Brophey signs with Blackhawks
This week, the Chicago Blackhawks signed Jonathan Toews (3rd overall pick in 2006 draft), who played for the University of North Dakota this season, and Evan Brophey, a Plymouth Whaler. Both signed for a three year entry level contract. Brophey became the fifth Plymouth Whalers’ player this season to sign with their NHL team.
Jared Boll and Tom Sesisto were selected in the 2005 and 2006 drafts respectively by Columbus and signed with the team. WJC gold medalist James Neal signed with the Dallas Stars and Daniel Ryder has signed with the Calgary Flames.
Whalers = OHL Champs!
The first time I work as an intern for a sports team and they win it all in their league! The Plymouth Whalers defeated the Sudbury Wolves last night in OT, 3-2. Once again, the Whalers outshot the Wolves, 43-25. Sudbury’s goaltender Sebastian Dahm definitely had a good series and was the reason for multiple overtimes in this series. You can view highlights of the game at Sportsnet.
Plymouth had two power play goals including one from my favorite, Tom Sestito, who played his last game with the Whalers. Sudbury got on the board first with a goal by Donati only 29 seconds into the second period. The Wolves’ Foligno got an assist on that goal and then scored the tying power play goal in the third. The Whalers’ Evan Brophey had two assists last night. Daniel Ryder had an assist as well. Sean O’Connor had a goal and an assist. James Neal, who won the gold in the WJC earlier this year, scored the series winning goal and earned an assist on Plymouth’s first goal of the game.
Source: SudburyWolves.com
Sudbury’s captain Marc Staal was named MVP of the playoffs.
The win clinched the Rogers Championship Series for the Whalers as they knocked off the Sudbury Wolves in six games. OHL Commissioner, David Branch first presented the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award to Marc Staal of the Sudbury Wolves as the MVP of the playoffs. Staal was instrumental in leading the Wolves rearguard throughout Sudbury’s magnificant playoff run. Staal recorded five goals and 15 assists for 20 points in 22 playoff games. Commissioner Branch then presented the J. Ross Robertson Cup to Captain Steve Ward of the Plymouth Whalers as the Whalers celebrated their OHL Championship.
The Wolves had a great playoff run as they defeated the top three seeds in the Eastern Conference in their run to the OHL Finals.
The Whalers will now head to Vancouver as they play their first game in the Memorial Cup tournament on May 18th at 9pm (EST) against the Vancouver Giants.
They will play a round-robin format with QMJHL-Champion Lewiston MAINEiacs, and the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers and Vancouver Giants before the single elimination bracket.
I will post updates with the Whalers’ progress in the Memorial Cup. Additionally, I’ll be going to the NHL Draft on June 22nd and 23rd. Two of the Whalers’ players, Jeremy Smith and Chris Terry, are eligible this draft and Smith is actually ranked the number one goaltender this year. I’ll definitely be cheering them on!
The Whalers haven’t officially scheduled a celebration party for when they return home from the Memorial Cup, but it looks like it might be May 30th according to my boss.
Whalers 4, Wolves 3 (OT)
I just got back from working the Plymouth Whalers vs. Sudbury Wolves playoff game (Game #5 of the OHL Finals) so I have yet to watch the Wings game (they won 2-1 by the way). Commentary about the Wings’ game won’t go up until tomorrow after I’ve watched the game.
The Whalers really dominated the game tonight and had a two goal lead at one point, yet allowed the Wolves to come back and tie it up to send the game into OT. The biggest story of the night? Wolves’ goaltender Sebastian Dahm. He faced 81 shots tonight. 81!!! And only allowed four goals. That’s not too shabby in my book. Admittedly, they weren’t all great shots, but he definitely had to make plenty of solid saves. Whalers went 1/6 on the PP while the Wolves scored twice on their six power play opportunities.
Plymouth’s Andrew Fournier had two assists. Chris Terry got a goal and an assist. Jared Boll and Evan Brophey each got a goal. Dan Ryder, James Neal, and Ryan McGinnis each got an assist. Sudbury’s Lusnak and Donati each got a goal and an assist. McCullough, D’Aversa, and Baker each earned an assist.
