News Release
Contact: Pete Krupsky FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Phone: (734) 453-8400 Friday, November 23, 2007
MINIMAL SCORE, MAXIMUM RESULTS FOR WHALERS IN 1-0 WIN OVER SOO
PLYMOUTH – Jeremy Smith pitched a 26-save shutout and Joe Gaynor’s first goal of the season was all the Plymouth Whalers needed in a 1-0 victory over the Sault Ste. Greyhounds in an Ontario Hockey League game played Friday afternoon at Compuware Arena.
The Whalers improve to 15-7-1-1, good for 32 points and third place in the OHL West, four points behind first-place Sault Ste. Marie (17-6-1-1, 36 points). Plymouth is 8-1-0-1 in 10 games in November and has received points in 10 of its last 11 games.
Smith and Sault Ste. Marie goaltender Kyle Gajewski battled all afternoon, with Smith tying Kitchener’s Josh Unice for the league lead with his third shutout of the season as the game’s first star and Gajewski stopping 35-of-36 shots as the game’s second star.
Sault Ste. Marie’s most dangerous scoring chance in the game came at 4:46 of the first period when Dustin Jeffrey was awarded a penalty shot. But Smith slid across to his left to beat Jeffrey, who attempted a stuff on the short side post.
Gaynor – the game’s third star – scored the only goal of the game at 2:56 of the second period. Working with linemates Joe McCann and Brett Valliquette, the line dug the puck out from the left boards in the Soo zone and Gaynor snapped a shot from the hashmarks past Gajewski.
Sault Ste. Marie head coach Craig Hartsburg called a time out and pulled Gajewski with 1:03 left in regulation, but the Greyhounds couldn’t find the equalizer.
The Sault Star also has a game story.
Smith (a Nashville Predators draft choice from Brownstown) came into the game tied with Barrie’s Andrew Perugini for the league lead with a .931 save percentage. Smith lowered his goals against average to 2.46 while raising his save percentage to .934. The last 1-0 game played at Compuware Arena happened on Jan. 31, 2001 when the Erie Otters defeated Plymouth, 1-0, on Joe Guenther’s goal.
Plymouth is back home Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. against Sudbury. Tickets can be purchased for all Plymouth games by calling the Compuware Arena at (734) 453-8400 or by going to Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com.
About the Plymouth Whalers
The Plymouth Whalers are the only Metro Detroit team in the Ontario Hockey League, a developmental league for National Hockey League players. The Whalers all range in age from 15-21 years-old and are consistently one of the top teams in the OHL. In 2006-07, the Whalers won the OHL Championship.
About Compuware Arena
Compuware Arena is home to the 2007 Ontario Hockey League Champion Plymouth Whalers, the Major Indoor Soccer League’s Detroit Ignition, the Compuware Arena Drive-In Theatres, the MHSAA Boys State Hockey Championships and eight AAA Compuware Hockey youth teams. Compuware Arena serves more than one million patrons each year, and is located in Plymouth, Michigan.
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