Sports
Major Effort Nets Mississauga 2-0 Win Over Plymouth
Plymouth has won 12 of 14 and is 23-4-0-1 since Oct. 29.
Goaltender Brandon Maxwell stopped 24 shots and Mika Partanen and Eric Diodati scored power plays goals as the Mississauga St. Michaels Majors defeated the Plymouth Whalers, 2-0, in an Ontario Hockey League game played before 3,111 at on Saturday night.
Mississauga (now 19-17-1-5) snapped Plymouth's seven-game winning streak. The Whalers have won 12-of-14 and are 23-4-0-1 since Oct. 29.
Plymouth is currently 29-10-2-1, good for 61 points and first place in the OHL's West Division. The Whalers are two points behind London (31-9-0-1, 63 points) as the top team in the Western Conference. London defeated Saginaw, 5-4, tonight in a shootout at the Dow Event Center in Saginaw.
Partanen scored at 11:13 of the first period to give Mississauga a 1-0 lead. Plymouth goaltender Matt Mahalak stopped Trevor Carrick's shot from the left point, but allowed a rebound and it was batted home by Partanen on the right wing side of the goal.
Plymouth forechecked Mississauga all night, but the Majors played a safe defensive game for sixty minutes. Diodati scored at 5:41 of the third period to give the Majors a 2-0 lead on a shot from the left point through traffic past Mahalak, who was screended on the play.
Plymouth head coach Mike Vellucci pulled Mahalak with 2:40 remaining and the Whalers had a six-on-four man power advantage when Riley Brace was whistled for dealy of game, but the Whalers could not score.
Mississauga outshot Plymouth, 26-24.
Plymouth remains home Monday afternoon, hosting Windsor at 2:00 p.m. at (1:45 p.m., 88.1FM WSDP).
