Third Period Explosion Nets Five Goals; Walleye Win Over Elmira Jackals, 5-1!

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12/12/2009 - The Elmira Jackals came to Toledo ahead of the Walleye in the American Conference standings by just a point, and started out strong with the only goal of the first two periods. On the power play just 1:55 into the game, Maxime Gratchev was credited for a goal that was thrown in front and off a Toledo skate into the back of the net.

Though the Jackals out-shot the Walleye 11-7 in the period, the ice tilted in Toledo's favor in the second period. Neither team lit the lamp in the second, but Toledo had momentum for most of the period and out-shot the Jackets 12-7.

The Walleye exploded in the third for five goals, setting a franchise record. Chris Robertson scored the equalizer at 3:23 of the period, beating Elmira goalie Pier-Olivier Pelletier stick-side off a one-timer. Sebastien Piche's first goal of the season proved to be the game-winner at 5:28 of the period, and Mike Hedden made it 3-1 with his eighth at 6:41.

The Jackals thought they had cut the deficit to 3-2 with two minutes remaining, but an inadvertent whistle helped the Walleye. The referee blew the whistle with six Jackets on the ice, not realizing Elmira had pulled the goalie for an extra attacker. A puck was thrown in front of the net and past Richards, but the whistle had blown and the play was dead.

Alec Tanguay scored an empty-netter to make it 4-1, and Ryan Stokes scored a power-play goal 18 seconds later to cap the explosive third period. The win was the Walleye's second in as many nights following a 6-2 win over Kalamazoo on Friday night.

Walleye News & Notes:

Five for Fighting: The teams combined for 100 penalty minutes, all but 10 of which came in the third period. There were eight 5-minute fighting majors and four game misconducts.

Power Play Drought: The power play goal from Stokes in the third was the Walleye's first in 28 attempts and just their second in 43 tries. The Walleye led the league in power-play percentage as recently as November 11 (29.7 percent), but now rank sixth at 18.8 percent.

Miracle on Ice: The Toledo Walleye were pleased to to have welcomed Olympic Hero and former Toledo Goaldigger Mike Eruzione for his first visit to the new Lucas County Arena. The appearance comes nearly 30 years after Eruzione helped Team USA win the gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY and over 7,000 fans warmly welcomed his arrival.

Full Box Score: Toledo 5, Elmira 1

What’s Up Next: The Walleye host Elmira on Sunday, December 13 at 5:30 p.m. Click Here for Tickets.

--Craig Vanderkam, Toledo Walleye - Photo Credit: Phil Levering