Walleye Drop A Thriller Against Defending Champs; Lose To South Carolina, 5-3

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11/28/2009 - Click for Tickets or December Schedule | Video Highlights | Box Score

Toledo, OH – The Walleye needed to catch fire on Saturday night after dropping to third in the division the night before. They had a tough matchup against the 2009 Kelly Cup Champion South Carolina Stingrays. They were in control of the game, that is, until the very end.

Toledo outhustled and outplayed the defending champs for the first part of the contest, jumping to an early two goal lead. On the penalty kill, JC Sawyer and Mark Nebus went on an odd-man rush and tallied the first score. Nebus led the charge with one defender to beat, and came to the Stingrays zone with a streaking Sawyer. Passing around the defense, Nebus found Sawyer on the other side of the crease, who buried the shorthanded goal. Toledo doubled the lead on the power play with a goal from Derek Nesbitt with less than two minutes to play in the period.

The second period looked to be more of the same for the Walleye. Travis Ehrhardt took a pass from Sawyer at the South Carolina blue line. He moved forward on the net and shot a perfect wrist shot – top shelf – over the glove of the netminder Todd Ford. It was Ehrhardt’s first professional goal that gave the Walleye a three goal lead.

Unfortunately for the Walleye, the Stingrays answered – quickly – and built momentum from there. Six seconds after the Ehrhardt score, Dain Prewitt put his team on the board. Toledo settled for the two goal lead to end the period, but the third would be a totally different game.

The Stingrays went on to score four goals – including an empty netter – in the final period. South Carolina would take the 5-3 lead, the final score. All goals came without a Toledo answer.

The Walleye play the defending champion Stingrays in the last game in November on Sunday at 5:30. Dora the Explorer will be making an appearance for the first time in the new arena! Click for Tickets or see the December Schedule | Video Highlights | Box Score

SEASON STORIES

Once A Walleye…: Former Toledo netminder Alec Richards was in goal for the Rockford IceHogs on Friday night versus the Grand Rapids Griffins. Richards made 27 saves in his first career AHL victory. Both the Griffins and IceHogs are affiliates of the Walleye, and Richards was assigned to Rockford on November 14. Prior to the call-up, Richards went 4-1-0-2 and posted a 2.75 GAA for Toledo.

…Always A Walleye, For Now: JC Sawyer returned to the Toledo lineup on Friday with a goal, then tallied another score in Saturday’s contest. He has seven on the year, even after missing a few games while with Rockford.

The Melzak Minutiae: TV broadcaster Matt Melzak delivered a statistic during the first intermission that was very interesting. JC Sawyer scored a shorthanded goal in Saturday’s game, the fourth team shorthanded goal for the Walleye this season. With Derek Nesbitt’s power play goal later in the period, the Walleye have scored a power play goal in each game they have also tallied a shorthanded score. The goal on the man advantage gives Toledo a power play goal in 13 of the last 17 games.

Story and photo by Philipp Levering, Toledo Walleye