Fish Tales - Walleye Insiders Blog
Updated American Conference Playoff Race
3/11/2010 11:27 AM
Jason Griffin1 S Carolina - 83 pts
2 Cincinnati - 79
3 Elmira - 71
4 Kalamazoo - 76
5 Florida - 73
6 Charlotte - 71
7 Toledo - 66
8 Reading - 64
Non-Playoff Teams
9 Gwinnett - 62
10 Wheeling - 62
11 Trenton - 61
12 Johnstown - 41
Upcoming Games
THU, MARCH 11
Gwinnett at Charlotte - 7:00 PM EST
FRI, MARCH 12
Toledo at Trenton - 7:00 PM EST
Reading at Johnstown - 7:05 PM EST
Florida at South Carolina - 7:05 PM EST
Kalamazoo at Elmira - 7:35 PM EST
SAT, MARCH 13
Florida at South Carolina - 5:00 PM EST
Gwinnett at Charlotte - 7:00 PM EST
Kalamazoo at Trenton - 7:00 PM EST
Wheeling at Johnstown - 7:05 PM EST
Toledo at Reading - 7:05 PM EST
Cincinnati at Elmira - 7:35 PM EST
SUN, MARCH 14
Gwinnett at Charlotte - 2:00 PM EDT
Kalamazoo at Wheeling - 3:05 PM EDT
Florida at South Carolina - 4:00 PM EDT
Elmira at Reading - 5:05 PM EDT
Game Notes For March 10 in Trenton
3/10/2010 9:14 AM
Matt MelzakLast Game: Toledo was defeated by the Charlotte Checkers 2-1. Forward Evan Rankin scored Toledo’s lone goal in the game, his team-leading 27th of the season...
Today’s Game: The Toledo Walleye tangle with the Trenton Devils in Trenton for the first time this year. Toledo is 13-3-0-1 against teams from the East Division. Toledo has won all four of the previous meetings and has outscored the Devils 15-9 in those meetings. The special teams have been terrific as the power play has gone 6 for 25 (24%) and the penalty kill has stopped 16 of 19 (84.2%). The Walleye have outshot the Devils in the four meetings 159-121...
Race for the Postseason: Toledo currently sits in the seventh spot in the ECHL’s American Conference at 66 points...The Walleye are just two points ahead of the Reading Royals who currently sit in the eighth spot. The Gwinnett Gladiators and Wheeling each sit with 62 points, tied for ninth in the conference. The top eight make the postseason...
More New Faces: Toledo should have two new faces in the lineup tonight as defenseman Kyle Page (BGSU) and newly acquired forward Tony Romano are expected to play...
Richards has Owned the Devils: Goaltender Alec Richards has a record of 4-0-0-0 against Trenton this year. In those games he has posted a sparkling 1.52 goals against average and a .948 save percentage...
Players Going Against the Devils: Defenseman JC Sawyer leads Toledo against Trenton, as he has scored 5 goals while adding 2 assists in four contests. Sawyer has 3 goals and 4 assists in his last five games. Forward Maxime Tanguay has collected 5 points (2g, 3a) in four games vs. Trenton...
Reaching 60: Forward Maxime Tanguay is the first Walleye player to collect 60 points (23g, 38a). Tanguay has collected 3 goals and 3 assists in his last three games...
Scouting the Devils: Trenton is 25-26-4-5 on the season and they sit third in the ECHL’s East Division. Trenton is 7-3-0-0 in their last 10 games and has a 12-10-2-5 home record. Trenton lost 5-3 at Wheeling on March 7th and they currently sit 7 points behind Reading for the final playoff spot...
Baiting the Hook: Toledo will continue its east coast swing with another tilt against the Devils Friday night. Saturday, Toledo will visit Reading to play the Royals for the first time since October 29, 2009...
Walleye Acquire Tony Romano and Sign Kyle Page
3/9/2010 3:00 PM
Jason Griffin(Toledo, OH) – The Toledo Walleye and Head Coach Nick Vitucci have announced today that they have traded forward Malcolm MacMillan and defenseman Justin Suda to the Utah Grizzlies for the rights to forward Tony Romano. In a separate move, the Walleye have signed former Bowling Green State University defenseman Kyle Page.
