TOLEDO WALLEYE
Walleye drop preseason opener
Toledo gives up 3 goals in 3rd, lose 5-1 to Kalamazoo
10/9/2013KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Walleye gave up three goals in the third period and dropped their first preseason contest 5-1 to Kalamazoo tonight.
Forward Nikita Poliakov scored early in the third period to make it 2-1. But the Wings pulled away with three unanswered goals.
Tyler Pilmore, a Sylvania native, had an assist along with Nick DeMarchi on Toledo's lone goal.
Goalies Neil Conway and Brooks Ostergard split time in net. Ostergard gave up two goals and made 12 saves. Conway yielded three goals and made 18 saves.
David Gilbert had the best chance for Toledo early, but his backhand shot was stopped by Kalamazoo goaltender Joel Martin (18 shots, 18 saves).
After a scoreless first period, Kalamazoo scored two unanswered goals and outshot Toledo 14-4.
Poliakov tapped in a rebound 2:02 into the third period.
“I liked the way we worked as a unit tonight,” Walleye coach Nick Vitucci said. “We were extremely crisp for only having two days of practice before this game.”
Toledo plays its only home preseason game of the year on Saturday against Kalamazoo. Tickets to the game are $5 and seats are general admission. All proceeds benefit the Walleye Wishing Well.
RAUCH SIGNS: Defenseman Phil Rauch, a native of Lambertville, Mich., re-signed with Toledo on Wednesday.
Rauch will be starting his third season in a Toledo Walleye uniform after appearing in 143 games over the last two years. In 71 contests last year he had one goal, nine assists, a career-high 67 penalty minutes and was a plus-12.
The 2005 graduate of St. Francis de Sales High School played his first professional season in 2011-12. He appeared in all 72 games with a career-high four goals and nine assists.