It Can't Be Over....But It Is
April 30, 2001

ERIE, PA. -- The most successful season in Erie Otters history came to an unfortunate end on Sunday night as the Plymouth Whalers take the series 4-1 with a 7-4 win over the Erie Otters.

What seemed to be the norm in the series, the Whalers once again opened the scoring when Chad Wiseman beat Adam Munro at 1:28 of the first period.

The Otters tied the game when Cory Pecker beat Rob Zepp with a shot in front at 2:43. Sean Dixon gave the Otters a 2-1 when he put home a rebound shot at 3:39 for his first goal of the playoffs. The Whalers struck back and tied the game with Karl Stewart's goal at 15:14 of the second period.

The Whalers would score two more times on goals by Rob McBride and Libor Ustrnul to take a 4-2 lead after two.

Damien Surma put the Whalers up 5-2 which marked the end for Munro as he was replaced by J.F. Perras. The Otters attempted comeback number two when Brad Boyes pulled them to within two at 10:46 of the third.

Pecker scored his second of the evening pulling the Otters to within one at 13:23 on the power play.

Cole Jarrett put the game out of Erie's reach at 16:52 on the power play. Surma ending the scoring on the night with his second firing one into the open net at 18:26. The Whalers will host the Ottawa 67's on Friday in the OHL Championship.

Also: The Otters say goodbye to Derrick Byfuglien, Assistant Captain Darren McMillan, Jason Baird and quite possibly J.F. Perras, Sean Dixon, Cory Pecker, Chris Berti, Joe Guenther, Brandon Cullen, Mike Nelson, Joey "sandpaper" Sullivan, Brad Yeo and Nik Alexeev. Any of the latter 10 are eligible to return to the OHL, but only three can play in Erie. Thanks to the fans who visited here this past season as well.

Do Or Die Time For Otters
April 29, 2001

PLYMOUTH, Michigan. -- Kris Vernarsky scored twice and Chad Larose picked up two assists as the Plymouth Whalers take game four and lead the series 3-1 with a 6-2 win over the Erie Otters.

For the fourth time a row the Whalers opened the scoring when Tomas Kurka beat J.F. Perras at 5:01 of the first period. Big Chris Berti evened the score at 14:12 beating Rob Zepp on the power play.

The Whalers would score two more times on goals by Vernarsky and Chad Wiseman to take a 3-1 to the locker room after one. Wiseman's goal spelled the end for J.F. Perras, who made 9 saves on 12 shots.

Big Nik Alexeev returned on Saturday night and pulled the Otters to within one shorthanded at 2:57 of the second.

Plymouth shut the door in the third allowing the Otters only two shots on goal. Wiseman, Vernarsky and Karl Stewart scored the final three goals for the Whalers for the 6-2 win.

67's Advance To OHL Finals
April 28, 2001

OTTAWA, Ontario. -- Seamus Kotyk made 20 saves as the Ottawa 67's advance to the OHL finals and take the series 4-0 with a 3-0 win over the Toronto St. Michael's Majors.

Jon Zion scored the game winner at 19:46 of the first period on the power play. Joe Talbot and Miguel Delisle also scored for the 67's.

Andy Chiodo made 35 saves in the loss for the Majors.

Also: Otters Head Coach Dave MacQueen picked up coach of the year honors for guiding the locals to a 45-11-10-2 record. Brad Boyes was named most sportsmanlike on Friday.

Whalers Edge Otters
April 27, 2001

ERIE, PA. -- Tomas Kurka scored the game winning goal at 11:13 of the third period as the Plymouth Whalers go up 2-1 in the series with a 4-3 win over the Erie Otters.

The Whalers opened the scoring once again as Kris Vernarsky tipped in Damian Surma's shot past J.F. Perras for the 1-0 lead.

Cory Pecker put the Otters back on even ground minutes after returning from a slash by Cole Jarrett. Pecker beat Rob Zepp for his 12th at 12:24.

Plymouth capitalized on two power play opportunities to put themselves ahead 3-1. George Nistas scored at 8:41 beating Perras with a backhander and Steve Weiss picked up the Whalers' third goal at 13:46.

Carlo Colaiacovo pulled the Otters to with in one on the power play at 15:57 of the second with his shot from the point.

The Otters would tie the game on another power play that carried over to the beginning of the third period. Derrick Byfuglien ripped a shot from the blueline that found its way through traffic at 1:20.

Kurka ended the scoring with help from Chad Wiseman, who picked up three assists in the game.

67's Ridin' High
April 27, 2001

OTTAWA, Ontario. -- Bryan Rodney picked up a goal and two assists to lead the Ottawa 67's to a 5-3 win over the Toronto St. Michael's Majors and a 3-0 series lead.

Luke Sellars, Joe Talbot, Matt Albiani and Adam Chapman also scored for the 67's. Frank Lukes, Steve Farquharson and Matt Bannan picked up goals for Toronto.

