With Game 4 victory, Whalers sweep Sting and advance to second round

By Matt Mackinder –

Winning on the road is crucial in the Ontario Hockey League playoffs and the Plymouth Whalers did just that, winning Monday night and Wednesday night in Sarnia to sweep the Sting in four straight games to move on to the Western Conference semifinals against an opponent to be determined.

Plymouth topped Sarnia 5-2 in the clinching Game 4 at the RBC Centre on the strength of two goals and two assists from OHL regular-season scoring champion Vince Trocheck and two goals and a helper from Colorado Avalanche prospect Mitchell Heard.

The West Division champion Whalers outscored Sarnia 24-8 in the series.

Trocheck, signed by the Florida Panthers, tallied five goals and seven assists in the four games against Sarnia and currently leads the OHL in playoff scoring.

Rookie goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic recorded the win in all four games after going 19-2-1-1 in the regular season, essentially earning himself the No. 1 job over veteran and Carolina Hurricanes’ draftee Matt Mahalak.

Another Colorado prospect, Garrett Meurs, also scored Wednesday to go along with two assists from Washington Capitals’ draft picks Tom Wilson and Connor Carrick and 22 saves from Nedeljkovic.

Bryan Moore and Nickolas Latta scored for Sarnia and J.P. Anderson finished with 43 saves in goal. Captain Charles Sarault and Grand Ledge native Reid Boucher added two assists apiece.

In the other Western Conference series, London has a commanding 3-0 lead on the Saginaw Spirit with Game 4 set for Thursday in Saginaw, Kitchener leads Guelph 2-1 with Game 4 Thursday and Sault Ste. Marie has evened their series with Owen Sound after an overtime goal from Red Wings prospect Ryan Sproul.