Romano was a sixth round pick of the New Jersey Devils in the 2006 draft. Tony has split time this year between Bridgeport of the AHL and Utah of the ECHL. He has appeared in 21 games with the Sound Tigers (1g, 1a), and 34 games with the Grizzlies (9g, 15a). On June 30th of 2009, Tony was traded by the Devils to the New York Islanders. In the 2008-09 campaign, he led the Peterborough Petes (Ontario Hockey League) in scoring (36g, 33a).
Page signs on with the Walleye after completing his senior season with the BGSU Falcons. Kyle posted a career-high in points with 17 (3g, 14a) this season, while serving as the team’s captain for a second straight year. In 2008-09, Page was named Bowling Green’s top defensive player. During his time at Bowling Green he was also named to the CCHA’s Scholar Athlete Team (2006-07), and was honorable mention All-CCHA Rookie Team in 2005-06.
MacMillan appeared in 56 games this year with the Walleye, scoring four goals while collecting 28 assists. Malcolm also collected a team-high 155 penalty minutes. Suda appeared in 46 games with the Walleye scoring one goal with four assists.
THIS WEEK'S GAMES (All Times Eastern)
Wednesday March 10 @ Trenton Devils (7:00pm) (6:30pm, 1230am, B2)
Friday March 12 @ Trenton Devils (7:00pm) (6:30pm, 1230am, B2)
Saturday March 13 @ Reading Royals (7:05pm) (6:35pm, 1230am, B2)
The Toledo Walleye host the Cincinnati Cyclones March 19th in the Lucas County Arena. To order tickets to this game or any others this season, call 419-725-WALL or online at www.toledowalleye.com.
Walleye Weekly Release
3/8/2010 1:18 PM
Jason GriffinToledo Walleye Weekly Release No. 21: March 8, 2010
Overall Record: 31-25-1-3 (3rd North Division) (Week Record 2-1-0-0) (Streak Lost 1)
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS
Friday March 5 vs. Trenton Devils (5-3 Win)
Saturday March 6 vs. Charlotte Checkers (6-5 OT Win)
Sunday March 7 vs. Charlotte Checkers (2-1 Loss)
THIS WEEK'S GAMES (All Times Eastern)
Wednesday March 10 @ Trenton Devils (7:00pm) (6:30pm, 1230am, B2)
Friday March 12 @ Trenton Devils (7:00pm) (6:30pm, 1230am, B2)
Saturday March 13 @ Reading Royals (7:05pm) (6:35pm, 1230am, B2)
For the latest news on the Toledo Walleye visit www.toledowalleye.com
Walleye Notes
Ø A Fantastic Record! Sunday’s crowd of 7,084 pushed Toledo over the 200,000 mark for total season attendance. Currently, Toledo sits at 205,135 for the year and with every game establishes a new mark (1977-78 Goaldiggers 177,988 was the old record). The Walleye also posted the best three game home weekend attendance with 22,545 on hand. The previous best was October 16-18 when 20,664 passed through the turnstiles. Toledo is currently the top team in average attendance also at 6,216 per contest. Ontario sits at 6,157 per game.
Ø Overtime Again! Saturday night, Toledo collected its league leading ninth overtime win of the season. The Walleye have the best win percentage in the league in games past regulation (85.7%) with a record of 9-1 in OT and 1-3 in shootouts. The last two goals scored for Chris Robertson have been overtime game-winners (2/17/10 at Cincinnati).
Ø Welcoming Aliu! Walleye forward Akim Aliu made his debut Saturday night with Toledo a good one as he scored two goals and set up Chris Robertson’s overtime game-winner.
Ø Third Period Scoring Frenzy! Toledo exploded Friday night for five goals in the third led by JC Sawyer and Maxime Tanguay, who each tallied twice. It tied Toledo’s high this season for goals in a period as they scored 5 goals in the third period 12/12/09 vs. Elmira (5-1 win).
Ø Setting the Shooting Mark! Toledo posted a season high 51 shots on goal in the 6-5 overtime win on Saturday. Gwinnett has posted the ECHL high for shots in a single game this season when they collected 60 on 11/28/09.
Ø Returning from the Dead! Toledo won twice this past weekend after trailing through two periods. Toledo has 7 wins this year when trailing after the second period. That ties them with Alaska and Florida for the most such wins in the league.
