Walleye Lose Thriller In Inaugural Game, 2-1 to Florida Everblades
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10/16/2009 - Fans waiting two years for hockey in Toledo saw the Walleye drop a thriller, 2-1 to the Florida Everblades, in front of a Toledo record (sell-out) crowd of 8,000 at the first ever game at the new Lucas County Arena.
LW Maxime Tanguay scored the first goal in the history of the Walleye in the third period. Tanguay, who spent last season with the Victoriaville Tigres of the QMJHL, blasted the power play tally past Florida netminder Mike Morrison to cut the Everblades lead to 2-1. Toledo had several opportunities to tie but could not capitalize again in the period; Morrison turned away 18 of 19 shots, including a breakaway attempt by C Justin Hodgman with nine minutes remaining that could have tied the game.
Toledo applied much pressure in the final minutes, but failed to convert on a power play attempt with four minutes left, and could not tie it with a pulled goalie in the final seconds.
The Everblades, winners of the Henry Brabham Cup as owners of the ECHL’s best regular season record last season, finished 2008-09 with 103 points (49-17-2-3), ten more than the second-place Alaska Aces.
G Alec Richards was solid in net for the Walleye, saving 25 of 27 shots. Everblades’ LW Jacob Micflikier’s wrist shot past Richards early in the third proved to be the eventual game-winner.
Florida 2, Toledo 1 -- Full Box Score
A limited number of tickets are available for the games on Saturday and Sunday. Call 419-725-WALL for ticket information or click the links. Saturday, 10/17 @ 7:00 pm | Sunday, 10/18 @ 5:30 pm
Toledo Blade: Game Story; Examiner.com: Game Story; Video highlights: Walleye TV
--Craig Vanderkam, Toledo Walleye - Photo Credit: Phil Levering