13:34 into OT, Dan Collins scores to give the Whalers a 3-2 series lead.
They play Sunday in Sudbury where they will hopefully become OHL Champs!
In other Detroit sports…
The Detroit Tigers won their 10th game in 11 games over the Minnesota Twins.
The Detroit Pistons play Game #4 of the second round tonight with a chance to sweep! They came back in Game #3 after being down 19 points to get a 3-0 series lead over the Chicago Bulls.
The Detroit Lions, oh wait, they suck.
Whalers 3, Wolves 2
The Plymouth Whalers needed to win tonight in Sudbury in order to tie up the series in the OHL Finals. The Wolves had won last night in overtime to gain their shortlived series lead. The Whalers will now head back home with the series tied. They play on Friday evening at 7:05pm where I will be (instead of watching the Wings’ game, which will kill me I know).
Both teams had 23 minutes of penalties and went 0/6 on the power play. Sudbury’s goaltender, Sebastian Dahm, made 34 saves on 37 shots while the Whalers’ goalie, Michal Neuvirth, stopped all but one of the 31 shots he faced.
Each team scored in the first period with the Whalers getting on the board first on a goal by Dan Collins. Exactly three minutes later, Sudbury’s Nick Foligno scored to even the score. 8:09 into the second period, Jared Boll (who recently signed an entry level contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets) scored. The last goal of the game came 5:42 into the final period by Chris Terry.
My favorite Whaler, Tom Sestito, notched two assists and only had 2 PIM. Quite impressive for him since he usually spends as much time in the box as he does on the ice (or so it seems). Terry and Collins both had a goal and an assist tonight. Defenseman Brett Bellemore earned an assist on Boll’s goal in the second.
It sounds like it was a solid effort by the Whalers and hopefully they will take the series lead on Friday evening. Game #6 will be in Sudbury on Sunday, May 13, at 3pm. Game #7, if needed, will be in Plymouth on Tuesday, May 15th, at 7:05pm.
Go Whalers!
5/7 Notes
Some quick notes before I head off to class in Ann Arbor…
1) We still don’t know for sure if Brett Lebda will return to play after suffering a sprained ankle in Game #5 of the Calgary series. If he is not ready to go, Derek Meech will play.
2) The Detroit News has a cool article about Red Bird II, the airplane used by the Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Tigers for all their travel needs.
3) Mathieu Schneider apparently fractured his wrist in multiple locations. It also looks like Niklas Kronwall will definitely be out until the Stanley Cup finals at the earliest.
The bone in Mathieu Schneider’s left wrist was shattered. He’ll have surgery this week and will be in a splint for eight weeks or so. Has he played his last game as a Wing? Schneider is an unrestricted free agent. The Wings tried to sign him to an extension during the season but made no progress with his agent, Mike Gillis. They’d still like to sign him before he hits the open market on July 1. The question is, how much do you pay him? He turns 38 on June 12 and earned $3.3 million this season. My guess, which is always subject to change, is that he’ll be back. He’s moved around a lot in his career but he really likes it here.
Niklas Kronwall (fractured sacrum) said he hopes to begin skating at the end of next week. Wings general manager Ken Holland said the earliest Kronwall could return would be for the Stanley Cup finals. Even that might be optimistic.
4) Bruce MacLeod has a nice article about Schneider pulling Lebda aside before leaving for the hospital to talk to him.
Schneider’s wrist was throbbing. He was checked by San Jose’s Patrick Marleau not long before and used his arms to cushion the impact. Schneider’s wrist was thus broken on a harmless looking play.
Before going to the hospital, Schneider saw Lebda in street clothes in the locker room, watching the game. Lebda was close to returning from an ankle injury that kept him out for two weeks.
Schneider, 37, pulled Lebda, 25, aside, closed the door and started to talk. Schneider knew that his injury meant the end of his playoffs. Lebda was going to go into the lineup in his place.
