Whalers Clinch Rogers Western Conference Championship and Capture the Wayne Gretzky Trophy
By Brad Young
The stage was set last night for an exciting match-up at the John Labatt Centre in London for Game 5 of the Rogers Western Conference Championship Series between the Plymouth Whalers and the London Knights.
The Whalers, who led the series 3-1 before entering last night’s contest, were determined to close out the series and earn their berth in the Rogers Conference Championship Series. And that’s exactly what they did.
Tom Sestito opened the scoring for the Whalers early in the first period on the power-play. This was Sestito’s 10th goal of the playoffs and was assisted by Dan Collins and Steve Ward. A little over five minutes later, the Whalers took a two-goal lead after Collins snipped a beautiful goal past Steve Mason on the power-play. Evan Brophey and James Neal were credited with the assists. Just over the mid-way point of the first period, London cut the Whalers lead to one goal after Sergei Kostitsyn fired a shot past Neuvirth on the power-play. Sam Gagner and Patrick Kane picked up the assists on the goal.
The second period showcased end-to-end action between both teams. With under two minutes remaing in the second period Wes Cunningham scored a short-handed goal to put the Whalers up 3-1.
The Knights threw everything they had at the Whalers in the third, but it wasn’t enough on this night. Collins scored his second goal of the night into an empty net with less than a minute left in the game, sealing the win for the Whalers.
Goaltender Michal Neuvirth played a pivotal role in last night’s victory having turned aside 45 of 46 shots he faced.
The Knight’s players and coaching staff recieved a standing ovation from the 9,000 plus fans in attendance last night recognizing the teams tremendous playoff run.
Up next was the presentation of the Wayne Gretzky Trophy to the Rogers Western Conference Champions. Ted Baker, Vice-President of the OHL and Mike Patterson, Senior Manager, Sports & Sponsorship for Rogers Television presented captain Steve Ward of the Plymouth Whalers with the trophy.
Plymouth improved their playoff record to 12-2 and will now prepare for the winner of the Sudbury-Belleville series. The Wolves lead the series 3-2 and face-off against the Bulls tonight in Sudbury.
