ECHL ECHL

Busy stretch propels Walleye to division lead

Published on December 21, 2015 under ECHL (ECHL) News Release


Playing four games in five days last week did nothing to slow down the Toledo Walleye. Toledo won all four games to improve to 11-2-1 in its last 14 games and taking a five-point lead over Wheeling for first place in the North Division.

The Walleye opened last week with a 5-1 win against Indy in a school-day matinee on Wednesday. Zach Nastasiuk led the way for Toledo with two goals and an assist while Alden Hirschfeld tallied a goal and an assist. Jeff Lerg earned the win in goal with 29 saves.

Toledo rallied for a 4-3 shootout win at Brampton on Thursday. Trailing 3-1 late in the second period, Hirschfeld pulled the Walleye within one and Austin Wuthrich tallied the equalizer 2:40 into the third period. In the shootout, Hirschfeld and A.J. Jenks tallied for Toledo and Lerg stopped two of the three shots he faced to preserve the win.

Saturday saw the Walleye return home and post a 2-0 win over Manchester. Hirschfeld and Dominic Zombo scored Toledo's goals and Lerg posted his first shutout of the season with 15 saves.

The Walleye ended their busy stretch with a 4-3 victory at Indy on Sunday. Hirschfeld scored a goal in his fourth straight game while Zombo tallied in his second straight contest. Joel Chouinard tallied the game-winning goal midway through the third period and Lerg earned his fourth win of the week with 33 saves.

Hirschfeld has already set a new career high with 14 goals, which is tied for second in the league, and he leads the team with 25 points. Lerg, who was an All-ECHL Second Team selection last season, is tied for second in the league with 11 wins, is eighth with a .926 save percentage and is tied for ninth with a 2.07 goals-against average.

Toledo is in action once this week, hosting Wheeling on Saturday.

Voting for ECHL Fantasy Team ends tonight

Voting for the 2015-16 ECHL Fantasy Team, presented by The MeiGray Group ends tonight at 11:59 p.m. ET.

The ECHL is giving fans the opportunity to vote for players to comprise the 2015-16 Fantasy Team, of which, one player from each Member Team will be selected to wear a special ECHL Fantasy Team jersey at an upcoming home game.

A look ahead

Games to watch in the ECHL during the week ahead. Watch ECHL games live on ECHL.TV.

Eastern Conference

Mancheseter at Adirondack (Saturday) / Adirondack at Manchester (Sunday)

The Monarchs lead the East Division with 37 points, three points ahead of the Thunder, althouh Adirondack has played six fewer games than Manchester.

Western Conference

Missouri at Allen (Saturday)

The Mavericks have lost just once in their last 18 games and have a league-leading 45 points while the Americans are in second place in the Central Division and fourth in the Western Conference with 33 points.

Divisions

East Division

- Michael Kirkpatrick is on a four-game goal streak (4g).

- The Thunder are fourth in both goals per game (3.22) and goals-against per game (2.30).

- Adirondack hosts Manchester on Saturday and visits the Monarchs on Sunday.

- Spiro Goulakos is tied for first among defensemen with four power-play goals.

- The Jackals are 9-2-0 in one-goal games.

- Elmira hosts Reading on Saturday.

- Matt Leitner leads rookies with 22 assists.

- Manchester is 15-0-0 when scoring three or more goals.

- The Monarchs are at Adirondack on Saturday and host the Thunder on Sunday.

- Charles-Olivier Roussel is tied for second among defensemen with 17 assists.

- The Admirals are fifth on the penalty kill at 86.3 percent (113-for-131).

- Norfolk visits South Carolina on Saturday and Sunday.

- Adam Comrie has a team-leading eight multi-point games this season.

- Reading has held its opponent without a power-play goal in 16 of its 27 games.

- The Royals are at Elmira on Saturday and Brampton on Sunday.

North Division

- Jeremie Blain is second among defensemen with 21 points (2g-19a).

- The Beast are tied for sixth with four shorthanded goals.

- Brampton hosts Reading on Sunday.

- Ben Wilson played in his 100th career ECHL game on Friday against Atlanta.

- Kalamazoo is 3-0-2 in games decided in overtime or a shootout.

- The K-Wings visit Fort Wayne on Saturday and Wheeling on Sunday.