Ø Gametime! Toledo will play three road games this week. The first is Wednesday night in Trenton. Toledo is a perfect 4-0-0-0 against the Devils this year, although this will be the first time the two have met in Trenton. Toledo will meet Trenton again on Friday night. On Saturday, the Walleye travel to Reading to take on the Royals. Toledo is 0-1-0-1 against Reading this year, although the two have not met since October 29th in Reading (3-2 shootout loss).
Walleye Player of the Week:
JC Sawyer (2 goals – 2 assists = 4 points)
Walleye Goaltender of the Week:
Alec Richards (1-1-0, 2.52 gaa, .925 save %)
Updated American Conference Standings (Top 8 Teams Qualify For Post-Season)
1 S Carolina 83
2 Cincinnati 79
3 Elmira 71
4 Kalamazoo 76
5 Florida 73
6 Charlotte 71
7 Toledo 66
8 Reading 64
9 Wheeling 62
10 Gwinnett 60
11 Trenton 59
12 Johnstown 41
Upcoming Games
MON, MARCH 8
Cincinnati at Gwinnett - 7:05 PM EST
WED, MARCH 10
Toledo at Trenton - 7:00 PM EST
THU, MARCH 11
Gwinnett at Charlotte - 7:00 PM EST
FRI, MARCH 12
Toledo at Trenton - 7:00 PM EST
Reading at Johnstown - 7:05 PM EST
Florida at South Carolina - 7:05 PM EST
Kalamazoo at Elmira - 7:35 PM EST
SAT, MARCH 13
Florida at South Carolina - 5:00 PM EST
Gwinnett at Charlotte - 7:00 PM EST
Kalamazoo at Trenton - 7:00 PM EST
Wheeling at Johnstown - 7:05 PM EST
Toledo at Reading - 7:05 PM EST
Cincinnati at Elmira - 7:35 PM EST
SUN, MARCH 14
Gwinnett at Charlotte - 2:00 PM EDT
Kalamazoo at Wheeling - 3:05 PM EDT
Florida at South Carolina - 4:00 PM EDT
Elmira at Reading - 5:05 PM EDT
Game Notes March 7, 2010 vs. Charlotte
3/7/2010 10:00 AM
Matt MelzakLast Game: Toledo defeated the Charlotte Checkers 6-5 in overtime to post back to back home wins...Chris Robertson scored with just six remaining in overtime to give Toledo the win...
Today’s Game: The Toledo Walleye welcome the Charlotte Checkers to the Lucas County Arena for the final time this season...Toledo has three wins in four meetings this year against Charlotte...The Walleye have a record of 6-5-0-1 in Sunday games this year...
Following the Fish: Saturday night saw another sellout crowd of 8,000 inside the Lucas County Arena...That crowd pushed Toledo’s season attendance to 198,051 for an average of 6,189...Ontario is averaging 6,192 per contest and the ECHL is averaging 4,374...Six out of the last twelve home games has seen a crowd of 8,000 plus...
Race for the Postseason: Toledo currently sits in the seventh spot in the ECHL’s American Conference...The Walleye are four points ahead of Reading, who sits 8th, while Wheeling and Gwinnett are tied for 9th at 60 points...
Overtime Again: Last night Toledo collected its league leading ninth overtime win of the season...Gwinnett has six overtime wins...The Walleye have the best win percentage in the league in games past regulation (85.7%) with a record of 9-1 in OT and 1-3 in shootouts...The last two goals scored for Chris Robertson have been overtime game-winners (2/17/10 at Cincinnati)...
Welcoming Aliu: Walleye forward Akim Aliu made his debut last night with Toledo a good one as he scored two goals and set up Chris Robertson’s overtime game-winner...The other latest addition Simon Danis-Pepin has collected two assists in two games with the Walleye...
Scouting the Checkers: Charlotte is 31-20-4-3 on the season and they sit third in the ECHL’s South Division...Charlotte is 4-5-1-0 in their last 10 games and has a 14-13-2-2 road record...Charlotte goaltender Ryan Munce made 45 saves in a losing effort last night...
Baiting the Hook: Toledo will hit the road next week for its only trip to Trenton for two games before heading to Reading Saturday...The Walleye play six of the next seven games on the road...
