News Release

       Contact: Pete Krupsky                                                   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

       Phone: (734) 453-8400                                                 Saturday, March 15, 2008

                 STAMKOS LEADS SARNIA TO 5-4 VICTORY OVER WHALERS

PLYMOUTH – Matt Martin’s goal at 15:03 of the third period snapped a 4-4 tie and the Sarnia Sting went on to defeat the Plymouth Whalers, 5-4, in an Ontario Hockey League game played Saturday night at Compuware Arena before a sellout crowd of 3,993.

With the victory, Sarnia (37-29-2-0, 76 points) clinches sixth place in the OHL’s Western Conference playoff race. Plymouth (now 34-28-2-3, 73 points) falls to eighth in the OHL playoff race, one point behind seventh seed Saginaw (32-25-8-2, 74 points). Plymouth and Saginaw will meet Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. at the Dow Event Center in the last game of the regular season to decide seventh and eighth seed on the OHL’s Western Conference playoff race.

The difference in the game was OHL star Steven Stamkos, the consensus number one choice in next summer’s National Hockey League Entry Draft, who scored two goals and two assists as the game’s first star. Stamkos’ second goal of the game – at 7:15 of the first period - gives him 58 goals on the year, setting a new record for a Sting player for goals in a season. Besides Martin’s 25th, Ryan Wilson added his seventh of the year and Daniel Lombardi his 12th for Sarnia.

Tyler G. Brown (first in the OHL), Kaine Geldart (13), Joe Gaynor (9) and Patrick Lee (14) scored single goals for Plymouth.  AJ Jenks and Ryan Hayes contributed two assists for the Whalers.

After Sarnia built a 3-0 lead in the first period on goals by Lombardi (4:25) and a pair by Stamkos (6:20 and 7:15 respectively), the Whalers came back to tie the game at 3-3 on a first period goal by Brown (rebound at 12:47 of the first period) and second period goals by Geldart (through traffic on a scramble in front of the Sarnia goal at 3:02) and Gaynor (banking a shot off a Sarnia defender at 10:29). But Sarnia took a 4-3 lead on a point shot on a power play by Wilson at 12:55. Plymouth tied the game at 4-4 on Lee’s power play goal when his shot was inadvertently put into the Sarnia goal by Sting defender Devin DiDiomete.

The only goal of the third period was scored by Martin and set up by Stamkos, who moved into the Plymouth zone on the right wing and fed Martin in front of the Plymouth goal. Martin tucked a backhand shot outside the blue crease past Whalers goaltender Matt Hackett.

Hackett was pulled for the extra attacker with 46 seconds left in regulation and Plymouth captain Andrew Fournier was set up just outside the blue crease with five seconds left, but the puck bounced off his stick and Sarnia hung on for the victory.

Sarnia outshot Plymouth, 47-40.

Plymouth plays in Saginaw on Sunday and will start the first round of the playoffs later next week. Tickets for all Whalers games can be purchased at 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. www.plymouthwhalers.com

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