Mike Wall starting for Anaheim tonight

[RunTheGoalie]

...and gets completely undressed by Kristian Huselius.

Is he the first Silvertip alumnus to make it to the NHL?

[Tipped Off]

He is the first Silvertip alumnus in the NHL, but it wasn't this year. He suited up for a couple weeks last year, all though he didn't see any game action. This is the 1st time a Silvertip has seen game action. Here is the boxscore of the game. Funny thing is, it doesn't list his name since ESPN doesn't haven't in their system yet....lol

So far, early in the 2nd, he's winning 2-1 and has 8 saves on 9 shots.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=261126025

[Tipped Off]

http://www.mightyducks.com/press/release/topstory.php?dir=200604&id=1512

Ducks Recall Goaltender Wall

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Anaheim Ducks announced today that the National Hockey League (NHL) club has recalled goaltender Michael Wall from the

Portland Pirates, Anaheim’s primary development affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL).

Wall, 21 (7/25/85), has appeared in seven games with Portland this season, posting a record of 5-1-1 with a 3.23 goals against average (GAA) and a .871 save percentage (SV%).

The 6-2, 209-pound netminder split last season between Portland and Augusta of the ECHL. A native of Telkwa, British Columbia, Wall played in four seasons of junior hockey with Prince George and Everett of the Western Hockey League.

Wall signed as a free agent with Anaheim on Sept. 29, 2005.

[Tipped Off]

here's the thread on the mighty ducks forum where the fans predict doom and gloom for the ducks with Wall in net and talk about the injury to Jiggy.

http://www.mightyducks.com/ubbthreads/

[RunTheGoalie]

Well, doom and gloom might have been accurate if the Flames showed up at all tonight. It is a complete fluke that we are even in a tie game right now.

Wall has looked steady. Nothing outstanding, but Calgary's ten shots through two periods means he doesnt have to be. Very nice toe save on a Tanguay shot in the third though.

[HAF]

Marchant just got the empty netter and Wall gets the win.

[Tipped Off]

5-3 Ducks beat Calgary

http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=261126025

19 saves on 22 shots.

The boxscore does not show any goalie for the Ducks wince Wall isn't in their system...lol.

[Tipped Off]

Ducks rookie Wall makes a strong first impression
By The Associated Press



Related

NHL scoreboard

ANAHEIM, Calif. — When former Everett Silvertip Michael Wall was 11, he attended his first NHL game in Edmonton and marveled at Oilers goalie Bill Ranford and Detroit counterpart Chris Osgood.

Now it's Wall's turn, and the rookie made quite an impression in his first game with the Anaheim Ducks.

With Norris Trophy-winning defensemen Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer leading the way, the Ducks limited the Calgary Flames to just 11 shots in the first two periods Sunday and Wall made 19 saves in a 5-3 victory.

"Eleven shots gives you a chance to save some energy in reserve and play hard on every shot you get," said Wall, who was Everett's top goaltender last year until he was traded in September 2005. "It's tougher sometimes, just because you never know when that scoring chance is going to come. So you've got to stay sharp and focused. But having two great defensemen back there helping me out made my job that much easier."

So did Teemu Selanne's two goals. Selanne and Ryan Getzlaf scored on power plays and Samuel Pahlsson also scored for the Ducks, who are off to the best start in franchise history at 17-2-6 and are tied with Buffalo for the most points in the league.

Anaheim's regular goalies, Jean-Sebastien Giguere and Ilya Bryzgalov, were sidelined because of lower-body injuries. So the Ducks plucked the 21-year-old Wall from Portland of the AHL as insurance in case Giguere couldn't answer the bell.

"It was kind of on short notice, so I didn't really have too much time to think about it — which was a bonus," said Wall.

Kristian Huselius had two goals and Daymond Langkow scored on a power play in the final minute for the Flames, whose 3-0 win over the Ducks on Nov. 10 in Calgary was Anaheim's first loss in regulation after an NHL-record 12-0-4 start.

[Tipped Off]

Ducks 5, Flames 3

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Teemu Selanne tallied twice and Michael Wall made 19 saves in his NHL debut to lead Anaheim over the Calgary Flames 5-3 on Sunday at Honda Center.

Samuel Pahlsson, Ryan Getzlaf and Todd Marchant also scored for the Ducks who run their conference-best record to 17-2-6 with 40 standings points.

Kristian Huselius added a pair of goals for Calgary who fell to 10-10-2 on the season.

"We got some timely goals and everything just came together," said Selanne. "I just tried to keep my game simple and stop that first shot. It’s easy to relax after you get that first one. It’s one of those things that really gets you into the game."

Wall was called up to make the start between the pipes for Anaheim when JS Giguere was sidelined before the game with a lower body injury. Regular back up Ilya Bryzgalov has been on the shelf for Anaheim, also with a lower body injury, since November 17. David McKee, brought up from Augusta of the ECHL to back up Giguere on November 21, backed-up Wall in the contest.

"I didn’t really have too much time to think about (getting the start), which I think was a bonus," said Wall. "I just went out there and tried to do the same things I was doing down in Portland."

