Beau-dacious Ending
Schmitz sends 'Kids Day' crowd
home smiling with OT game-winner

BY ED WRIGHT
Dec. 28, 2009, 4:55 p.m.

  The painted faces that populated Compuware Arena during Monday's Plymouth Whalers' "Kids' Day" game against Erie exited the building smiling.

  And for that, they can thank Beau Schmitz.

  And Tyler Seguin.

  And Matt Hackett.

  Trailing 2-1 in the waning stages of the third period against the Otters, Plymouth mounted a spirited rally to pull out a 3-2 overtime victory before a "Kids Day" matinee crowd that was close to capacity.

  The game-winning goal 2:18 into the extra session unfolded when Tyler Seguin blazed into the Otters' zone then dropped a pass back to Beau Schmitz, who lifted the puck past Erie's stellar net-minder Jaroslav Janus.

  "Coach told me to jump in on the play," Schmitz said, recalling the game-winner. "Seguin skated across the crease then dropped it back to me and I finished. It was pretty exciting."

  "This was our first game back after a five-day break, so we were just trying to keep things simple. I like these matinee games because I don't have to take a nap before the games. You wake up and play."

  Plymouth head coach Mike Vellucci had mixed emotions about his team's performance Monday.

  "When you're away eight days for Christmas like we were, a lot of the guys don't skate, so we weren't great right away, which I wasn't too happy about," Vellucci said. "But at least we showed some character, fought back and took control in the third period. We got a lot more grade-A chances later in the game."

  Vellucci said it's difficult to get a true read on his 21-16-0-1 team as it hovers around the mid-season mark in the schedule, due to an inconsistent roster.

  "We haven't had a full line-up all year, so it's hard to judge our team right now," Vellucci admitted. "We have four guys away at World Juniors now. With all the guys missing, we're just getting by right now, but I want to do better than that."

  Both goalies -- Plymouth Matt Hackett 38 (saves) and the Otters Janus (32 saves) -- played up to their All-Star-caliber resumes. Hackett defused several golden scoring chances for the Otters, including a brilliant pad save on a 3-on-2 rush with 5:40 left in the first period.

  Janus was up to the task most of the game, too, including with just under six minutes left in the first period when he denied an up-close Ryan Hayes effort and the split-second rebound attempt that followed.

  Erie outshot Plymouth, 16-9, but neither team dented the scoreboard.

  Plymouth scored first with 6:37 left in the second period when Tyler Seguin slid a dead-on pass to the blade of Tyler G. Brown, who snapped the puck past Janus. Austin Levi Also picked up an assist.

  Erie tied it less than four minutes later when Erie's Mike Cazzola netted his 17th goal after securing Zach Torquota's pass.

  The Otters' Andrew Yogan banged a rebound shot past Hackett 1:35 into the third period to give Erie its lone lead.

  Plymouth added the equalizer at 11:16 of the third when Hayes redirected a Schmitz shot past Janus to set up the extra session.

  Both teams had opportunities during the final minutes of regulation, but Hackett and Janus came up big each time.

  Schmitz's game winner made it a complete afternoon for kids and the kids at heart who packed Compuware Arena.

  "That was a nice play," Vellucci said of the game-winning goal. "Both teams were pretty much trading scoring opportunities, but both goalies were making big saves.

  "Beau jumped into the play and Seguin made nice little play."