Fish Tales - October 2009
Kalamazoo
10/31/2009 6:28 PM
Matt MelzakTonight in Kalamazoo.
Justin Suda and Mike Hedden are scratches, while Jordan Pearce will start.
Steve Oleksy and Brandon Naurato are in.
Toledo falls in a Shootout at Reading
10/29/2009 10:00 PM
Matt MelzakThe night started great for Toledo as Maxime Tanguay collected his second goal of the year on the power play in the first. Toledo led 1-0 after the first. In the second however, the Royals came alive as they scored 3 times to take a 3-1 after 2. Mike Hedden scored a third period penalty shot goal and Adam Hobson collected a power play goal also as Toledo tied it at 3. The shootout went to Reading as the Royals win 4-3 in a shootout. Next up the first place Kalamazoo Wings!
Random Stats, etc.
10/28/2009 2:35 PM
Jason GriffinKalamazoo, Elmira, and Idaho are the only undefeated teams left in the 20-team ECHL...they are all 5-0-0 on the year.
Johnstown is the only winless team at 0-3-1
Toledo leads the ECHL in attendance at 6,412 fans per game...the league average is 4,451 through 47 games.
JC Sawyer is tied for the league lead with 2 game-winning goals.
Goaltender Alec Richards is 5th in the ECHL with a 1.63 GAA.
Toledo is 5th in the league in power play percentage at 23.3% (7-30)
Toledo is also 5th in the league in the penalty kill at 88.9% (24-27).
Toledo plays at Reading on Thursday at 7:05 pm and then at Kalamazoo on Saturday at 7:30 pm. Listen to the games on Fox Sports Radio 1230 AM with Matt Melzak.
In Reading
10/28/2009 12:40 PM
Matt MelzakFollowing our first overnight bus trip, the team is in Reading, PA. It was a good bus trip considering the rain and fog. The team had some jump after the ride for a solid day of practice. Should be a great rest of the day prior to tomorrow nights game against the Royals. By the way, a great note on the team. In each game so far this year, Toledo has increased its shot total per game. Wow!
Walleye Win in Overtime
10/24/2009 9:28 PM
Matt MelzakWow what a night at the Lucas County Arena! Sixty minutes was not enough tonight to solve this game as neither team could score. At 3:53 of overtime JC Sawyer scored his 3rd goal of the season and his second overtime game-winner to give the Walleye a 1-0 win. Toledo is off now until Thursday night, when the team travels to Reading.
Walleye go down to Reading
10/23/2009 9:30 PM
Matt MelzakWell after a great 1st period, Toledo is outscored 4-0 as the Reading Royals collect their first win of the year 7-3. Back at it tomorrow as Trenton is in town. See you then!
Game vs. Reading
10/23/2009 7:50 PM
Matt MelzakWow what a start to the game tonight! The two teams combined to score 6 goals in the first 12 minutes. Both Mike Hedden and Evan Rankin collected the first goals as professionals! 3-3 after the first!
Friday Pre-Game Skate/Notes
10/23/2009 10:18 AM
Jason GriffinThe boys are on the ice at the arena getting prepared to play the Reading Royals tonight at 7:00 pm.
The Royals are here and the Trenton Devils are also here this morning (they got here a day early to skate as well)
It is the first road trip of the year for Reading (0-1-0-1) and Trenton (1-2-0-0).
Kalamazoo is off the best start in the American Conference (3-0-0-0)...they will host Reading on Saturday night.
Toledo is averaging 6,888 fans per game through the first three games of the year. Overall, the ECHL has hosted 26 games this year with an average of 4,423 fans per game.
Defenseman Jamie Milam is currently tied for 4th in the ECHL with 5 points.
Walleye are 2nd in the ECHL with a 35.3% power play success rate (6-17).
Doors open at 6:00 pm tonight and 6:00 pm Saturday night.
Jamie Milam Named ECHL Player of the Week
10/20/2009 3:27 PM
Jason GriffinWay to go Jamie!
PRINCETON, N.J. – Jamie Milam of the Toledo Walleye is the Sher-wood Hockey ECHL Player of the Week for Oct. 15-18.
The 25 year old had two goals, three assists and five points to help the Walleye post back-to-back wins on Oct. 17 and 18 and finish 2-1-0 against Florida.
Milam scored the game-winning goal on the power play and added a pair of assists in a 5-2 win on Oct. 17 and had a goal and assisted on the game-winning goal in a 4-3 overtime win on Oct. 18. He leads ECHL defensemen and is tied for the overall league lead with five points. He is tied for the lead among defensemen with two goals, three assists, three power-play points and one game-winning goal.
Milam returns to the ECHL after playing in Denmark and Sweden in 2008-09, scoring 29 points (14g-15a) in 42 games.
He was named to the ECHL All-Rookie Team in 2006-07 after scoring 54 points (13g-41a) in 68 regular season games for Gwinnett.
Milam returned to play for the Gladiators in 2007-08 and was voted as a starter for the 2008 ECHL All-Star Game and was named Second Team All-ECHL after leading league defensemen with 33 power-play points and finishing second with 54 points in 72 games. He added four points (2g-2a) in eight Kelly Cup Playoff games.
On behalf of Jamie Milam, a case of pucks will be donated to a Toledo youth hockey organization by Sher-wood Hockey, the exclusive puck supplier of the ECHL. Since beginning its sponsorship of the award in 2000-01, Sher-wood Hockey has donated more than 22,500 pucks to youth hockey organizations in ECHL cities.
Walleye Win Again
10/18/2009 7:57 PM
Matt MelzakJ.C. Sawyer scores the game-winning goal in overtime as the Walleye make it two in a row 4-3 over the Florida Everblades. Another great game and time at the Lucas County Arena!
