),” Vellucci said. “People would say they didn’t like it because we didn’t have a star. But did I think like that? No. We have six quality defensemen.”
“It doesn’t bother us that there’s no marquee name like some teams have,” Ward said. “As a group, we know what we’re doing, we work well together and the pairings have meshed real well together. We’ve done a real nice job this season.”
The Whalers were well represented in the OHL’s All-Star Game Jan. 31 in Saginaw, with Neal, Brophey, Ryder and Ward all playing for the Western Conference in the East’s 13-9 victory over the West before 5,527 at the Dow Event Center.
Plymouth went a league-best 23-3-1-1 after the deadline, pelting the Erie Otters with a franchise-record 72 shots Feb. 1 in a 10-1 victory.
Plymouth led 2-0 after one period on power plays goals by Brophey (11:12) and McGinnis (16:29) and extended the lead to 5-0 in the second period on a pair of goals by Sestito (8:21 and 12:59) and a shorthanded goal by Brophey at 17:13.
The Whalers put the game away in the third period with five unanswered goals – Brophey (9:29), Sestito (power play at 15:23), Andrew Fournier (15:39), Collins (power play at 16:58) and Neal (17:22).
"Not too often do you see that many shots - period," Erie head coach Peter Sidorkiewicz told the Erie Times-News. "(But to) make 62 saves, and you lose 10-1. I thought (Erie goaltender) Jonathan Laniel played a pretty good game."
Moving into February, Plymouth swept a home-and-home series with the rebuilding Windsor Spitfires, winning 6-2 at the Compuware Sports Arena on Feb. 10 and then 4-3 in a shootout in Windsor Arena the next afternoon.
The Whalers beat Windsor in all eight games played between the two teams in 2006-07.
“They can do it all,” Windsor forward John Kurtz told the Windsor Star. “They can score, hit, fight, you name it.”
“That team could give some American Hockey League teams a run for their money,” Windsor head coach Bob Boughner said.
Combined with a 6-3 win over Owen Sound on Feb. 9, the Whalers scored 16 goals over the course of the weekend, with no player on the roster scoring more than one goal per game – underscoring Plymouth’s overall balance.
Second-year forward Chris Terry led Plymouth in scoring over the weekend with three goals and three assists and was the game’s first star in the 6-2 victory over Windsor.
“Different guys fill different roles every night – that’s what makes this team so deep,” Terry said. “On any given night, one guy can be a goal scorer one game and then play defense the next.”
Terry started to play the point on the power play, which improved as the season wore on.
“On the power play, we’re just trying to put the puck on the net,” Terry explained. “We have big guys (Tom Sestito, James Neal, Jared Boll and others) out in front of the net who are going to put pucks in the net every time. It makes my job easy at the point, just concentrating on putting the puck on the net.”
Known primarily as an offensive performer who has won four shootouts for the Whalers in his career, Terry is starting to see more ice time on the Whalers’ league-leading penalty killing unit.
“This year, I want to buckle down and play good solid defense,” Terry said. “It showed on McCann’s winning goal. The coaches are showing a lot of trust by putting me on the penalty kill.”
Terry played an integral part of the Whalers’ success after Neal went down with a knee injury in a 5-2 win in Barrie Feb. 15, fitting in well on a line with Brophey and Boll. Terry scored 7 goals with 16 assists for 23 points in 13 games on the line in Neal’s absence.
Plymouth completed its annual Northern Ontario road swing with one of the most memorable games in franchise history on Feb. 18 at the Steelback Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, coming all the way back from a 5-0 deficit to defeat the ‘Hounds, 8-6. Sestito led the Whalers’ attack with a hat trick, Ryder added two goals and an assist, Jenks had a goal and two assists and Collins and O’Connor tallied a goal and an assist each.
Here’s what the Whalers said about the wild hockey game:
SESTITO (who scored the game-winning goal) – “In the first intermission, (assistant coach) Todd Watson told everybody to go out and get a hit. So we did that on our first shift and got a goal. On the fourth goal, it was a play that was a one-of-one with their ‘D’.
“On the winning goal, I just wheeled out to the red line and I was all alone. It was a good thing OC (Sean O’Connor) made the pass. I was thinking backhand, five-hole, but Neal’s move has been working a lot so I tried that. It wasn’t perfect, but it got the job done.
“Our goal was to be down by two goals going into the third period, so we made that happen.”
