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Plymouth Whalers Come From Behind to Defeat Kitchener, 3-2

January 9, 2010 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Plymouth Whalers News Release


PLYMOUTH, MI -- Kitchener Rangers' goaltender Mavric Parks is named after the Tom Cruise character in the classic movie, "Top Gun." On Saturday night, Parks - who leads the Ontario Hockey League with a .935 save percentage - acted as his movie counterpart in shutting down the Plymouth offense in stopping 30-of-31 shots through forty minutes as Kitchener built a 2-1 lead.

But the Whalers - who outplayed Kitchener through most of the game in outshooting the Rangers, 47-26 - came from behind with a pair of third period power play goals to win, 3-2, before 2,685 Saturday night at Compuware Arena

Plymouth breaks a two-game losing streak and improves to 24-19-0-1, good for second place in the OHL's West Division and fourth seed in the Western Conference. Kitchener is 27-11-1-2, good for second place in the OHL's Midwest Division and third in the Western Conference.

The Whalers received excellent performances from returning veterans AJ Jenks and Michal Jordan, both playing their first game after participating in the World Junior Championships for the United States and the Czech Republic, respectively. Jordan and Jenks scored power play goals in the third period to overcome Parks' work.

Jordan tied the game at 2-2 at 7:49 of the third period with his ninth goal of the year (all on the power play) which leads OHL defenseman. Jordan has scored a goal in the last six games he's played for Plymouth dating back to Dec. 6. Then Jenks scored the game-winner (his 14th) at 17:25 of the period.

Tyler Seguin figured in on all three goals for Plymouth, scoring his 29th of the season in the first period and then assisting on both Whalers power play tallies in the third period. Seguin - playing in his 100th regular season game for the Whalers tonight - leads the OHL with 29 goals and 38 assists for 67 points in 39 games. Ironically, Seguin scored 67 points in 61 games last year.

Seguin gave the Whalers a 1-0 lead at 3:32 of the first period, taking a pass from linemate Robbie Czarnik and ripping a shot from the lower rim of the right circle past Parks. The Whalers dominated the rest of the period, outshooting Kitchener, 21-4, in the period. But Parks was the difference.

The Rangers battled back in the second period to take the lead. Ben Thomson (fifth) knocked down a loose puck in front of Plymouth goaltender Matt Hackett to tie the game at 1-1 at 9:25 and Gabriel Landeskog (15th) scored a shorthanded goal on a scramble in front of Hackett at 19:26.

The Whalers finally tied the game at 2-2 at 7:49, capping good pressure in the Kitchener zone. Seguin (on the left wing) found Jordan in the high slot and he threaded a low shot past Parks, who was screened by Joe Gaynor.

Although Gaynor didn't record a point in the game, he was responsible in helping set up the Whalers game-winning goal. Gaynor dumped the puck from center into the Rangers zone and chased the puck to the end wall. Gaynor won the battle for the puck against a Kitchener defender and passed the puck to the left corner to Czarnik. Czarnik found Seguin on the left wing, who found Jenks in the high slot. Jenks didn't blast the shot, but it beat Parks, who was screened again.

"I thought we were getting our shots through (to the net), especially in the third period," said Plymouth assistant coach Brian Sommariva. "That was definitely a key - if Jenks doesn't get the shot through, he doesn't score. Kitchener was doing a good job blocking shots through the second period when we only had a couple of power plays."

"Going into the third period, we had 31 shots and we still had to keep testing him (Parks)," Seguin said. "We capitalized on our opportunities and it worked out well. Joe did his job on the game-winning goal and that's what we need, all of our players performing their roles."

Plymouth won the battle of special teams, going 2-for-4 on the power play while killing off all five Kitchener power plays. The Whalers lead the OHL in penalty killing with an 84.5 percent success ratio (207-for-245).

The Whalers are off until next Friday when they host the Barrie Colts (32-6-0-1), the top team in the Eastern Conference, at 7:05pm at Compuware Arena. Plymouth hosts Niagara next Saturday, again at 7:05pm.

For information on Whalers ticket packages, including the Bob Evans' Great Save 4 for $44 Pack, or to plan a group event, visit plymouthwhalers.com or call 734-453-8400.

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