Otters Hand Whalers First Playoff Loss
April 25, 2001

PLYMOUTH, Michigan. -- J.F. Perras made 26 saves as the Erie Otters tie the series with a 4-1 win over the Plymouth Whalers.

For the second consecutive game, The Whalers opened the scoring when Chad Wiseman beat Perras at 5:47 of the first period on the power play.

The Otters responded with the game tying goal just 27 seconds later when Joe Guenther scored his first of the playoffs from Brad Yeo when he beat Rob Zepp up high.

Brad Yeo gave the Otters the lead when he beat Zepp with a wrister at 3:33 of the second. Brad Boyes put the Otters ahead by two and beat Zepp with a low shot at 7:01.

Brandon Cullen ended the scoring on the night when he fired one into the open net with 59 seconds left to play. The game featured only twelve minutes in penalties between the two teams.

Alexeev Signs: Injured Otters forward, Nik Alexeev, has signed with the NHL's Tampa Bay Lighting (24-47-6-5) on Tuesday. Alexeev could return to the Otters in the OHL finals should they advance.

67's go up 2-0
April 24, 2001

TORONTO, Ontario. -- Vadim Sozinov picked up two assists as the Ottawa 67's take game two with a 4-2 win over the Toronto St. Michael's Majors.

Joe Talbot, Randy Bauman, Brendan Bell and Lance Galbraith scored goals for the 67's. Ryan Walsh and Mike Gough replied for Toronto. Andy Chiodo made 32 saves in the loss. The series shifts to Ottawa on Thursday.

67's Blank Majors
April 23, 2001

TORONTO, Ontario. -- Seamus Kotyk made 36 saves as the Ottawa 67's take game one of the Eastern Conference final with a 3-0 win over the Toronto St. Michael's Majors.

Miguel Delisle, Zenon Konopka and Luke Sellars scored for the 67's. Peter Budaj made 33 saves in the loss for Toronto.

Whalers Drop Otters
April 22, 2001

ERIE, PA. -- The Plymouth Whalers take game one of the OHL Western Conference final and remain undefeated so far with a 3-0 win over the Erie Otters.

The Whalers opened the scoring in this one and never looked back as they dominated an Erie team that failed to show up. Damien Surma opened the scoring when he skated from the right board untouched and beat Adam Munro at 3:07 for the 1-0 lead.

Plymouth went up 2-0 when Chad LaRose won the face off in the Erie end back to Cole Jarrett, who in turn fired the puck from the point at 3:42 of the second. That was it for Munro, who finished the game with 17 saves on 19 shots.

Tomas Kurka ended the scoring on the night with a short handed wrist shot that beat J.F. Perras at 11:32 of the third. The Whalers outshot the Otters on the night 40-21. The Otters went 0 for 9 on the power play while the Whalers were 0 for 7.

Also: The Otters were without Nik Alexeev, who was injured in last Saturday's game against Brampton. Plymouth were without Captain Jared Newman, Forwards Gregory Campbell and Bryan Thompson and G Larry Sterling. Newman was suspended by the league for eight games on Friday for a match penalty assessed for an attempt to injure Windsor's Steve Ott during the April 12 playoff game against the Spitfires.

Major upset for Wolves
April 20, 2001

SUDBURY, Ontario. -- Mike Gough scored the game winner at 9:17 of the first period and Peter Budaj made 33 saves in goal as the Toronto St. Michael's Majors rally from a 3-1 series deficit to take the series and advance to the Eastern Conference final with a 3-1 win over the Sudbury Wolves.

Matt Bannan and Steve Ellis also scored for Toronto. Derek MacKenzie scored the lone goal for the Wolves and Mike Smith made 14 saves in the loss.

Whalers, Wolves & More
April 19, 2001

The back and forth playoff schedule of round three begins in Erie on Saturday, April 21 when the Otters (8-2) face the Plymouth Whalers (8-0). The series shifts to Michigan on Tuesday April 24 and back to Erie on Thursday April 26. Game 4 will take place in Plymouth on Saturday April 24. Games 5,6 and 7 if necessary are as follows: Sun. April 29 at Erie, Tues. May 1 at Plymouth, and Thurs. May 3 at Erie.

The Sudbury Wolves will look to advance to the Eastern Conference finals as the host the Toronto St. Michael's Majors. The Majors took Game 6 with a 3-1 win over the Wolves on Tuesday night.

The Ottawa 67's await the winner of the Wolves/Majors series. The 67's put an end to the Bulls on Tuesday with a 7-2 win.

Out West, The Spokane Chiefs will meet the Portland Winter Hawks in the Western Conference Final and the Red Deer Rebels will meet Swift Current Broncos in the Eastern Conference final.

Finally in the Quebec League: Les Froeurs D' Val-d'Or will meet Les Cataractes de Shawinigan. and Le Titan d' Acadie-Bathurst will meet Le Drakkar de Baie-Comeau.