Whalers Swat Sting, 5-2, to Take 3-0 Series Lead

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 RBC Centre (6:45 p.m., 88.1 FM WSDP). Game 5 (if necessary) will be played Friday at 7:05 p.m. at Compuware Arena.

Rickard Rakell and Ryan Hartman scored two goals each for Plymouth, while Stefan Noesen added a goal and two assists and Vince Trocheck recorded three assists.  Veteran defense pairing Austin Levi and Colin MacDonald were both +3 on the evening.  Plymouth penalty killers stopped all five Sarnia power plays.

Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 19-of-21 Sarnia shots to record his third straight victory in the series for the Whalers.

Although the Whalers were missing Matt Mistele due to suspension, Plymouth had plenty of depth to compensate his loss.

Sarnia received goals from Nickolas Latta (2) and Anthony DeAngelo (1), while top scorers Charles Sarault and Reid Boucher were both -3 and neutralized much of the game.  The Sting didn't have much of an answer for Plymouth's depth, puck control and overall skill.

The Whalers led, 3-1, after one period and 4-1 after forty minutes and it could have been more than that.  Plymouth oushot Sarnia, 36-13, through two periods and 44-21 overall.

Plymouth got off to a great start for the third striaght game, scoring again within the first 90 seconds of the game when Rakell finished a three-man rush into the Sarnia zone with linemates Noesen and Sebastian Uvira to score top-shelf, from the hashmarks at 1:03.  The Whalers led, 1-0.

AUDIO: Listen to the Rakell goal.

Although it wasn't a power play goal, Hartman's first goal of the night at 3:57 of the period came five seconds after Taki Pantziris served a hooking minor and capped severe Plymouth pressure in the Sarnia zone.  Hartman scored from in front of the Sarnia goal to give the Whalers a 2-0 lead.

AUDIO: Listen to the Hartman goal.

Latta cut the Plymouth lead to 2-1 at 5:57, scoring on Sarnia's first shot of the night when he took the puck from Trocheck in neutral territory, moved into the Plymouth zone and scored from the lower rim of the left circle.

The Whalers replied a little less than five minutes later, taking advantage of a turnover in the Sarnia zone.  Trocheck intervepted a clearing pass in the Sarnia zone along the left wing half wall and found Cody Payne at the lower tim of the left circle.  Payne passed across to Noesen, who made no mistake at 10:49 to give the Whalers a 3-1 lead.

AUDIO: Listen to the Noesen goal.

Plymouth outshot Sarnia, 19-4, in the first period.

Hartman scored the only goal of the second period, tucking a quick shot just outside the Sarnia blue ice inside the left post past Anderson.

The teams traded a goal aside late in the third period to complete the scoring. DeAngelo redirected Nikolay Godobin pass into the top shelf at 15:01 and Rakell deflected Noesen's pass just outside the blue ice at 16:49.

GAME SUMMARY.   
ADDITIONAL COVERAGE - David Borody, Sarnia Sting.com.