After a day off on Thursday, the Plymouth Whalers skated again at practice Friday at Compuware Arena. Plymouth doesn’t know who they’re going to be playing in the Ontario Hockey League semi-finals yet and may not know until next Tuesday evening. The Whalers have home ice in the Western Conference semi-finals in a 2-2-1-1-1 format.  #3 Owen Sound and #6 Sault Ste. Marie are tied at two-games-each, with Game 5 going tonight in Owen Sound.  #4 Kitchener has a three-games-to-one lead over #5 Guelph, with Game 5 happening tonight in Kitchener. #1 London eliminated #8 Saginaw on Thursday, so the …

SARNIA, Ontario - A precision skating group performed during the second intermission Monday night at RBC Centre in Sarnia during Game 3 of the Plymouth Whalers-Sarnia Sting Ontario Hockey League playoff game. A crowd of 2,427 enjoyed the performance.  The crowd did not enjoy the performance of the Whalers, who were far more precise than the skating group. Plymouth dominated much of the first two periods en route to a 5-2 victory over Sarnia to take a three-games-to-none lead in the best-four-of-seven OHL Western Conference quarterfinal series. Game 4 of the series is Wednesday at 7 p.m. at …

Vince Trocheck scored three goals with two assists and Stefan Noesen and Garrett Meurs scored two goals each as the Plymouth Whalers defeated the Sarnia Sting, 11-2, in Game 1 of a best-four-of-seven Ontario Hockey League Western Conference quarterfinal series played Friday night at Compuware Arena. First-star Nick Malysa recorded three assists for Plymouth, a career high in one game for the veteran defenseman.  Zach Lorentz and Connor Carrick contributed two assists each. Tom Wilson, Gianluca Curcuruto, Matt Mistele and Cody Payne all scored one goal each for the Whalers, who led 5-1 after …

Release from the Canadian Hockey League: TORONTO, Ontario – The Canadian Hockey League on Wednesday announced that Matt Mahalak of the Plymouth Whalers is the Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week for the final week of the 2012-13 regular season ending March 17, after posting a 2-0-0-0 record with two shutouts giving him a perfect goals-against-average of 0.00 and save percentage of 1.000.  Mahalak stopped all 53 shots he faced in two games last week beginning with a 29-save performance on Wednesday night as part of an 8-0 shutout win over the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.  Mahalak picked up his …

Release from the Ontario Hockey League: TORONTO, Ontario – The Ontario Hockey League today announced that OHL Scoring Champion Vince Trocheck of the Plymouth Whalers is the OHL Player of the Week for the final week of the 2012-13 regular season ending March 17, after leading the league with eight points in three games scoring two goals and six assists with a plus-minus rating of plus-5. Trocheck earns the weekly honor for the second time this season and closed out the year in dramatic fashion by recording three assists Sunday night against the Windsor Spitfires to overtake the scoring lead …

The Plymouth Whalers will play the Sarnia Sting in the best four-of-seven Ontario Hockey League Western Conference quarterfinal series starting Friday at 7 pm at Compuware Arena.  Here are the dates for the series:  Game 1 – Friday, March 22 – Sarnia at Plymouth, 7 pm, Compuware Arena. Game 2 – Saturday, March 23 – Sarnia at Plymouth, 7 pm, Compuware Arena. Game 3 – Monday, March 25 – Plymouth at Sarnia, 7 pm, RBC Centre. Game 4 – Wednesday, March 27 – Plymouth at Sarnia, 7 pm, RBC Centre. (*) Game 5 – Friday, March 29 – Sarnia at Plymouth, 7 pm, Compuware Arena. (*) Game 6 – Saturday, March …

WINDSOR, ON – The Plymouth Whalers often call their road games business trips.  And in winning 10 of its last 11 games on the road, the Whalers have been all business. On Sunday, Plymouth goaltender Matt Mahalak stopped all 24 shots he faced to record his second straight shutout and Vince Trocheck assisted on three goals as the Plymouth Whalers completed the 2012-13 Ontario Hockey League regular season with a 4-0 victory over Windsor before 5,641 at Windsor Family Credit Union Centre. Plymouth ends the regular season with an eight-game winning streak and has won 16 of its last 17 games.  The …

