News Release

WHALERS DIG DOWN, TAKE 2-0 SERIES LEAD WITH 3-2 VICTORY IN KITCHENER

KITCHENER – All season long, Plymouth President, General Manager and Head Coach Mike Vellucci has been alternating goaltenders Michal Neuvirth and Jeremy Smith with excellent results. Through the first five games in the 2007 playoffs, Neuvirth played in all Plymouth home games while Smith played on the road.

That changed Sunday night as Neuvirth stopped 45-of-47 shots as the game’s first star to backstop the Whalers to a 3-2 victory over Kitchener before 5,857 at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.

Plymouth leads the best-of-seven Western Conference Semifinal series, 2-games-to-0.

Chris Terry (second of the playoffs), James Neal (7) and Daniel Ryder (5) scored for Plymouth, who built a 3-0 lead midway through the second period. Justin Azevedo (4) and Victor Oreskovich (2) scored for Kitchener, both on the power play.

In spite of giving up two power play goals, Plymouth penalty killers did another excellent job in the game, going 9-for-11 on the penalty kill and stopping Kitchener on three separate two-man advantages. Kitchener outshot Plymouth, 47-29.

Terry gave Plymouth a 1-0 lead on a strange goal. Ryan McGinnis passed the puck out of the Plymouth zone to Terry at the center ice red line with Plymouth on a change. Terry deflected the puck from center ice towards the Kitchener goal and it bounced off Ranger goaltender John Murray and into the net at 4:58 of the first period - the Whalers’ first shot of the game. Neal scored on a Plymouth power play at 10:05 of the first period after he was set up by Evan Brophey in the Kitchener slot.

Ryder scored what proved to be the winning goal at 9:38 of the second period when he took Zack Shepley's pass on the lower rim of the left circle and beat Murray with a quick one-timer. Charles Lavigne replaced Murray in goal for Kitchener at that point in the game.

Kitchener cut into the Plymouth lead on Azevedo’s goal at 10:57 of the second period (hard shot from the right wing tucked under the bar) and Oreskovich at 5:39 of the third period (deflection from the left hash mark). The Rangers had a two-man advantage for the final 50 seconds of the game when they pulled Lavigne and Neal was assessed a penalty. But the Rangers couldn’t find the equalizer.

The dates and times for the rest of the Plymouth-Kitchener series are as follows:

Game 3 – Tuesday, April 10 – Kitchener at Plymouth at 7:05 p.m.
Game 4 – Wednesday, April 11 – Plymouth at Kitchener at 7:30 p.m.

Games 5-7 if necessary:

Game 5 – Friday, April 13 – Kitchener at Plymouth at 7:05 p.m.
Game 6 – Sunday, April 15 – Plymouth at Kitchener at 7:00 p.m.
Game 7 – Monday, April 16 – Kitchener at Plymouth at 7:05 p.m.

Tickets for the series are available by calling the Compuware Sports Arena at (734) 453-8400 or by going to Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com.