Chiefs Beaten By Walleye

Published on December 19, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Johnstown Chiefs News Release


TOLEDO, Oh. - The Johnstown Chiefs didn't receive a warm welcome in their first visit to the Lucas County Arena on Saturday night as they lost to the Toledo Walleye 5-2.

Feeding off of the momentum from the previous night's win, Toledo jumped out to a 3-0 first period advantage against the Chiefs. Mike Bartlett was whistled for a slashing minor 38 seconds into the game and the Walleye converted with the goal from Evan Rankin at the 1:50 mark. Rankin added a second at 8:16 to extend the advantage. Johnstown had a golden opportunity to cut into the lead with a power play with 4:07 left in the first, but Moises Gutierrez was guilty of holding while working on the forecheck to end the power play. At four-on-four J.C. Sawyer netted his 11th of the season right off of a faceoff.

The Chiefs did a wonderful job of regrouping at the first intermission and came out determined in the second frame. Luis Trembley left the Walleye shorthanded when he took a tripping minor 2:41 into the period. The Chiefs couldn't convert on the power play but before Tremblay could rejoin the defensive effort, Chris Zarb stuffed in his third goal of the season at 4:46. After taking a pass in the far corner from Mike Bartlett, Zarb faked the wraparound and came out on the short side to beat Alec Richards. Toledo had back-to-back power play chances with Justin McCutcheon and Greg Gallagher taking minors two minutes apart, but couldn't convert and allowed for Dan Collins to draw the Chiefs within one just before the period expired. Falling down, Zarb moved the puck to the slot and Collins snapped it in with 20 seconds left on the clock.

Forced to do some regrouping of its own at the second intermission, Toledo came out strong to start the third. Bryan Ewing lifted a one-timer into the net just 54 seconds into the third. The goal didn't rattle the Chiefs, though, and they fought back to earn a four-minute power play opportunity when Joe Chalebois drew blood with a high stick to Moises Gutierrez. The turning point came when R.J. Anderson hit the crossbar with the shot a little more than a minute into that power play as the Chiefs didn't get a great scoring chance after that. Toledo built the lead back to three with Adam Hobson's 12th of the season at 8:53.

Kris Mayotte turned in 25 saves in the game while the Chiefs went 0-for-5 on the power play and 4-for-5 on the penalty kill.

Mark your calendars! The Chiefs are back on home ice on Saturday, December 26 against the Trenton Devils. The Chiefs will be hosting a youth hockey appreciation night where Johnstown Jets and Johnstown Warriors players can get into the game for free by wearing their jerseys to the game. As a special bonus, hockey parents can get in for just $8 with their kids! Good seats still remain and can be purchased in advance by visiting www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000.

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ECHL Stories from December 19, 2009


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