Plymouth Whalers center Mitchell Heard has a flair for the dramatic. Heard’s highlight reel goal at 1:42 of overtime powered the Plymouth Whalers to their seventh straight victory (and 15 out of its last 16), 4-3, over the Windsor Spitfires before a sellout crowd of 4,206 at Compuware Arena on Saturday. The Whalers rebounded from Windsor leads of 2-1 and 3-2 to improve to 41-17-5-4, in first place in the Ontario Hockey League West Division and second seed in the Western Conference.  Windsor (in ninth spot in the Western Conference and out of the playoffs) is 26-32-3-6. The Whalers’ only loss …

Rick Pracey is the Director of Amateur Scouting for the National Hockey League’s Colorado Avalanche and has been a regular at Compuware Arena for years watching the Plymouth Whalers. Sunday afternoon – before a good crowd of 3,094 at Compuware Arena - Pracey saw Colorado-drafts Garrett Meurs and Mitchell Heard lead Plymouth to a 7-5 victory over Saginaw for the Whalers’ fifth straight victory and their 13th win in their last 14 games. The Whalers improve to 39-17-5-4, good for 87 points and first place in the OHL West Division and second overall in the Western Conference. First star Garrett …

Release from the Ontario Hockey League: Toronto, Ontario – The Ontario Hockey League today announced the Top OHL Performers of the Month for February, 2013, including Eric Locke of the Saginaw Spirit, defenceman Ryan Sproul of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, and rookie goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic of the Plymouth Whalers. Vaughn OHL Goaltender of the Month and OHL Rookie of the Month – Alex Nedeljkovic (Plymouth Whalers): Alex Nedeljkovic of the Plymouth Whalers earns both OHL Rookie and Vaughn OHL Goaltender of the Month honours after posting an 8-2-0-0 record including one shutout victory…

SAGINAW – Plymouth goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 27-of-28 shots as the game’s first star, and the Whalers showed a balanced offensive attack in defeating the Saginaw Spirit, 4-1, on Tuesday morning at Dow Event Center before 5,527 in Saginaw. The Whalers have won four games in a row (and 12 out of 13) to improve to 38-17-5-4, good for 85 points and first place in the Ontario Hockey League’s West Division.   Saginaw is now 29-27-3-3, good for 64 points for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference race.  The Spirit have lost four games in a row. The game - played at 10:…

ERIE, PA - Plymouth Whalers center Vince Trocheck put on a show Friday night at Erie Insurance Arena. With nearly 30 family members and friends watching, Trocheck - from Pittsburgh, PA - scored two goals and added two assists as the Whalers beat the Erie Otters, 7-2, before 3,042. Plymouth improves to 36-17-5-4, good for 81 points and first place in the OHL West.  The Whalers are nine points up on second place Sault Ste. Marie (33-22-3-3, 72 points), who lost, 6-3, to Guelph on Friday.  Plymouth is 11 points ahead of third place Sarnia (33-25-0-4, 70 points), who lost, 4-3 in a shootout, to …

WINDSOR - Brady Vail's goal at 17:30 of the third period snapped a 5-5 tie and the Windsor Spitfires defeated the Plymouth Whalers, 6-5, before 6,038 at Windsor Family Credit Union Centre on Sunday. The Whalers had an eight-game winning streak snapped and remain in first place in the Ontario Hockey League's West Division with a record of 34-17-5-4, good for 77 points and six points ahead of Sault Ste. Marie (33-21-3-2, 71 points), who defeated Mississauga, 4-3, on Sunday. Windsor - in ninth place in the Western Conference playoff race - improves to 24-29-1-6, good for 55 points to keep their …

