BY ED WRIGHT
Aug. 7, 2010, 10:15 p.m.

  Both benches cleared with just under a minute to play in Saturday's Plymouth Whalers' Alumni Score For Autism Charity Hockey Game at Compuware Arena.

  Don't worry: There was no bad blood - just a good group of 29 highly skilled, grinning-ear-to-ear hockey players chasing a puck en masse in a race against the clock.

  Whaler White player Jeff Gardiner finally secured the slab of rubber with eight seconds left and dumped it in the empty net to deadlock the game at 14-14 - a football score in the heart of baseball season.

  But the final result on Saturday took a deep back seat to the cause at hand: fighting autism, a complex developmental disability that is estimated to affect one in 110 births.

  All proceeds from Saturday's second annual alumni game will be donated to the Hope for Autism Foundation and Autism Compass, the Whalers' charity partners.

  "It's always nice to come back and see some of the guys," said ex-Whaler James Wisniewski, a Canton native who was traded by Anaheim to the New York Islanders last week. "My last year was James Neal's first year here, so it was good to hang out with him and some of the other guys. We're all grown up now, we're in the NHL, and I can see the years slipping by. It's a lot of fun to come back for games like this, especially because it's for such a good cause."

  The Blue Whalers exploded to a 6-2 first-half lead (the game was split into two 30-minute halves with a running clock) thanks in large part to Ryan Hayes, who lit the lamp three times in just under five minutes.

  Wisniewski put the icing on the first-half scoring when he pulled off a slick deke in front of Blue goalie Justin Peters before sliding the puck in the lower-right corner of the net.

  "We're trying to score a few goals and have fun at the same time," said Hayes, a huge grin creasing his face. "These games are great. We went golfing yesterday, so we have fun together on and off the ice. The most important thing, obviously, is to entertain the people who come out and to raise money for a great cause."

  Among the big-name NHL stars who stopped what they were doing in different parts of the country and Canada to dedicate a couple days to a good cause were Wisniewski, Boll, James Neal, Dave Legwand and Chad LaRose.

  "Getting the players to attend the event once we reach them is the easy part," said Natalie Shaver, the Whalers' sales and marketing administrator. " The hard part is tracking them down. That's where the power of Facebook comes in."

  The oldest player to participate in Saturday's game was White team right-winger J.D. Eaton, who turned 37 on May 28. The youngest player was 20-year-old A.J. Jenks.

  The game featured spurts of high-caliber action. Peters looked in mid-season form at times, shutting down White team flurries on more than one occasion.

A couple of No. 3's - the White team's Joe McCann and the Blue's Mike Morrone - chase down the puck. (Ed Wright photo)

James Wisniewski received a loud ovation when he was introduced prior to the game. (Ed Wright photo)

Chris Terry (20) tries to catch up to Chad LaRose. (Ed Wright photo)