ECHL Toledo Walleye

Storm Extends Win Streak to Three

Published on December 21, 2002 under ECHL (ECHL)
Toledo Walleye News Release


(Toledo, Ohio) The Toledo Storm (19-6-2=40) gave up a two goal lead in the third period, including the game tying goal with just 16 seconds left, but was able to re-group in the overtime session and pull out a dramatic win over the top team in the Northeast Division, the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies, 5-4. The win was the third in a row for the Toledo and ran the team 's record to 13-1-1 at the Toledo Sports Arena.

For the sixteenth time this season, the game's first goal went to Toledo, who-with this win-now have a 15-0-1 record when scoring first. That first goal came early on. With the Storm swarming, Darryl Bootland dug the puck out from behind the Boardwalk Bullies' net and found Tim Verbeek planted between the hash-marks. Verbeek didn't waste the chance, firing a wrist shot high glove side on Atlantic City's goaltender, Scott Stirling, 3:28 into the first period. Atlantic City answered at the 17:25 mark of the first when Jade Galbraith battled his way to the front of the Toledo net and stuffed one under the catching glove of Storm goaltender, Doug Teskey, while the Boardwalk Bullies were on the power play. But Toledo regained the lead with 51 seconds left in the first period when Darryl Bootland put back a rebound off an Andrew Hutchinson slap shot from the right point.

In the second, Atlantic City tied things again-this time at two-when Scott Matzka fired a wrist shot from the mid-slot that beat Teskey high glove side after the Storm became a bit too careless at their own blue line and allowed the Bullies a free pass into the offensive zone. But the Storm battled back in the latter stages of the second, picking up back-to-back goals to take a two goal lead into the second intermission. The first of those goals came at 15:18 of the second when Grady Moore fired a wrist shot with eyes from the high slot that snuck through Stirling while the Storm was on the power play; and, the second, 2:11 later, came when Alex Jacques battled his way into the offensive zone and took a twenty-three foot snap shot that slid underneath Stirling to put the Storm up 4-2.

In the third, however, the Boardwalk Bullies refused to go away quietly. Matzka picked up his second of the night when he re-directed a Kirk Furey shot from the right point with 8 minutes to go, making it 4-3. And, then, just as the Boardwalk Bullies had done the night before in Dayton (when they scored to tie things with just 3.7 seconds remaining), Atlantic City sent this one to overtime when Kevin Colley ripped a blast from the high slot behind Teskey with just 16 seconds remaining. That goal came after a series of big face-off wins by Shawn Maltby, a former member of the Storm organization.

In the overtime, (unlike the night before), the home team, Toledo, bagged the game winner when Alex Jacques dug a puck out of the left wing corner and found Konstantin Panov out in front of the Atlantic City net. Panov, who was playing his first game in Toledo after being re-assigned by the Nashville Predators from the Milwaukee Admirals to the Storm earlier in the day, netted the game winner by sliding a backhander under Stirling-who was brilliant all night for the Bullies-with just 1:32 remaining in the OT.

The Storm take on the Baton Rouge Kingfish Sunday afternoon at the Sports Arena. Opening face-off is at 3:00 p.m.

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ECHL Stories from December 21, 2002


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