Whalers Get First Win In Owen Sound

Published on October 5, 2007 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Plymouth Whalers News Release


Brett Valliquette had a smile on his face after the Whalers' 6-4 win in Owen Sound on Wednesday night.

"I bet they're smiling in the Ottawa Valley now, right?" Valliquette asked.

Valliquette was referring to grandparents Ethel and Tony Larmour, aunt and uncle Anita and George Hunter and cousins Eldon and Evert Hunter and Steven and Zoe Ingleby - all from Smith Falls, ON in Eastern Ontario.

Valliquette made his first two Ontario Hockey League goals count as he scored the game-winner at 17:13 of the third period and then added an empty netter as the Whalers came all the way back from a 4-2 deficit after forty minutes with four unanswered goals for the victory.

The Whalers worked hard in the third period for the victory, outshooting Owen Sound, 15-8. Andrew Fournier tipped Wes Cunningham's point shot past Attack goaltender David Davenport at 2:48 at of the third period and AJ Jenks tied the game on a scramble in front of the Owen Sound net at 15:17.

That set the stage for the game-winner, a result of good work by Valliquette and linemates Joe McCann and RJ Mahalak. The play originally started in the Plymouth zone when Valliquette won a faceoff and blocked Michael D'Orazio's shot from the point. McCann cleared the puck from neutral ice into the Owen Sound zone, then took the puck away from D'Orazio. Mahalak got a shot on Davenport, who made the save. McCann took a shot on the rebound that went wide. But Valliquette picked up the puck and stuffed it by Davenport to give the Whalers the lead.

Valliquette added the insurance goal on an empty net with 12 seconds remaining as Mahalak assisted for his first OHL point.

"We gave one hundred and ten percent in the third period," said veteran Andrew Fournier. "We weren't going to lose this game."

"I reamed them out a little bit between the second and third and they came out and responded," Plymouth President, General Manager and Head Coach Mike Vellucci told the Owen Sound Sun-Times after the game.

Jeremy Smith stopped 37-of-41 Owen Sound shots for the victory. Cunningham had a goal and three assists for four points and was +3; Jenks scored twice and Fournier had a goal and two assists as the game's first star.

Although it was a long bus ride to Owen Sound and back, the game was seen by at least 15 National Hockey League scouts.

The scouts saw a young Whalers team dig down for a well-earned victory.

THE 100-POINT CLUB: When Whaler veteran Chris Terry assisted on Cunningham's goal in the first period of Wednesday's game in Owen Sound, the helper gave Terry exactly 100 points (34 goals with 66 assists) in his Plymouth career. Terry is 42nd in the Whalers' all-time list.

Fournier's three-point night Wednesday gives him 98 career points (52-46). He's currently tied with John Wynne (1990-92) for 43rd on the Whalers' all-time list.

CHAD BEAL TO LONDON: Earlier this week, the Whalers sent Chad Beal to London for a conditional draft choice in 2008. Beal made Plymouth out of training camp last year, but got injured and played last season for Pickering of the Ontario Provincial Jr.A Hockey League. Beal was originally selected by Plymouth in the third round (49th overall) of the 2005 Ontario Hockey League Draft.

HIT THE ROAD WITH THE WHALER BOOSTERS. The Whalers' booster club will be traveling to Erie, PA to see the Whalers vs. the Otters on Saturday, November 3, then will stay overnight in Niagara Falls, ON before continuing on to Mississauga to see Plymouth battle the St. Michael's Majors on Sunday, November 4. For complete details and pricing, go to http://www.whalersboosters.com/content/eriemissytrip.htm.

FUNDRAISING OPPORTUNITIES GALORE WITH THE WHALERS. Want to earn money for your group? The Plymouth Whalers have three fundraising options for you to pick from - ticket sales, 50/50 raffle, and Chuck-a-Puck. Whalers fundraising is a simple, effective, and fun way to raise money for your group, team or organization. To find out if Whalers fundraising is for you, please contact Karyl Eckerle at 734-453-8400 or karyle@plymouthwhalers.com. ADOPT-A-SCHOOL OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE.

Local businesses are encouraged to join our "Adopt-A-School Program" that rewards students who have had success or show improvement based on criteria established by the schools. Other corporate sponsorship opportunities are available to help your company "ride the wave" with the Whalers. For more information, contact Rob Murphy at 734-453-8400.

RISING STAR JOHN TAVARES IN WITH OSHAWA on SATURDAY

The Oshawa Generals are in town on Saturday to play the Whalers at 7:05 p.m. at Compuware Arena. The Generals (who got their nickname because of the General Motors plant in Oshawa) feature John Tavares, one of the stars in the OHL, who may be in the National Hockey League within the next two years. He has been compared to Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby and NHL Hall-of-Famer Wayne Gretzky.

The 16-year-old sensation broke Wayne Gretzky's record for most goals by a 16-year-old last season (scoring 72), won the Canadian Hockey League Player of the Year Award and the Red Tilson Trophy as Ontario Hockey League Most Valuable Player.

"He is more of a refined scorer than Sid is, and don't get me wrong, Sid is a great player," NBC analyst Pierre McGuire told USA Today. "I thought Sid would be a better goal scorer than Peter Forsberg, and he has been, and now I think (Tavares) is a more refined scorer than Sid."

"Tavares has outstanding hockey sense," said Detroit Red Wing assistant general manager Jim Nill. "He has that Gretzky vision. He controls the pace of the game. He speeds it up. He slows it down."

In many ways, the Plymouth-Oshawa games have been a win-win in the two seasons that Tavares has faced the Whalers. Plymouth has won all four games against Oshawa during that time frame, but Tavares has scored in every game. In all, Tavares has scored six goals with two assists for eight points in four games against Plymouth.

Tickets are available at $14 for Center Ice Seating and $10 for Executive Reserved. Saturday is also a Family Value Pack Night - four tickets, four hotdogs, four pepsi products and four lineup cards for $44. Additional Family Value Pack tickets can be purchased for $11.

BOLL ROLLS INTO COLUMBUS: Former Whaler Jared Boll has made the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Boll is one of the most popular recent-Whalers to play in Plymouth, playing an often reckless style that entertained fans and agitated the opposition. Boll used the same blue-collar work ethic to win a job in the National Hockey League.

According to Columbus Dispatch beat writer Aaron Portzline, Boll moved past several other Columbus prospects.

"Boll making the club, though, is a shocker," Portzline wrote in his blog. "Not because the kid doesn't deserve it -- he certainly does -- but because nobody could have seen this coming a month ago. Nobody outside the Boll family of suburban Chicago, that is.

"In the course of one camp, Boll leapfrogged Steven Goertzen, Joakim Lindstrom, Derek MacKenzie, Adam Pineault, Geoff Platt and (Whaler teammate) Tom Sestito on the depth chart. That's impressive. The kid is relentless and fearless. He fits right into the Ken Hitchcock mold of hockey."

"Boll is one of those guys who came to camp and earned a spot," Columbus head coach Ken Hitchcock told the Columbus Dispatch. "He's in the middle of the action in every game he plays. That's just the way he plays. He's right up in your face."

"How can you not like the kid?" said Jason Chimera. "He hits, he fights, he scores."

"There's no slowing down now," Boll said. "It's all business. Hockey is going to be my life from here on out, and that was what I wanted all along. I have to keep working, keep going forward."

Former Whaler Jesse Boulerice (1995-98) has been signed by the Philadelphia Flyers.

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from October 5, 2007


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