It was a moment that touched Lebda. You could see his motivation as he suited up for Sunday’s practice at the HP Pavilion.
“Between me and him, we had a heart-to-heart, (telling me) what to do now,” said Lebda. “I don’t want to say passing the torch because this is a huge loss for our team. But he gave me some words of wisdom and it really touched home with me. … Just little things of what to do and what to expect. He knows the way I play.”
5) The Plymouth Whalers got spanked last night by the Sudbury Wolves, 7-3, in Game #2 of the OHL Championships. It’s the worst I’ve seen the Whalers play or get outplayed all postseason. The team allowed four goals in the second period. Three of those goals came within a stretch of six minutes.
“They beat us quite handily,” Whalers coach Michael Vellucci said. “I’ve been telling anyone that would listen that Sudbury is a good team.”
After an even first period, Sudbury chased Whalers goalie Michal Neuvirth with three goals in less than six minutes to take a 4-1 lead. Vellucci inserted backup goalie Jeremy Smith.
“It was mostly to change the momentum up,” said Vellucci, deflecting the blame from Neuvirth. “Our defense struggled from moving the puck to positional play.”
Whalers start OHL finals Friday
The OHL Finals begin tomorrow (Friday) at 7:05pm in Plymouth, MI where the Plymouth Whalers will take on the Sudbury Wolves. It is my understanding that tickets are still available and you can get the appropriate contact info at the Whalers’ website. Tickets are only $12 and $16 (for center ice seats) so it’s definitely worth the money.
The Whalers are picked to win, but the Wolves have done quite well as the underdog including a sweep of the number one team in the Eastern Conference. This postseason is the fifth time that the Whalers have made it to the OHL Finals. They last won the championship in 1995.
As always, goaltending will be key to the Whalers’ success especially if they continue to take the high number of penalties that they do.
A large part of the Whalers’ success is due to Michael Neuvirth’s play in goal. He is 10-2 during the postseason with a 2.31 goals-against and .942 save percentage.
“In the playoffs, you have to have good goaltending and get the breaks,” Whalers coach Michael Vellucci said Wednesday.
“Michael Neuvirth, a draft pick of Washington, has taken over the No. 1 job in the playoffs and has been outstanding.”
Neuvirth had a 2.00 goals-against and .943 save percentage in a 4-1 series victory over London in the Western Conference finals.
The leading scorer for the Whalers, Tom Sesisto, will not be playing in game one to serve a one game suspension after checking a London Knights player from behind in the Western Conference finals.
An article by the Canadian Press basically introduces you to the key players in this series for both teams.
The key players in Plymouth’s arsenal are power forward James Neal, who helped Canada win gold at the world junior hockey championship this year and is under contract to the Dallas Stars, overage forward Evan Brophey, Daniel Ryder, who was acquired this year from Peterborough, and Sestito when he returns from his suspension and Dan Collins.
Captain Steve Ward anchors a defence that was the best in the league during the regular season and Czech goaltender Michal Neuvirth has earned the right as Plymouth’s starter after working in tandem with Jeremy Smith during the regular season.
It Sudbury, it’s all centred around defenceman Marc Staal, whose return from the New York Rangers last fall prompted the Wolves to make deals at the January trade deadline for a long playoff run.
”Marc has taken the leadership level to the highest level I’ve ever seen,” Foligno said. ”He’s playing like an NHL player right now and I think everyone else has followed suit.”
Staal was Canada’s shut-down defenceman in gold-medal efforts at the last two world junior championships, but contributes a lot offensively for the Wolves as does fellow defenceman Jonathan D’Aversa.
Up front, the go-to players are Nick Foligno, a first-round draft pick of the Ottawa Senators and Justin Donati, acquired at the deadline from the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors. Danish goaltender Sebastian Dahm was also a deadline-acquisition from Sarnia.
I actually got to hold and look at Neal’s gold medal this winter - it was pretty nice! Anyways, it should be a great series.