Walleye Game Notes for March 5th vs. Trenton
3/5/2010 10:53 AM
Matt MelzakLast Game: Toledo was defeated by the Gwinnett 6-4 last Saturday night in the Lucas County Arena...Scooter Smith scored a pair of goals in a losing effort...
Today’s Game: The Toledo Walleye welcome the Trenton Devils to the Lucas County Arena for the final time this year...Toledo is 3-0-0-0 against Trenton this season, and 12-3-0-1 against East Division foes...Defenseman JC Sawyer has 5 points (3g, 2a) in three games against the Devils...
Following the Fish: Saturday night the Toledo Walleye welcome in another standing room only crowd of 8,200...It was the 6th time that 8,000 plus have enjoyed a Walleye home hockey game...Five of those have come in the last ten home games...Saturday’s game also marked a new all-time single season attendance record, breaking the mark set by the 1977-78 Toledo Goaldiggers (177,988)...Toledo currently stands at 182,590 with just six home contests remaining...The Walleye are averaging 6,086 per home game...
Race for the Postseason: Toledo currently sits in the seventh spot in the ECHL’s American Conference...The Walleye are three points ahead of Wheeling, who currently is in ninth...Counting tonight, the Walleye finish with six home games and nine road contests...
Welcoming Peralta: Forward Sal Peralta, acquired in a trade with Ontario on February 20th, collected two goals with two assists in his first two games with the Walleye...
Roster in a Constant State of Flux: On Thursday, Toledo traded defenseman Anthony Sarno to the Johnstown Chiefs for future considerations...The same day defenseman Simon Danis-Pepin was reassigned to Toledo from Rockford of the American Hockey League...
Scouting the Devils: Trenton is 24-24-4-5 on the season and they sit third in the ECHL’s East Division...Trenton is 7-3-0-0 in their last 10 games and has a 12-14-2-0 road record...Trenton lost to Reading 6-4 on March 2nd, which stopped a six game winning streak for the Devils...Forward Jeff Prough leads the Devils in scoring with 41 points (21g, 20a) in 46 games...
Baiting the Hook: The Walleye will host the Charlotte Checkers for back to back games on Saturday and Sunday...After these two contests, Toledo will play nine road games and just three home contests to finish out the regular season...
Walleye Trade Anthony Sarno
3/4/2010 3:44 PM
Jason Griffin(Toledo, OH) – The Toledo Walleye and Head Coach Nick Vitucci have announced today that they have traded defenseman Anthony Sarno to the Johnstown Chiefs of the ECHL in exchange for future considerations.
Sarno appeared in 12 contests with Toledo and did not register a point. Anthony did collect four penalty minutes.
Walleye Get Big Defenseman (6'7") From Rockford
3/4/2010 9:38 AM
Jason Griffin(Toledo, OH) – The Toledo Walleye and Head Coach Nick Vitucci have announced today that defenseman Simon Danis-Pepin has been reassigned by the Chicago Blackhawks to Toledo from the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League.
Pepin will be making his first appearance in Toledo after competing in 38 games this year with Rockford. The former 2nd round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2006 has scored one goal with seven helpers in his first professional season. Simon had 36 points (6g, 30a) in four seasons with Maine Black Bears during his college career.
Simon Danis-Pepin
Position: Defense Height: 6’7”
Birthdate: April 11, 1988 Weight: 208
Montreal, PQ Shoots: Right
Notes: Selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2nd round (61th overall) in the 2006 NHL draft...
Career Stats
The Toledo Walleye host the Trenton Devils March 5th in the Lucas County Arena. To order tickets to this game or any others this season, call 419-725-wall or online at www.toledowalleye.com.
