Whalers five-goal first period swats Sarnia in 7-2 win

November 6, 9:22 PMPlymouth Whalers ExaminerPeter Krupsky

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PLYMOUTH, MI —– The Plymouth Whalers raced to a 5-0 lead after one period of play and never looked back in a 7-2 win over the Sarnia Sting in an Ontario Hockey League game played Friday night before 2,184 at Compuware Arena.

Plymouth improves to 11-7-0-0; Sarnia is now 9-9-1-0.

Myles McCauley scored a pair of goals (9-10 on the year) as the game’s first star to lead the Plymouth attack, but McCauley has plenty of help.  AJ Jenks (7), Josh Brittain (6), Tyler Seguin (19) scored single goals while Stefan Noesen and Austin Levi scored their first OHL goals in the victory.

Whalers goaltender Matt Hackett was steady in the victory, stopping 40-of-42 Sarnia shots as the game’s second star while running his overall record to 9-6-0-0.  Kyle Neuber (2) and Kale Kerbashian (6) replied for Sarnia.

Plymouth jumped on Sarnia with five goals in the first period, chasing starting Sarnia goaltender Shayne Campbell after twenty minutes of play.  McCauley scored on a rebound at 0:36 to get the game rolling in the right direction for the Whalers.  Jenks scored a strange goal on a power play at 10:05 as his shot from the left wing rebounded off Sarnia defenseman Joe Rogalski and past Campbell.  0:43 later, Brittain converted McCauley pass from the left circle to score from the lower rim of the right circle.  Seguin made it 4-0 at 16:48 when his backhand shot from the left circle beat Campbell five-hole.  Noesen finished a two-on-on rush at 18:06 with fellow rookie Garrett Meurs when Meurs skated to left wing in the Sarnia and found Noesen at the right circle.

“I needed a lucky bounce,” McCauley said of his first goal.  “I saw an open net, but luckily, the shot hit the defenseman’s shin. You need those lucky bounces to keep you hungry.  You get a couple of those and you want (to score) more.”

Adam Courchaine replaced Campbell at the beginning of the second period and went the rest of the way in goal for Sarnia.

McCauley scored his second of the night at 14:07 of the second period to give Plymouth a 6-0 when he followed up his first shot from the lower rim of the left circle and shot the rebound from the right circle to beat Courchaine.  Neuber came back for Sarnia at 14:18 of the period to ruin Hackett’s bid for his second shutout of the year.  Plymouth led, 6-1, after forty minutes.

“I had the same play in London a couple of weeks ago (Oct. 9), “ McCauley said.  “This time I poked at it a little harder, because I wanted that goal.”

Levi scored on a solo run to give Plymouth at 7-1 lead at 2:03 of the third period.  Entering the Sarnia zone on the right wing, Levi skated hard to the lower rim of the right circle to beat Courchaine with the shot.  Kerbashian completed the scoring at 12:41.

Plymouth outshot Sarnia, 47-42.

Plymouth is back in action at Compuware Arena Saturday night at 7:05pm against Sault Ste. Marie.  The game can be heard on 88.1FM WSDP.  The game is a Salute to Heroes.  Anyone currently active in the military is admitted free of charge, while veterans, police officers and firefighters and their families are admitted for $9.  Tickets are available by calling (734) 453-8400.