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Plymouth Whalers Snatch Victory from Jaws of Defeat, 4-3, Over Saginaw

January 17, 2011 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Plymouth Whalers News Release


PLYMOUTH - Robbie Czarnik's goal at 10:02 of the third period brought the Plymouth Whalers all the way back from a 3-1 deficit and the Whalers defeated the Saginaw Spirit, 4-3, Monday afternoon before 2,581 at Compuware Arena.

The Whalers - who have won three games in a row - remain tied with Windsor for fourth place in the Western Conference race with 50 points. Saginaw had a six-game winning streak snapped but remains the top team in the Western Conference with a record of 30-9-3-1.

Plymouth trailed, 3-1, after forty minutes, but Stefan Noesen (1:46), James Livingston (5:10) and then Czarnik brought the Whalers all the way back to lead for the first time in the game. Before that, Rickard Rakell scored the lone Plymouth goal, his 17th and sixth in three games, in the first period.

Vince Trocheck (19), Josh Shalla (34) and Jordan Szwarz (19) scored for Saginaw.

Saginaw led, 2-1, after one period of play sandwiching goals by Trocheck at 3:02 (severe angle, left goal line) and Shalla at 13:28 (left circle) around Rakell's marker at 8:49 (intercepting loose puck in the Saginaw zone and scoring from the slot).

The Spirit built a 3-1 lead on a power play at 0:53 of the second period when Szwarz batted home a rebound from the left wing side of the goal past Plymouth goaltender Scott Wedgewood.

Plymouth started their comeback after Noesen finished served a slashing penalty at 1:38 of the third period. Coming out of the penalty box, Noesen accepted RJ Mahalak's pass at center, skated hard right wing into the Saginaw zone and scored, top shelf, for his 21st goal of the season.

Although Livingston tied the game at 3-3 at 5:10, the play was step up by Plymouth center Mitchell Heard, who won a battle for a puck in the Plymouth zone and chipped the puck off the glass to Livingston. Livingston worked around a Spirit defender and scored from the right circle to tie the game.

"Heardie made a great play off the wall," Livingston said of his tying goal. "I knew I had a little step on the defenseman and I saw the opening (top corner), shot for it and was lucky it went in."

Good communication by Czarnik and Jamie Devane set the game-winning goal in motion.

"I brought to puck out of our 'd' zone and Davie (Jamie Devane) was calling for it," Czarnik said. "He told me to chip the puck off the boards, so I chipped it and he skated into it and brought it to the boards. The puck was just laying there for me to tap in. It (the net) was wide open."

Saginaw didn't quit, pulling Parks for the extra attacker with 0:50 left and then calling a time-out with 39.5 seconds remaining. But the Whalers were able to salt away the remaining time for the victory.

"It was a great character win," Livingston said. "We really came out strong after the second period and turned it around. It's a huge win for us. It shows a lot of character and it also shows we can compete with any team in the league when we play our best. It was huge mentally for us to get the two points in our conference."

"Saginaw's a great team," Czarnik said. "They worked hard the whole game and they played well. We came out to battle (in the third period) and didn't want to lose. It was a good game for us."

The Whalers stay at home the rest of this week, hosting Brampton on Friday and Erie on Saturday. Both games start at 7:05pm at Compuware Arena and both will be broadcast on 88.1FM WSDP starting at 6:45pm on both nights.

Tickets for all Plymouth Whalers games are available by calling Compuware Arena at (734) 453-8400.



Ontario Hockey League Stories from January 17, 2011


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