Walleye Weekly Release (March 1)
3/1/2010 10:47 AM
Jason Griffin Toledo Walleye Weekly Release No. 20: March 1, 2010
Overall Record: 29-24-1-3 (3rd North Division) (Week Record 1-1-0-0) (Streak Lost 1)
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS
Friday February 26 @ Johnstown Chiefs (5-2 Win)
Saturday February 27 vs. Gwinnett Gladiators (6-3 Loss)
THIS WEEK'S GAMES (All Times Eastern)
Friday March 5 vs. Trenton Devils (7:00pm)
Saturday March 6 vs. Charlotte Checkers (7:00pm)
Sunday March 7 vs. Charlotte Checkers (4:00pm)
For the latest news on the Toledo Walleye visit www.toledowalleye.com
Walleye Notes
A Fantastic Record! Saturday night the Toledo Walleye welcome in another standing room only crowd of 8,200. It was the 6th time that 8,000 plus have enjoyed a Walleye home hockey game. Five of those have come in the last ten home games! Saturday’s game also marked a new all-time single season attendance record, breaking the mark set by the 1977-78 Toledo Goaldiggers (177,988). Toledo currently stands at 182,590 with just six home contests remaining. The Walleye are averaging 6,086 per home game.
Welcoming Peralta! Forward Sal Peralta, acquired in a trade with Ontario on February 20th, collected two goals with two assists in his first two games with the Walleye. Peralta was on a line with Maxime Tanguay and Evan Rankin.
Ranking in Four! Last week Forward Evan Rankin collected five goals in Charlotte, this week the team’s leading goal scorer chose to be the setup artist as he assisted on four of the five goals scored in Johnstown Friday night. Evan has ten points (5g, 5a) in his last five games.
Zarb has lit the Lamp! Defenseman Chris Zarb scored his first goal with Toledo Saturday night against Gwinnett. It was the ninth goal of the season for Chris.
No more of the South Please! With its loss Saturday night against Gwinnett, Toledo is 5-10-1-2 against teams from the South Division this season. The Walleye are 24-14-0-1 against teams from the East (12-3-0-1) and the North (12-11-0-0).
Players of the February Month! Goaltender Alec Richards finished February with a 2-4-0-0 record while posting a 3.01 GAA and a .909 SVP. Forward Evan Rankin finished the month with 6 goals and 6 assists for 12 points in just nine games.
On the Hook
Gametime! Toledo will continue a four game home stand with three games in three days at the Lucas County Arena this weekend. Friday night, the Walleye will host the Trenton Devils. Toledo has won all three meetings so far this year against the Devils. The Walleye have scored on five of nineteen power plays against Trenton (26.3%). Saturday and Sunday the Charlotte Checkers will be in town for a pair of games. The Walleye have taken two of the three meetings so far this year against the Checkers. The Walleye defeated Charlotte 7-0 in the last meeting (2/19/10 at Charlotte).
Promotions! Friday night is “Pink in the Rink” with the Walleye. Toledo will wear Pink Jerseys that will be auctioned off after the game, and the game will be played on Pink ice. Proceeds from the auction will benefit the Susan G. Komen for the Cure of Northwest Ohio. Saturday and Sunday is “History of Hockey in Toledo” presented by the Toledo Blade. Sunday is also Military Appreciation Night with the Walleye presented by Stautzenberger College. Visit www.toledowalleye.com for more information on all promotions!
Walleye Player of the Week:
Sal Peralta (2 goals – 2 assists = 4 points)
Walleye Goaltender of the Week:
Alec Richards (1-1-0, 2.44 gaa, .924 save %)
American Conference Standings (top 8 make playoffs)
AMERICAN GP W L OTL SOL PTS PCT
S Carolina 61 35 15 5 6 81 0.664
Cincinnati 58 36 19 1 2 75 0.647
Elmira 55 31 19 3 2 67 0.609
Kalamazoo 55 31 17 4 3 69 0.627
Florida 58 30 19 4 5 69 0.595
Charlotte 55 30 19 3 3 66 0.600
Toledo 57 29 24 1 3 62 0.544
Wheeling 59 27 27 2 3 59 0.500
Reading 55 27 24 1 3 58 0.527
Gwinnett 56 26 24 4 2 58 0.518
Trenton 56 24 23 4 5 57 0.509
Johnstown 57 15 34 5 3 38 0.333
Coaches Show Tonight
3/1/2010 10:32 AM
Jason GriffinThe Toledo Walleye Coaches show with Matt Melzak, Josh Heller and Nick Vitucci will take place tonight (Monday, March 1) at 7:00 pm live from Pizzapapalis downtown.
Come and enjoy dinner and talk hockey from 7-7:30 pm. The show will air on Fox Sports Radio 1230 - WCWA.
Let's Go Walleye!!!