As you know, I’m an intern there so if any readers are attending the game stop by and say hello. I sell programs for the hour and fifteen minutes before the game and then five minutes into the game. We’ll actually be selling special OHL Finals’ programs. I’ve already met one BTJ reader and two members of the Lets Go Wings forums at Whalers’ games and I’d love to meet you too!
Whalers lead series 2-0
The Plymouth Whalers beat London Knights tonight by a score of 5-1. After winning last night as well (by the same score), the Whalers lead the Western Conference finals 2-0. Their next game will be Monday in London and then Tuesday in Plymouth at 7:05pm.
Tom Sestito scored 2 goals and an assist and Steve Whitely, Evan Brophey, and Sean O’Connor all contributed 2 assists. Michal Neuvirth made 36 saves for the win.
Go Whalers!
Whalers start third round today
The Plymouth Whalers will face London Knights today (Thursday) at 7pm to start the Western Conference finals. London has the home advantage as they finished first in the league and the Whalers came in second. The Whalers first home game is tomorrow (Friday) at 7:05pm.
Here’s the complete schedule…
Game 1 - Thurs., April 19th - Plymouth at London at 7 p.m.
Game 2 - Fri., April 20th - London at Plymouth at 7:05 p.m.
Game 3 - Mon., April 23rd - Plymouth at London at 7 p.m.
Game 4 - Tues., April 24th - London at Plymouth at 7:05 p.m.
If necessary, games 5-7…
Game 5 - Thurs., April 26th - Plymouth at London at 7 p.m.
Game 6 - Sat., April 28th - London at Plymouth at 7:05 p.m.
Game 7 - Sun., April 29th - Plymouth at London at 6 p.m.
The Detroit News had a brief preview on the series:
London finished with 104 points, and Plymouth had 103. Thus, the Knights earned home-ice advantage.
But the Whalers won the season series 3-1, including both games at London.
“You always like to play at home,” Whalers coach Michael Vellucci said. “The kids have set routines. You also have to get breaks in your own building, and we had three overtime winners during the playoffs.
“London’s a tough test for us. It’s a tough building to play in with 9,100 people in it.”
Whalers win second round
Last night, the Plymouth Whalers defeated Kitchener Rangers, 4-1, in Plymouth to win the second round series, 4-1. They will play the winner of the London/Soo series (London is up 3-2) and the first game will be either Friday (April 20th) or Sunday (April 22nd).
Whalers’ goaltender, Michal Neuvirth, saved 30 shots during the game and was named first star. The Whalers capitalized on a penalty shot in the first period while shorthanded and also scored a second shorthanded goal last night.
The Rangers outshot the Whalers, 31-24. Jakub Kindl, one of the Wings’ top defensive prospects, scored the Rangers’ only goal.
There were 30 penalty minutes in the game excluding the three 10 minute misconducts and an additional game misconduct (the Rangers weren’t happy losing by that much in the remaining 5 minutes of the third).
Whalers 5, Rangers 4 (OT)
Last night, the Plymouth Whalers beat the Kitchener Rangers in overtime, 5-4. I was pleasantly surprised to see Jiri Fischer walk through the doors early in the second. He seemed like he was enjoying the game, but didn’t stay to see the finish.
The Whalers now lead the Western Conference semifinals 3-0. They play tonight in Kitchener and hopefully will close out the series tonight.
The Whalers’ head coach (general manager and president) Mike Vellucci became the first American to win the OHL coach of the year award, the Matt Leyden Trophy. The Whalers finished the regular season second in the league with a 49-14-2-3 record. Vellucci received 53 first place votes. The runner up, Mike Kelly of the Mississauga IceDogs, received 35 first place votes.
“I adjusted my game plan,” Vellucci explained following the announcement of his Leyden win Tuesday. “We were focusing too much on what happened in the last game instead of what was lying ahead.
“We began preparing more for the opponent up front instead of worrying about what we just did.”
Freeing his defencemen to join attacks also was an adjustment that paid off handsomely.