Fish Tales - Walleye Insiders Blog
Walleye Roster Shuffling
2/3/2012 2:00 PM
Jason Griffin(Toledo, OH) – The Toledo Walleye and Head Coach Nick Vitucci announced today that forward Mike Thomas has been assigned to Toledo from the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League. The team has also released forward Jeremy Tucker and activated goaltender Ryan Zapolski from injured reserve. In an unrelated move, Walleye forward Harrison Reed has signed a Player Tryout Agreement with the Houston Aeros of the AHL.
Thomas joins Toledo after appearing two games with Grand Rapids. Mike was acquired by the Griffins in a trade on January 19 from Springfield of the AHL, where he appeared in 25 games (1g, 3a). The New Maryland, New Brunswick native played his junior hockey in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Thomas collected 37 goals and 46 assists to go along with 470 penalty minutes in five years with Saint John.
Reed returns to Houston where he appeared in 13 games earlier this year. Reed has 10 goals and 10 assists in 26 games this year with the Walleye. Ryan Zapolski has not appeared in a game for Toledo since December 10 against Cincinnati. Jeremy Tucker appeared in 14 games with Toledo, scoring one goal with two assists.
Additionally, goaltender Jordan Pearce was assigned to Toledo late Thursday but was recalled by Grand Rapids on Friday due to the injury to Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard.
#12 Mike Thomas
Position: Forward
Height: 6’1â€
Weight: 204
Birthdate: February 8, 1990
New Maryland, BC
Shoots: Right
The Toledo Walleye will return home on Saturday, February 4 to play the Kalamazoo Wings at 7 p.m. Fans will want to stick around for “Team Photo Day†as the Walleye players will be posing for photos with the fans after the game. For tickets, call (419) 725-9255 or visit www.toledowalleye.com.
Game Notes for 2.3.12 at Kalamazoo
2/3/2012 10:21 AM
Matt MelzakGame Preview: Toledo is 2-2-2 against the Kalamazoo Wings this season. The Wings defeated Toledo 2-1 in a shootout when the teams last played on January 15th. Four of the six previous meetings have been decided by one goal. Toledo has won two of the four games played at Wings stadium this year as they have a 2-1 win (December 23rd) and a 5-4 win (January 14th). Toledo is 7-11-2 away from home this year.
Against the Wings: Joey Ryan leads the Walleye as he has six points (2g, 4a) in five games against the Wings this year. Joey Martin also has collected six points (1g, 5a) in five games against Kalamazoo. Kyle Rogers (2g, 2a) and Andrej Nestrasil (1g, 3a) each have four points against the Wings. Goaltender Dustin Carlson has a 1-1-1 record against Kalamazoo with a 2.94 GAA and a .893 SVP.
Rolling Along: Joey Martin is currently on a seven game point streak in which he has scored five goals with seven assists. Andrej Nestrasil is on a four game point streak with one goal and seven assists. Kyle Rogers has five goals and two helpers in his last six games.
Scouting Kalamazoo: The Wings are 24-14-5 on the season and come into tonight’s game 3-0-2 in their last five games. The Wings are 12-7-2 in home games this season. They lost to South Carolina 4-3 in a shootout on Wednesday night. Forward Trent Daavettilla leads the Wings against Toledo with one goal and 7 assists. Trent is also the season scoring leader on Kalamazoo with 42 points (8g, 34a).
Baiting the Hook: The Walleye will return home Saturday night to host the Kalamazoo Wings. Stick around after the game for “Team Photo Night†with your favorite players!
Game Notes for 2.1.12 at Cincinnati
2/1/2012 10:38 AM
Matt MelzakGame Preview: Toledo is 2-4-0-0 against the Cyclones and has beaten Cincinnati since 3-2 on November 25th (losing the last three games). The two have played twice in Cincinnati so far this season, with the Cyclones winning both 4-2 on November 15th and 3-2 on December 10th. Toledo is 10-9-2 this season against teams from the North Division. The Cyclones have outscored Toledo 19-16 in the six games played. Toledo will use its fourth different goaltender against the Cyclones. Thomas McCollum, Carter Hutton, and Ryan Zapolski have all started games against the Cyclones. Toledo is 4-4-0-1 in their last ten games.
Against the Cyclones: Forward Adam Estoclet has 2 goals, 4 assists in just three games, while forward Joey Martin has hit Cincinnati for three goals and two assists in six contests. Harrison Reed has collected five of his ten assists on the season against Cincinnati.
Rolling Along: Forward Joey Martin is currently on a six game point streak in which he has scored five goals with four assists. Forward Andrej Nestrasil has seven assists in his last five games played. Defenseman Bryan Rufenach has a goal and five assists in his last three games.
Scouting Cincinnati: The Cyclones are 18-14-0-6 on the season and come into tonight's game 3-1-0-1 in their last five games. Of those last five, Cincinnati has played Chicago four times. The Cyclones are 13-3-0-2 at home this season and is tied with Las Vegas (16-3-0-2) for the fewest home losses in the ECHL. Cincinnati's Mathieu Aubin has four goals and four assists in six games against Toledo.
Baiting the Hook: The Walleye will skate in Kalamazoo on Friday night before returning home on Saturday to host the Wings. Stick around after the game for "Team Photo Night"Â with your favorite players!
