Walleye set to sell playoff tickets
2/10/2010Playoff tickets for potential Toledo Walleye postseason games at Lucas County Arena will go on sale beginning Friday.
The Walleye (25-19-4) are tied for last place in the ECHL North Division. Toledo and Kalamazoo each have 54 points, but both are just two points behind Wheeling for second place in the division.
The top eight teams in the 12-team American Conference will earn postseason berths. The first-place team in each division will qualify along with the next five teams with the most points.
Currently Toledo would qualify for a playoff spot.
The Kelly Cup Playoffs begin on April 5. The conference quarterfinals are from April 5-12. The Kelly Cup Finals will take place May 14-28.
The Walleye have a chance to gain ground on first-place Cincinnati when they host the Cyclones, who have 61 points, at 7 p.m. on Friday. Toledo then hosts Kalamazoo at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
The Walleye, who have lost three in a row, return home after six consecutive road games. They were outscored 15-5 during a three-game road trip to Gwinnett and Charlotte last weekend.
On Jan. 23, Toledo led the division but then lost five of its next seven.
The Walleye are 16-10-1 at home and 9-9-3 on the road. Fifteen of the team's final 24 regular season games are on the road.
With nine homes games left, the Walleye are in position to break the all-time single season attendance record for a pro hockey team in Toledo.
A total of 159,894 fans have attended 27 games at Lucas County Arena. The team has two games this weekend and if those contests draw more than 13,707 people, the organization will break the Storm's single-season record of 173,601 set in 1998-99.
The all-time attendance record was set by the Goaldiggers who drew 177,988 in 1977-78. The Walleye need 18,094 more fans to break the all-time mark.
After home games on Friday and Saturday, Toledo travels to Kalamazoo Sunday for the first of six straight road games. The team returns home on Feb. 27 to host Gwinnett.
Tickets can be purchased at 419-725-WALL (9255) or www.toledowalleye.com.
Contact Mark Monroe at:
mmonroe@theblade.com
or 419-724-6354.