Greyhounds outclassed by Whalers in loss (Updated)

Embarrassed was the description given by Soo Greyhounds coach Sheldon Keefe after watching his team drop an 8-0 decision to the Plymouth Whalers on Wednesday night at the Essar Centre.

The Whalers opened up a 3-0 lead through 20 minutes and cruised to the win that left the Greyhounds searching for answers following the loss.

“That’s your worst nightmare in terms of playing at home and how you want a game to go,” Keefe said after the loss. “We just weren’t ready to play, right from the drop of the puck. (The Whalers) got a couple of soft 5-on-3 calls that allowed them to get into the game. We had our opportunities but, because we weren’t ready to play, we had no push-back.”

Mitchell Heard led the way for the Whalers with three goals and an assist in the win while Vincent Trocheck and Garrett Meurs added a goal and two assists each in the win. Matthew Mistele chipped in with two goals in the win. Cody Payne had the other goal for the Whalers in the win.

Goaltender Matt Mahalak stopped 29 shots for the shutout.

“Our guys played well,” said Whalers coach Mike Vellucci. “You go down the list and a lot of guys played well. Our defencemen were good tonight. We played good defensively and on the penalty kill. We were blocking shots. The points didn’t mean anything to us and we were still out there blocking shots.”

For the Greyhounds, Matt Murray stopped 37 shots in the loss.

“We’re leading the world in breakaways and it’s really unacceptable,” said Keefe. “That said, I don’t think Matt’s off the hook tonight either. We want to see more compete in him. There are times when we have breakdowns and he’s just ok with letting it in. It’s part of a goaltenders job to stand in there and bail us out every once-in-a-while. That’s no excuse for the players though. They need to be better in front of him.”

The win improved the Whalers record to 40-17-5-4 on the season with two games remaining. It also marked the ninth time since the organization entered the league that they have posted at least 40 wins. This also marks the 22nd straight playoff appearance by the organization. The last time the Whalers missed the playoffs was the 1990-91 season, their first as a member of the OHL.

With the loss the Greyhounds drop to 35-25-3-3 with a pair of games remaining on their schedule. The Greyhounds homestand continues on Saturday night when they host the Kitchener Rangers in a 7:07 p.m. start at the Essar Centre.

Photo courtesy Jim Egan