Whalers Earn a 3-3 Tie on Labor Day in Windsor

WINDSOR — The Whalers showed grit in their traditional Labor Day game at Windsor Family Credit Union Centre. Trailing three different times (1-0, 2-1 and 3-2), Plymouth came back every time to earn a 3-3 tie with Windsor.

Plymouth is now 1-0-1 in preseason. The OHL does not play overtime or have shootouts in the preseason.

Dario Trutmann scored a pair of goals for the Whalers, while Matt Mistele scored one.  Matt Mahalak played the entire game for the Whalers, stopping 34-of-37 shots.  Calumet High School alum Ben Johnson scored twice for Windsor and Brennan Feasey scored the other.

For the second straight preseason game, NHL drafts J.T. Miller, Stefan Noesen and Rickard Rakell were healthy scratches for the Whalers, as was Colorado-draft Garrett Meurs, along with veterans Beau Schmitz and Nick Malysa.

Windsor took a 1-0 lead at 1:43 of the first period when Johnson skated with speed to the left circle in the Plymouth zone and beat Mahalak with the shot.

Plymouth scored on its first shot of the game at 5:28 of the period to tie the game at 1-1 when Tom Wilson took the puck away from Windsor starting goaltender Jordan DeKort behind the Spitfires goal and found Mistele on the right wing side of the net.

Johnson restored Windsor's lead to 2-1 at 7:44 of the first period, batting home a rebound from the right circle.

Windsor led, 2-1, until late in the second period when Trutmann tied the game at 2-2 on a Plymouth power at 18:09, scoring with a well placed shot from the high slot.

The Whalers played much of their best hockey in the third period, outshooting Windsor, 16-12, in the frame.  Feasey gave the Spits a 3-2 lead at 2:19 on a broken play when the puck squirted to him at the right side of the Plymouth crease. 

Plymouth struck again on the power play at 7:50 to tie the game at 3-3.  Whaler pups Nathan Dempsey and Trent Samuels-Thomas figured in on the goal, keeping the play alive in the Windsor zone and finding Trutmann again in the high slot.  Dario took his time and ripped a hard shot inside the left post past Windsor goaltender Dalen Kuchmey.

The Whalers had some chances late in the game for the win.  Alex Aleardi and Andy Bathgate broke in two-on-one late in the game, but Aleradi shot wide.

Windsor outshot Plymouth, 37-27.  Jim Parker of the Windsor Star has an unofficial scoring summary.

The Whalers remain on the road in the preseason, playing in London on Friday and then taking on London again on Saturday at Timken Arena in St. Thomas, ON.

Sound bytes courtesy of Pete Krupsky and www.plymouthwhalers.com.