O’CONNOR (who scored the Whalers’ second goal) –” (On the second goal), the puck was put into the offensive zone. I came across the blue line slowly and fed the puck through to Jenks, because he was behind the defenseman. Nobody took me going to the net and I was wide open. Jenks slid the puck back to me and I had a one-timer. I had to shoot the puck between the defenseman’s arm and his body to get it on the net, because he had a pretty good angle on me. Luckily, it squeezed by him and went into the far side of the net.
“(On setting up the game-winning goal), I picked up the puck in front of the boards (in neutral territory). I looked up ice and realized I had a lot more time than I thought. I was originally going to give the puck to (Andrew) Fournier, because he was cutting across through the middle, but Tommy (Sestito) was about even with his defenseman and looked like he was about to beat him. So I gave him a nice saucer pass through the middle of the ice and let him skate into it.”
JENKS (who scored the Whalers’ third goal eight seconds after the Soo made it 6-2) – “I wasn’t real happy about the goal they scored. I wanted to get it back real bad. I was playing the wing and I jumped in too early on the faceoff so (Daniel) Ryder got tossed. So I won the draw and Ryder gave it back to Bellemore. I curled out on the left wing and let the shot go from the blue line and it luckily went in. I didn’t even know the puck went in until I saw the goal light go on.
“I could feel it in the dressing room that we were going to win the whole time. Everybody wanted it real bad and you could feel it in the dressing room. It was tons of fun.”
 WARD – “We came in and everybody’s dejected and upset and mad at yourself for how bad we came out and played. What we did was try to set some goals for ourselves – like maybe get three goals in the second and just chip away at it. We wanted to get one goal at a time and see what would happen.
“The first goal gave us a huge bit of confidence. And then Jenks got a big hit in front of our bench and got the guys going.“
BROPHEY – “It wasn’t the start we wanted, being down 5-0 after the first period. We took it upon ourselves in between the first and second period to decide to work at it and give us a chance. We wanted to come out and win the second period and try to be down by two goals. I thought we handled the game pretty well after the first period.
“Our first shift in the second period was huge, a real momentum builder. Then they got their goal and it was great to see AJ come right back and score – he placed that nice in the corner.
“I can’t remember ever being involved in a game like that.”
RYDER (who scored twice to tie the game at 6-6) – “(On the fifth goal), the play started in the neutral zone. I was going wide and had the ‘D’ beat. The goaltender came out to challenge me and I just figured it would be a better choice for a wrap-around and it worked. I just saw the open ice and the goalie came out and challenged a little too much.
“We were hoping to have a good second period and get it close going into the third. We were able to do that and took over in the third.”
The last word? Sault Ste. Marie head coach Craig Hartsburg.
“That’s why they’re one of the top teams in the league,” Hartsburg said. “They revved it up a notch and we went down a notch. We had it in our hands, but we have to stay hungry to finish off a good team.”
Plymouth went into the final games of the regular season chasing London for first place overall, going 10-0-1-1 over its final 12 games. After starting the season 8-9-0-0, the Whalers went 41-5-2-3 after their team meeting to finish at 49-14-2-3, good for 103 points. The Knights went 10-2-0-0 over their last 12 games to finish 50-14-1-3, good for 104 points.
The Whalers - ranked #2 in the Western Conference – drew #7 Guelph in the first round of the playoffs.
TSN hockey broadcaster Chris Cuthbert is part-owner of the Storm and assessed his team earlier in the season.
“We’re building," Cuthbert said. “We have a young team. We could probably make a little noise this year, but clearly, we’re looking towards next year and the year after. When you have Thomas McCollum in goal and Drew Doughty on defense, the future’s bright. We’re showing some growing pains, especially against veteran teams like the Whalers.”
Plymouth swept the Storm in four games, but the series was harder than a sweep indicates. The Whalers came from behind in three of the games to take the series.
Vellucci had a pleasant problem all season – should he play Neuvirth or Smith – and just like during the regular season, the Plymouth goaltenders alternated and won two games each in the Guelph series.
"All season long, the day before the game or the day of the game, I'd make a decision,” Vellucci said. “I've been going with my gut feeling on both these guys all year long."
 The Whalers were just a little older and stronger than the Storm, clinching the series with a 3-2 victory in Guelph on Mar. 29. Ryder’s goal with 27 seconds left in regulation snapped a 2-2 tie to give Plymouth the victory.
Neal figured in on all three Plymouth goals as the game’s first star with two goals and an assist. Plymouth defensemen McGinnis and Ward added two assists each. Smith stopped 20-of-22 Guelph shots to backstop the victory.
If there was a play that typified the series, it was Neal’s goal in the third period of Game 4 that tied the game at 2-2.
