On March 26, 2008, the Plymouth Whalers were officially knocked out of the first round of the OHL playoffs, losing to the Kitchener Rangers 4 games to zero, thus ending another season at the CSA in Plymouth, Michigan. The Whalers defense and goaltending absolutely disappeared, losing Game 1 on March 21st 9-2 at the Aud in Kitchener. The Whalers were badly outshot 47-27 and solidified what we saw all season - no depth in the goalscoring department. Chris Tery and Patrick Lee notched the lone goals for Plymouth. The next night the two teams would do battle at the CSA. This time it was a bit closer with Plymouth taking their second loss 6-4. The Whalers offense got plenty of shots, outshooting the Rangers 40-38, but were still no match for the highly ranked Rangers. Chris Terry and Patrick Lee notched their second of the playoffs, while Christian Steingrabber and AJ Jenks added a goal each to keep the final score close. Monday would be a replay of game 1, as the Whale lost 7-3. Terry got his 3rd and 4th, while overage forward Joe McAnn tallied once for the good guys. The Whalers were officially ousted 2 nights later at the CSA as again, they were terribly outshot by the visitors 55-36. Andrew Fournier finished his OHL career scoring his first of the playoffs 8:45 mark of the 3rd period. It wouldn't be enough however, as the Whale were sent fishing.
It was supposed to be a rebuilding year after graduating so many players from the 2006-07 championship team, and it was. Watching the Whalers get off to a pretty good start, playing .500 hockey for most of the first half and gave fans a glimmer of hope for this young squad. It wouldn't end as positively though, with some key injuries (Wes Cunningham and Jeremy Smith), and a coaching change, or two taking their toll down the stretch run. Head coach Mike Vellucci stepped from behind the bench to concentrate on the general manager duties, handing the reigns over to assistant Joe Stefan. Shortly after that they were reassigned to brother, and former Red Wing goaltender, Greg Stefan. What followed was a downfall of play on the ice, and position in the standings. The players still worked hard, but for some reason the confidence and on-ice chemistry disappeared.
So what's next for the Whalers? Well, the OHL draft will take place in the upcoming weeks, shortly after the playoffs end. The summer rookie skate will follow shortly after that, and before you know it training camp will begin sometime near the end of August. I guess that gives everybody some time to sit back, catch their breath, and shake off what turned out to be a bit of a disappointing, but exciting OHL season.
Awards Banquet
REGULAR SEASON MOST VALUABLE PLAYER - Chris Terry
DEFENSEMAN of the YEAR - Brett Bellemore
HUMANITARIAN of the YEAR - Wes Cunningham
ROOKIE of the YEAR - Michal Jordan
LABATT BLUE COLLAR PLAYER of the YEAR - Kaine Geldart
UNSUNG PLAYER of the YEAR - Andrew Fournier
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER of the YEAR - Joe Gaynor
ACADEMIC PLAYER of the YEAR - AJ Jenks
ALICE IAFRATE AWARD as OVERAGE PLAYER of the YEAR - Andrew Fournier - Voted by the Whalers' Off-Ice Officials.
PLAYOFF LEADING SCORER and MOST VALUABLE PLAYER - Chris Terry
WHALERS BOOSTER CLUB AWARDS:
PLAYER of the YEAR - Chris Terry
PLAYER of the MONTH - Patrick Lee
FAN FAVORITE - Wes Cunningham.
GRINDER of the YEAR - Kaine Geldart
SCHOLASTIC PLAYER of the YEAR - Josh Bemis
Alumni News
Chicago Blackhawk defenseman James Wisniewski was recently added to the Men's National Team that will compete at the 2008 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships May 2-18. You can download the entire US roster and follow the tournament here.
Syracuse Crunch/Columbus Blue Jacket draft pick Tom Sestito was recently called up by the Blue Jackets and played in his first NHL game. He wasted no time making a quick mark by dropping the gloves and taking on St Louis Blue enforcer DJ King. The short scrap may have been uneventful, but will probably be something Tom remembers for the rest of his life. He may also remember the end of the game, which had much more meaning and feeling to it. The Blue Jackets held their annual "Jersey Off Of Our Back" event following the game, in which fans have a chance to win the jersey off of a players back. The fan who won Tom's jersey decided the rookie should keep his first ever NHL jersey. You can read the article from the Columbus Dispatch here:
2007-08 Blast From the Past
Kaine Geldart Vs Barry Sanderson