- Alden Hirschfeld has set a career high with 14 goals.

- The Walleye have scored 10 power-play goals in their last 30 opportunities.

- Toledo hosts Wheeling on Saturday.

- Derek Army appeared in his 100th professional game on Saturday at Quad City.

- Wheeling has killed 22 of its opponents last 23 power-play opportunities (95.7 percent).

- The Nailers travel to Toledo on Saturday and host Kalamazoo on Sunday.

South Division

- Kent Patterson has won his last six starts.

- Atlanta is 10-0-0 when scoring four or more goals.

- The Gladiators are at Fort Wayne on Monday, host Greenville on Saturday and visit the Swamp Rabbits on Sunday.

- Matt Willows is tied for first among rookies with 29 points (10g-19a).

- The Everblades are 11-4-0 against South Division opponents.

- Florida is at Orlando on Sunday.

- Jack Combs is on a five-game point streak (5g-4a).

- Greenville has eclipsed the six-goal mark seven times this season, and six times since Nov. 25.

- The Swamp Rabbits are at Atlanta on Saturday and host the Gladiators on Sunday.

- Brady Vail leads the league with four shorthanded points (2g-2a).

- Orlando is second with seven shorthanded goals.

- The Solar Bears host Florida on Sunday.

- Nick Jones has scored a goal in two of his last three games.

- South Carolina leads the league with 25.21 shots-against per game.

- The Stingrays host Norfolk on Saturday and Sunday.

Midwest Division

- Steve Weinstein is second among rookie defensemen with 17 points (3g-14a).

- The Cyclones are tied for second with one shorthanded goal against.

- Cincinnati is at Evansville on Saturday.

- Daultan Leveille is tied for second with four game-winning goals.

- Evansville is fifth on the power play at 20.5 percent (18-for-88).

- The IceMen host Cincinnati on Saturday.

- Brett Perlini is on a six-game point streak (3g-6a).

- The Komets are 4-1-1 in one-goal games.

- Fort Wayne hosts Atlanta on Monday and Kalamazoo on Saturday.

- Garett Bembridge is fourth with 95 shots on goal.

- Indy is the league's second-least penalized team with 9.93 penalty minutes per game.

- The Fuel travel to Quad City on Saturday and host the Mallards on Sunday.

- Sam Warning has five points (4g-1a) in his last five games.

- The Mallards are tied for the league lead with 11 home wins (11-2-1).

- Quad City hosts Indy on Saturday and visits the Fuel on Sunday.

Central Division

- Chad Costello leads the league with 27 assists and 38 points.

- Allen is 14-1-0 when scoring first.

- The Americans host Tulsa on Monday and Missouri on Saturday before visiting Wichita on Sunday.

- Tyler Barnes is on a six-game point streak (3g-4a).

- The Mavericks are 11-0-0 at home.

- Missouri visits Allen on Saturday.

- Kevin Carr has started 11 consecutive games in goal.

- Tulsa plays 10 of its next 12 games on the road.

- The Oilers visit Allen on Monday and Wichita on Saturday.

- Andrew Huff scored three goals last weekend and leads the team with seven.

- The Thunder have scored 22 of their 51 goals in the first period.

- Wichita hosts Tulsa on Saturday and Allen on Sunday.

West Division

- Gleason Fournier is tied for second among defensemen with eight goals.

- Alaska is the league's seventh-least penalized team with 13.34 penalty minutes per game.

- The Aces are idle until Dec. 31.

- Collin Bowman is tied for fifth among defensemen with six goals.

- The Eagles are third with 25.89 shots-against per game.

- Colorado hosts Rapid City on Saturday and visits the Rush on Sunday.

- Kyle Jean is on a five-game point streak (3g-8a) with four multi-point games in that stretch.

- Idaho has scored at least one power-play in each of its last five games.

- The Steelheads host Utah on Saturday.

- Winston Day Chief leads Rapid City with 17 points (6g-11a).

- The Rush are 6-1-2 in one-goal games.

- Rapid City is at Colorado on Saturday and hosts the Eagles on Sunday.

- Ryan Faragher is tied for second with 11 wins.

- Utah has scored four goals or more in 15 of 26 games and leads the league with 3.50 goals per game.

- The Grizzlies are at Idaho on Saturday.

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ECHL Stories from December 21, 2015


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