National Hockey League draft choices Stefan Noesen, Rickard Rakell, Mitchell Heard and Stefan Noesen all scored goals and rookie goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 20 shots for his first Ontario Hockey League shutout as the Plymouth Whalers won their eighth straight game, 4-0, over the Sarnia Sting on Saturday night at Compuware Arena. A near-sellout crowd of 3,429 saw the Whalers improve to 34-16-5-4, good for 77 points and first place in the OHL West.  Plymouth is now eight points up on second place Sault Ste. Marie (32-21-3-2, 69 points) and Sarnia (33-25-0-3, 69 points). The Whalers are …

Cody Payne and Rickard Rakell scored hat tricks as the Plymouth Whalers won their seventh straight game, 9-1, over the Windsor Spitfires in an Ontario Hockey League game play Friday night at Compuware Arena before 2,604. The Whalers’ seven-game winning streak is the team’s longest this season. Plymouth improves to a season-best record of 33-16-5-4, good for 75 points and six points ahead of Sault Ste. Marie (32-21-3-2, 69 points) and Sarnia (33-24-0-3, 69 points).   The Soo lost, 4-3, in overtime to London on Friday; Sarnia pounded Erie, 13-3, on Friday. Windsor is now 23-29-1-6, good for 53 …

SARNIA – The Plymouth Whalers did a lot of good things during Family Day on Monday afternoon at Sarnia.  Using a devestating forecheck over the first two periods and winning most of the one-on-one puck battles all afternoon, the Whalers won their sixth straight game, 10-2, over the Sarnia Sting in an Ontario Hockey League game played before 4,400 at RBC Centre in Sarnia.  Plymouth improves to 32-16-5-4, good for 73 points and six points ahead of Sarnia, now 32-23-0-3. The Whalers have gone 5-0-0-1 over their last six games on the road, dating back to Jan. 24 in an 8-2 win over Windsor.  …

It was logical to assume that Plymouth Whalers head coach Mike Vellucci wasn't happy Saturday night after the Guelph Storm took a 3-0 lead over the Whalers after one period on Saturday at Compuware Arena. And it is logical to assume that Vellucci would let the Whalers know how he felt about the period, on no uncertain terms. According to veteran Plymouth defenseman Austin Levi, that's not what happened. "Mike really didn't say anything," Levi said.  "He left it up to us to decide what we wanted to do and how we wanted to respond." The Whalers responded in a big way in the second period, …

KITCHENER - Stefan Noesen scored the only goal in a shootout and first star Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 52-of-54 shots he faced through 65 minutes plus four shootout attempts as the Plymouth Whalers defeated the Kitchener Rangers, 3-2 in a shootout, before 7,241 Friday night at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium. VIDEO -  See the highlights of the game. Plymouth has won four in a row and improves to 30-16-5-4, good for 69 points and first place in the Ontario Hockey League's West Division  The Whalers are four points ahead of Sarnia (31-22-0-3, 65 points), who moved into second place Friday with …

SAGINAW - First star Sebastian Uvira scored two goals and added an assist, while second star Vincent Trocheck scored twice as the Plymouth Whalers led from start to finish in a 5-1 victory over the Saginaw Spirit on Wednesday evening before 2,766 at the Dow Event Center in Saginaw. AUDIO - Sebastian Uvira interview. Matt Mistele scored the other goal for the Whalers, who won their third straight game to improve to 29-16-5-4, good for 67 points and three points ahead of second place Sault Ste. Marie (30-21-2-2, 64 points), who hammered Sarnia, 8-0, on Wednesday at Essar Centre. Saginaw is 26-…

BRAMPTON - Plymouth Whalers assistant coach Scott MacDonald called the Whalers game on Sunday afternoon in Brampton a business trip. “Go in, work hard, get the two points and go home,” MacDonald said. Led by the forward line of Vince Trocheck, Tom Wilson and Ryan Hartman and 36 saves by goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic, that’s exactly what the Whalers did in a 5-2 victory over the Battalion before 2,380 at Powerade Centre. Plymouth remains in first place in the OHL West Division and improves to 28-16-5-4, good for 65 points. Sarnia (30-21-0-3, 63 points) moved into second place in the West …