This story is being updated as news breaks.
Spits Sweep Whalers
By Chris Lucas
The Windsor Spitfires completed their four game sweep by defeating the Whalers 3-2 in over time tonight.
Plymouth came out on top of the first period as Ryan Hayes scored the only goal of the period. Windsor was all over Plymouth but Scott Wedgewood shut Windsor down.
Joe Gaynor then scored in the second for Plymouth. Windsor was all over Plymouth but, Wedgewood would not let anything past him.
Windsor didn't count themselves out however as Adam Henrique would score on the power play in the third. With Windsor applying tremendous pressure, they decided to pull their goalie with almost two minutes left in the game. It worked as Greg Nemisz banged home a rebound and sent this game to overtime.
With Windsor continuing the non-stop pressure, Scott Timmins slipped the puck past Wedgewood and would send the Spits to round three of the playoffs. The Spitfires out shot Plymouth by a number of 73-21.
The first two periods were tough on Windsor as they couldn't seem to get the puck in the net. There were numerous reviews up stairs and they were constantly ringing the puck of the posts.
Scott Timmins (77) bangs home the OT
game winner for the Windsor Spitfires
Photo by Chris Lucas / In Play! Magazine
Windsor Head Coach Bob Boughner explains to In Play! his feelings about the game.
“Our frustrations were natural. We couldn't score. We went through it last year and we found a way to win.”
Tonight's In Play! Magazine player of the game goes to Wedgewood. Hands down, he stole the show. He made 71 saves in tonight's contest, including multiple saves where he stretched from one side of the net to the other to make the save. He shut-out the Spits for the first two periods and almost won the game for Plymouth.
Wedgewood tells In Play! about the pressure coming into this game.
“We had nothing to lose. We had our backs up against the wall and we gave it our best and battled hard.”
Windsor now waits to see who they will play next out of Kitchener and London. The series is currently tied at two games a piece.
The season ends for the Plymouth Whalers
Photo by Chris Lucas / In Play! Magazine
Spitfires’ Game Notes – 2010 OHL Playoff Round Two, Game Four
- With tonight’s 3-2 overtime win, Windsor swept Plymouth four games to none in the best of seven game Western Conference Semi-Finals of the 2010 OHL Playoffs. The Spitfires will now advance to the Western Conference Championship round for the second consecutive season and will take on the winner of the London Knights vs. Kitchener Rangers series. The Knights-Rangers Western Conference Semi-Final series is currently tied at two games apiece, following Kitchener’s 8-7 overtime victory against the Knights in Kitchener tonight.
- Windsor posted a season high 73 shots on goal and outshot the Whalers 73-21 in the contest. Windsor has won their first eight playoff games of the 2010 post-season. This marks the first time that the Spitfires have swept their first two playoff opponents since this feat was accomplished by the 1987-1988 Windsor Compuware Spitfires team.
- Windsor trailed for the first time this post-season after two periods, as Plymouth held a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes of play. Forward Adam Henrique started the comeback with his fourth goal of the series and sixth goal of the playoffs as he scored a power play marker 2:49 into the third period. Forward Greg Nemisz scored his first goal of the playoffs with 39 seconds left in the contest to send the game into overtime.
- Spitfire forward Scott Timmins ended the contest and series 6:50 into overtime, as he scored his second goal of the series and third of the playoffs.
- Plymouth goaltender Scott Wedgewood stopped an incredible 70 of 73 shots in the game and was selected as the Game’s First Star for his outstanding performance.
- Forward Adam Henrique scored one goal in each of the four games during this series and posted six points along with a +4 rating in the Western Semis. He led both teams in the series with four goals scored. Overall, he has scored six goals and added four assists for 10 points in eight playoff games. His six goals are tied for 11th in the OHL’s goal scoring race during the playoffs.
- Defenceman Ryan Ellis assisted on the game winning goal and led both teams in scoring during the series with ten points in four games. Ellis is ranked first amongst all OHL defencemen, tied for first on the Spitfires and tied for second in league scoring with teammate Taylor Hall as he has posted 16 points in eight games. He also leads all defencemen and is second in the league with 14 assists. Ellis has recorded points in each of the Spitfires eight playoff games.
- Forward Zack Kassian registered two assists in tonight’s contest, including an assist on the game winning goal. Kassian has 10 points in eight playoff games for the Spitfires.
- Forward Taylor Hall was held off the scoresheet in the contest for the first time in the post-season. Hall currently leads the entire league with a +12 plus-minus rating in the playoffs. He is also tied for second in the OHL with nine goals and 16 points in the playoffs and was ranked second in scoring during this series with eight points in four games.
- Goaltender Philipp Grubauer won his eighth consecutive game of the playoffs, stopping 19 of 21 shots that he faced in the game. He is ranked first in the OHL with eight playoff wins, is tied for first in the league with one post-season shutout and is fifth in the OHL playoffs with a 2.10 goals against average.
- Defenceman Ryan Ellis is tied for sixth in the OHL playoffs with a +8 plus-minus rating. Defencemen Marc Cantin, Mark Cundari as well as forward Adam Henrique are all tied for ninth in the OHL’s plus-minus department with +7 ratings respectively during the playoffs. Cundari is also tied for seventh amongst all OHL defencemen in scoring with seven points in eight games.
- Windsor scored one power play goal on four opportunities in the game. The team’s power play is ranked third overall in the OHL, operating at a 28.6% clip during the playoffs.
- Windsor killed all three of Plymouth’s power play opportunities in the game and only allowed one power play goal on 20 Whaler power plays during the series. The Spitfires have not allowed a power play goal in their past three games and are first in the OHL, killing 93% of their penalties during the playoffs.
- Forward Stephen Johnston missed the game due to injury.
Spitfires’ Series Recap
2010 Windsor Spitfires “CODE RED” Playoff Run – Round Two
#1 Windsor vs. #4 Plymouth – OHL Western Conference Semi-Final Series (Round Two), 2010 OHL Playoffs (Windsor Wins Series 4-0)
Game 1 Thursday, April 1st – Plymouth at Windsor, 7:05 pm (Windsor wins 5-1)
Game 2 Saturday, April 3rd – Windsor at Plymouth, 7:05 pm (Windsor wins 5-3)
Game 3 Monday, April 5th – Plymouth at Windsor, 7:05 pm (Windsor wins 5-0)
Game 4 Wednesday, April 7th – Windsor at Plymouth, 7:05 pm (Windsor wins 3-2 in overtime)
