Record crowd at opener; Walleye fall 5-1
10/15/2011 - (Toledo, OH)-The Toledo Walleye fell to the Chicago Express 5-1 in front of a record crowd of 8,250 at the Huntington Center.
Walleye defenseman Scott Fletcher started the season off dropping the gloves :02 in against Tim Spencer.
At 3:34 of the opening period, Toledo captain Kyle Rogers brought the sold-out Huntington Center crowd to its feet putting a power play goal behind Express goalie Rob Nolan. Assists on the Walleye goal went to Aaron Lewicki and Joey Martin.
Chicago tied the game up at 8:12 after Blair Riley got a shot past Walleye goaltender Thomas McCollum to tie the score up at 1-1.
Toledo out-shot the Express 15-8 in the opening period and went 1 for 3 on the power play.
Chicago took a 2-1 lead at 8:52 of the second period when Drew Paris got a shot behind McCollum.
The Walleye out-shot Chicago 10-3 for a two period total of 25-11.
Riley put the Express on top 3-1 at 3:38 of the third period getting a puck past McCollum. At 6:48, Evan Stephens extended the Chicago lead 4-1 after an unassisted goal. Chicago would extend their lead to 5-1 at 10:57 of the third after Paris got a shot past McCollum from the point.
Walleye Wrap-Up:
-Walleye goaltender Thomas McCollum stopped 19 of 24 shots on goal.
-Toledo out-shot the Express 35-24 throughout the course of the night.
-The Walleye played in front of a single-game record crowd of 8,250 fans at the Huntington Center.
-Toledo returns home on Saturday, October 22 at 7 p.m. when they take on the South Carolina Stingrays. Fans can call 419-725-WALL or visit the arena box office for ticket information. First 3,000 fans will receive rally towels courtesy of Buckeye TeleSystem.
Game Story By: Samantha Hoot