Guelph was killing a penalty and tried three different times to get the puck out of their own end. Terry, Ward and Brophey battled and were able to keep the puck in the Guelph zone. Neal eventually scored.
Guelph worked hard on the play, but the Whalers worked just a little bit harder and were rewarded.
“We worked so hard and we tried everything, but we just didn’t get lucky enough, I guess,” Guelph veteran Rafael Rotter told the Guelph Mercury.
“They’re a very good hockey team and it was going to be a very good challenge to win the series,” said Guelph GM-Head Coach Dave Barr. “They play a very aggressive style and have two or three players that can hit very hard. You have to keep your head up when these guys are on the ice. You get tired of getting hit hard after awhile.”
One of the guys that Barr was referring to was Neal, who came back from injury at the start of the series and contributed four goals.
“We come through in the clutch when it counts,” Neal said. “We just keep piling it on and getting shots on net and good things are happening to us.”
Plymouth drew Kitchener in the Western Conference Semi-Finals.
All the right things were being said just before the start of the Whalers’ series with Kitchener.
 "We match up pretty well," Vellucci said. "They're a very aggressive team and they forecheck hard. Their defensemen like to jump in on rushes and join the play. Their goalie (John Murray) has done a nice job against us, too, so we're going to have to make sure we get a lot of traffic in front of him."
Plymouth took the series in five games, winning two games in overtime. Brophey scored a shorthanded goal at 6:25 of overtime in Game 1 the give Plymouth a 6-5 victory; Fournier scored at 0:42 of overtime in Game 3 for a 5-4 Plymouth victory to give the Whalers’ a commanding 3-games-to-0 lead.
The goaltenders’ battle in the series between Kitchener’s Murray and Neuvirth was won decisively by Neuvirth – who earned the start in every game of the series for Plymouth. He stopped 45-of-47 shots as the game’s first star in Game 2 to give the Whalers a 3-2 victory and was also the first star in the Whalers’ 4-1 victory over the Rangers in Game 5 as Plymouth clinched the series.
Plymouth faced London in the Western Conference Finals.
“We’ve battled Plymouth and Kitchener all year long for the top of our conference,” said London Head Coach Dale Hunter. “They have a very solid team. Plymouth has not just one solid goalie, but two solid goalies. Their defense is solid and up front, they have four well-balanced lines with scoring, size and skill. It’s been a battle all year and it’s going to be an exciting series.”
“We’re going against the top team in the league, not only this year, but the past several years,” said Vellucci. “London’s going to be a tough test for us. They play in a tough building, with 9,100 people there every night. We expect to play at a high level. When you have the two top teams going head-to-head, you know it should be a good series.”
Plymouth took the series in five games, winning all three games at the John Labatt Centre. Like the Guelph and Kitchener series, Plymouth’s overall depth, penalty killing, physical play and goaltending proved to be the difference.
On many nights, Boll and Neal led the Whalers’ Hit Parade. In the New OHL, they’re throwbacks as power forwards who make opposing defensemen look around when they enter the offensive zone. Most teams had no answer for Plymouth’s bigger, in-your-face, forwards.
“Boll and Neal get out on the forecheck and they love to hit,” Ward said, “I think any defenseman back there doesn’t like knowing they’re going to get hit every time the puck’s dumped in.“
Plymouth used a familiar script in eliminating London in Game 5 on April 26. The Whalers received excellent goaltending from first star Neuvirth, gritty penalty-killing and timely goal scoring in a 4-1 win.
Neuvirth stopped 45-of-46 shots in the victory and stopped 183-of-193 shots over the five-game series for a .953 save percentage. The Whaler penalty killers went 10-for-11 in the game and played shorthanded 3-on-5 four different times in the game, allowing only Sergei Kostitsyn’s goal in the first period. The Plymouth power play built an early 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Sestito (10th of the playoffs) and Collins (5). Wes Cunningham (1) scored a shorthanded goal in the second period and Collins added an empty net goal in the final minute of play in the third period.
The key goal of the game came from Cunningham when he scored a shorthanded goal at 18:18 of the second period. Fournier did a lot of the work, skating with the puck from center ice and into the left wing along the boards in the London zone. Cunningham followed up on the play late and was stationed at the hash marks when he accepted Fournier’s feed. Mason stopped most of Cunningham’s shot, but the puck trickled over the line to give the Whalers a 3-1 lead after forty minutes of play.
The Whalers took on a Cinderella Story – the Sudbury Wolves | 
