Men O\' War Meet Storm in Best of Five Playoff Series
March 30, 2003 - ECHL (ECHL)
Burlington News Release
Lexington, KY - The Lexington Men O' War will play their first ever playoff series starting with the first place Toledo Storm at the Toledo Sports Arena. The best of five series in the first round of the ECHL's Kelly Cup playoffs will begin on Wednesday night with every game on the road for Lexington due to Rupp Arena's busy schedule. Lexington's first round playoff schedule is as follows:
Wednesday, April 2nd, 7:00 p.m. Game 1 at Toledo
Friday, April 4th, 7:30 p.m. Game 2 at Toledo
Saturday, April 5th, 7:30 p.m. Game 3 at Toledo
Monday, April 7th, 7:00 p.m. Game 4 at Toledo (If Necessary)
Wednesday, April 9th, 7:00 p.m. Game 5 at Toledo (If Necessary)
Toledo finished with the best record in the ECHL at 47-15-10 (.722) for 104 points winning the Braham Trophy for the league's best regular season record. The Storm edged the Peoria Rivermen by one point in the division and the overall league standings with a 4-3 win Sunday night in Wheeling. Peoria lost 4-3 at home in a shootout to the Dayton Bombers. Toledo has a league best 29-3-4 record at the Toledo Sports Arena this year. Toledo posted a 5-3-1 record against the Men O' War this season including a 2-3-0 mark in Toledo. The Storm posted winning streaks of 11 games and 14 games at home this season.
" These are the cards we have been dealt. We need to go to Toledo and just play our game. It did not matter to us who we were playing. We can't worry about not having home ice. We have had success against them and in their building. We are not intimidated by them, " said Lexington defensemen Joe Vandermeer.
"It's good for us. We knew either way we had to go through Peoria or Toledo. We have played good in Toledo. I think we were ready for either team. It's going to be tough. I think it's going to go four or five games for sure. We match up with them well, even in their own building," Said Ryan Fultz
Lexington finished with the fourth best record in the ECHL's Northwest Division going 34-31-7 for 75 points. Lexington posted an 11-21-4 record on the road this season including a 2-3-0 record in Toledo. The Men O' War and Cincinnati were the only two teams in the league to beat the Storm twice this year in Toledo. Lexington posted a shootout win on January 18th and a 4-1 win on February 2nd. The 4-1 Lexington win was the worst loss the Storm suffered at home all season. Lexington posted a 4-5-0 record against Toledo in their nine game regular season series.
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