Walleye Win
10/17/2009 9:40 PM
Matt MelzakThanks to a terrific third period the Walleye have the first win of the season 5-2 over Florida! A 2-2 game was blown open with 3 Walleye goals in the third, and over 7,400 fans go home happy. What an atmosphere here tonight! If you haven't been here yet, get your tickets now!
First Game is in the Books
10/16/2009 6:00 PM
Matt MelzakWhew, what an opening night here at the arena! 8,000 fans packed the arena to witness the first game. Maxime Tanguay scored the lone goal for Toledo, but the Walleye lost to Florida 2-1. Hope to see you Saturday night at 7pm!
Waiting for the Puck Drop
10/16/2009 5:17 PM
Matt MelzakWell its 2 hours prior to opening faceoff. Its fairly quiet in the building right, but that is sure to change when 7,500 fans make this place rock. Hey less than 900 tickets remain for Saturday night against Florida!
Here We Go!
10/16/2009 8:00 AM
Jason GriffinWas on the news this morning outside the arena at 6:30 am. Can't wait for the drop of the puck tonight! Pre-game activities begin around 6:50 with the anthem at 7:11 and then we get started at 7:15.
Watch the game on BCSN or listen on WCWA 1230.
Hockey is back in T-Town!
Go Walleye!
Hanging At The Arena
10/15/2009 10:59 AM
Jason GriffinTeam is on the ice right now...getting excited for tomorrow's opener...Florida Everblades take the ice at 1:30 today...
Last Practice Before the Home Opener
10/15/2009 10:28 AM
Matt MelzakJust one day away from the home opener. Coach Vitucci has the guys on the ice for the final full practice prior to the home opener. The arena has had its final make-over also with the dashers up and everything looks ready.
One guy in particular I am looking forward to watching is number 61 Maxime Tanguay. The younger brother of the NHL's Alex Tanguay was completely electric in the two home preseason games. He might be one to watch. See you Friday night at the Lucas County Arena!
Training Camp Complete
10/11/2009 9:00 PM
Matt MelzakWe are, for all intents and purposes, done with training camp as the last preseason game is now complete. Port Huron defeated Toledo 5-2 on Sunday in the final of four preseason games. The record was 1-3, but that doesn't mean a hill of beans when it comes to the regular season. Coach Vitucci is going to make his final cuts and get this team ready for Friday night.
Make some time for the Coach's Show this week: broadcasting live on Tuesday at 7pm from PizzaPapalis downtown. Listen on Fox Sports Radio 1230 AM. Coach Vitucci, Josh Heller, Jason Griffin and myself will spend an entire hour getting you ready for the first season of Walleye hockey! We'll talk about the new Walleye players, the Opening Weekend games and who to watch out for in the ECHL!
Sunday's Exhibition Game
10/11/2009 1:00 PM
Jason GriffinClick here to view the roster for Sunday's exhibition game.
Saturday's Exhibition Game
10/10/2009 2:00 PM
Jason GriffinClick here to view the roster for Saturday's exhibition game.
Walleye Lose at Dayton 4-2
10/9/2009 9:00 AM
Jason GriffinThe Walleye lost at Dayton 4-2 last night in their first exhbition game. Walleye goals were scored by Trottier and Lange. The team plays tonight at Cincinnati. Here's the roster that's playing in Cincy:
(Number/Name) 4 SAWYER, 5 STOKES, 6 MILAM, 7 WILSON, 8 BERTRAM, 9 PATROSSO, 10 LANGE, 11 GIOSA, 12 ROLLS, 14 TANGUAY, 16 RANKIN, 17 HODGEMAN, 18 HOBSON, 19 OSMAN, 20 MICHALSKY, 25 CHARLEBOIS, 26 SMYTH, 27 NAURATO, 30 RICHARDS, 31 PEARCE
Thursday's Pre-Season Game
10/7/2009 3:15 PM
Jason GriffinJust got word of the players that are heading to Dayton for Thursday's pre-season game:
(Number/Name) 2 SUDA, 3 MCPHEE, 4 SILVER, 5 ROLLS, 6 FLORIS, 7 ROBERTSON, 8 TROTTIER, 9 PATROSSO, 10 LANGE, 11 GIOSA, 14 OLEKSY, 16 RANKIN, 17 NEBUS, 18 HEDDEN, 19 OSMAN, 20 MICHALSKY, 26 MASLONKA, 30 KESERICH, 31 TORMEY
Also, I was sorting through some goalie stats. Check out these impressive numbers: Alec Richards at Yale University was 19-5-1 with a 2.06 GAA and .923 save percentage in 2008-09. Jordan Pearce at the University of Notre Dame was 30-6-3 with a 1.68 GAA and .931 save percentage in 2008-09.
Walleye Training Camp
10/6/2009 3:00 PM
Matt MelzakIt's a new feel at the inaugural Toledo Walleye training camp. Head Coach Nick Vitucci decided to make his first cuts of the camp as eleven players were released. This brings the camp total down to thirty-three players with the new arrivals. Right Wing Dan Bertram, Center Adam Hobson, Goalie Alec Richards, and Center Maxime Tanguay all were sent to Toledo on Tuesday.
With the cuts, new arrivals, and the four pre-season games on the horizon, things are heating up at the camp. You can almost feel the new urgency in the arena from everyone as we get closer to open of the season. You can tell from the practices that the players realize that as well through the extra intensity on the ice.
The pre-season games are an important part of this process with four games to decide the group of the players that will compete in that first game on October 16th against the Florida Everblades. Most people don't realize the importance of these pre-season games. Those contests may be the single best way for Coach Vitucci to evaluate which players will best suit his team for the season. There are a lot of tough choices ahead for Nick and his staff and these games will only aid in these decisions.
