Against All Odds

Short-handed, outfired Whalers pull out amazing overtime victory over 'Hounds

 
  Outshot by a two-to-one margin, minus their best player, the Plymouth Whalers somehow managed to pull out a 3-2 overtime victory over visiting Sault Ste. Marie Saturday night.

  Sign of a good team, eh?

  "Sign of a good goal-tender," Whalers coach Mike Vellucci said, smiling.

  For most of Saturday's game, Whalers goalie Matt Hackett was fighting off pucks like a man walking against the wind during a sleet storm.

  Hackett's 47-save effort was essential considering leading scorer Tyler Seguin was out of action after suffering a minor hip injury in Friday's 7-2 victory over Sarnia.

  "Yeah, Matt pulled it out, he played really well," said Vellucci. "I'm not sure they had that many grade-A scoring chances, but he made some big saves.

  "Overall, though, I thought we were awful tonight. We had a million turnovers. It was one of our worst games all season. We got lucky, but we'll take it."

  Plymouth improved to 13-7-0-0 with the win. The Greyhounds slipped to 10-8-2-1.

  The game-winning goal came 2:11 into overtime when Ryan Hayes threaded a diagonal blue line-to-blue line pass to the speedy Tyler G. Brown, who was surging up the left wing with the urgency of a bolt of lightning.

  Brown secured the puck just outside the blue line, skated across the ice, then unleashed a bullet that hit the left post and ricocheted into the net.

  "Haysie skated it out and gave me a great pass," Brown said, recounting his goal. "I wasn't sure if I could make it to the puck or not, but I did, and skated far side and let it go."

  Brown said he and his teammates need to shift into a higher gear whenever Seguin is out of the line up like he was Saturday night.

  "He provides most of our scoring, so when he's out like he was tonight, we have to bear down on our chances when we get them," said Brown, whose goal Saturday night was his second OT game-winner this season.

  "He's just so speedy," Vellucci said of Brown. "Hayes made a nice stretch pass, which is something we work on a lot in practice. A lot of times the linesman will blow a play like that off as offsides. He was onside, but you never know. That was a nice pass, nice shot and nice goal."

  Early on, it appeared as if it was going to be the Whalers' night when Leo Jenner ripped a shot from center ice during a line change that caught Soo goalie Bryce O'Hagan off guard.

  The puck slid into the back of the net to put the hosts on top, 1-0, at the 12:21 mark.

  Four minutes later, Michal Jordan slapped home a power-play goal from just inside the blue line to pad the Whalers' lead to 2-0. Hayes picked up the assist.

  The Greyhounds rallied to knot the contest at 2-all with a pair of second-period goals. The first came off the stick of Jordan Nolan -- the son of former NHL coach Ted Nolan -- who banged in a rebound from the doorstep with 10:20 to play in the stanza.

  The Soo nearly tied the game two minutes later, but Jordan used his stick to deflect Jacob Muzzin's up-close effort.

  Greyhound Michael Quesnele did deadlock the game 5:33 before the second intermission with a top-shelf laser that came 10 seconds after Plymouth's Austin Levi was whistled for cross-checking.

  Hackett made a series of spectacular stops during the final 10 minutes.

  Nolan nearly connected on a go-ahead score with 9:10 left in regulation, but his slapper from the top of the right circle clanged off the post, much to the relief of the large "Military Night" crowd that was on hand.

  Former Whaler Vern Cooper, who was traded to the Soo during the off-season, notched a pair of assists in his first game back in Plymouth.

  With roughly one-third of the regular season over, Vellucci gave his team a so-so grade following Saturday's win.

  "We're not horrible, but I'm not real happy," he said. "But as a coach, you're never really happy. With all the injuries we've had -- we have three forwards out right now -- I can't be too disappointed with where we're at.

  "We've been unlucky with all the injuries. Once we get everybody back, we'll see what happens."

Ed Wright can be reached at info@plymouthcantonsports.com or (734) 453-1980.