Saturday, September 17, 2005

Whalers down Spirit in tournament final

Dan Collins scored twice in tonight's tournament final
(Photo courtesy of the Plymouth Whalers)

The Plymouth Whalers defeated the Saginaw Spirit in the finals of a four-team tournament tonight in Erie, Penn., 4-2.

John Vigilante and Dan Collins staked the Whalers to a 2-0 lead before Jack Combs cut the Plymouth lead to 2-1. Collins then notched his second goal of the game to make it 3-1 through 40 minutes.

Plymouth went up 4-1 early in the third period on a goal from Cory Tanaka. Saginaw cut the lead to 4-2 when defenseman Matt Corrente buried a slapshot from a Chris Chappell pass.

Justin Garay earned the win in net, stopping 26 of 28 shots.

"We played well as a team," Garay said after the game.

Gino Pisellini added two assists for the Whalers. This was also Pisellini's last game until Sept. 29 as he must serve a league-imposed two-game suspension for his role in an altercation last Saturday against Sarnia.

Spirit goalies Francois Thuot and Ryan Daniels split time in net. Thuot had nine saves on 11 shots while Daniels had ten saves on 12 shots.

"We played well and had the majority of the scoring chances," said Spirit head coach and general manager Bob Mancini. "We took the play to Plymouth, but we have to give them credit. They took advantage of their opportunities."

Plymouth and Saginaw open the OHL's regular season next Wednesday in Saginaw at 7:11 p.m.

In the consolation game tonight, Nick Palmieri scored two goals including the game winner to lift the Erie Otters to a 4-3 win over the Toronto St. Michael's Majors. Patrick Lee and Brett MacLean also scored for the Otters. Matt Halischuk, Ryan Penney and Matt Caria scored for the Majors.

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