Wall was 5-1-1 in seven games in Portland of the AHL with a 3.23 goals against average and an .871 save percentage before his recall.

"You wouldn’t know it was his first game," said Selanne. "He did a great job. He looked so nice and calm. I’m so happy for him because I know how nervous you can be playing your first game, especially at home. He did his job and gave us a chance to win the game. Everybody else did their job too. That’s what it takes for this club."

Pahlsson started the scoring for Anaheim with his sixth goal of the season at 8:39 of the first period. Pahlsson took a pass off the boards from Francois Beauchemin and fired a low wrist shot past Calgary goaltender Jamie McLennan to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead.

McLennan appeared in just his second game this season. Miikka Kiprusoff got the start last night in Los Angeles for the Flames.

Kristian Huselius tied the contest for Calgary at 11:17 of the first period. Huselius received a pass from Dion Phaneuf going to the Anaheim net. The Flames right wing deked and roofed a backhand for his eighth goal of the season.

The Ducks took a 2-1 lead at 5:13 of the second period on the power play. Ducks defenseman Chris Pronger hit Selanne with a long pass to send the winger in alone on McLennan. Selanne flipped a backhand past McLennan for his ninth goal of the year.

The goal also gave Selanne his 600th career point as an Anaheim Duck.

"I didn’t even know that," said Selanne. "I’m not a big numbers guy. But this has been a happy place for me. I’ve enjoyed every point here. I’m very lucky to play with all these great players."

Huselius poked a rebound past Wall for his second goal of the game to tie the contest 2-2 at 4:23 of the third period. As the teams scrambled in front of the net, Huselius managed to get a backhand on a loose puck that just trickled over the goal line.

Getzlaf retook the lead for the Ducks again at 9:16 of the third period. With Anaheim on the power play, Getzlaf poked the puck past Flames defenseman Andrew Ference at neutral ice to create an odd-man rush. Getzlaf rifled a wrist shot over McLennan’s right shoulder to give Anaheim a 3-2 advantage.

Selanne gave the Ducks a two-goal advantage at 16:10 of the third. The veteran winger caught a pass streaking through the neutral zone and got past Calgary defenseman Dion Phaneuf. Selanne scored on the backhand for his second goal of the game to make it 4-2 Ducks.

Daymond Langkow added a late power play goal for the Flames and Marchant countered with an empty netter seconds later to seal the 5-3 Anaheim victory.

[Tipped Off]

Ducks hold off the Flames

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b47/npthree/Tips%20Stuff/wallwins.jpg

With Giguere and Bryzgalov hurting, rookie goaltender Wall is solid in his first start and Selanne scores two goals in a 5-3 victory.
By Eric Stephens, Times Staff Writer
November 27, 2006

with a perilous goaltending situation entering Sunday night's game against the Calgary Flames, the Ducks simply inserted a wall in front of their net.

In their case, it was 21-year-old Michael Wall, who had only 39 games of experience in the minors before being asked to start his first NHL game for the best team in the Western Conference.

With Jean-Sebastien Giguere not at full strength and Ilya Bryzgalov having a groin injury, Wall made 19 saves to help the Ducks to a 5-3 victory at the Honda Center.

It was a whirlwind 48 hours for the goalie, who arrived late Saturday. Wall got the nod when it was determined after a Sunday morning skate session that Giguere would not make his fifth consecutive start because of what he called "wear and tear" in his lower body.

"It was kind of on short notice, so I didn't really have too much time to think about it, which I think was a bonus," Wall said. "I just went out there and tried to do the same things I was doing down in Portland."

Wall, who only two days ago was backing up Michael Leighton in the minors, made his first save on a shot by Jarome Iginla early in the first period before making a much better point-blank stop on Marcus Nilson. He also foiled Iginla again on a rebound shot late in the period.

"He settled down and made a couple of great stops in the first period," defenseman Chris Pronger said.

"It gave us a little bit of life after that."

The Ducks lent their support. Teemu Selanne scored two goals for the second time this season, and Ryan Getzlaf's power-play goal gave them the lead for good midway through the third period.

Samuel Pahlsson scored for the second consecutive game and Todd Marchant added an empty-net goal four seconds after the Flames' Daymond Langkow cut the lead to one with 20.8 seconds remaining. Pronger and Francois Beauchemin each had two assists.

Wall's performance drew rave reviews afterward.

"You wouldn't know it was his first game," Selanne said. "He did a great job. He looked so nice and calm."

The ideal scenario would have been for Leighton, Portland's No. 1 goalie, to be recalled, but the Ducks feared he would be claimed on reverse waivers because he has played 42 NHL games and is making more than $75,000 this season in the minors.

So the call went to Wall. David McKee has backed up Giguere in Bryzgalov's absence, but Coach Randy Carlyle said he went with Wall because of his experience.

It may wind up as a one-shot deal for Wall. Giguere didn't offer specifics for his injury but said it isn't similar to the groin and hamstring problems that plagued him last season and that he's "99% percent sure I'm going to be playing in Edmonton" on Tuesday.

The Ducks could also get Bryzgalov back by midweek. But they also found that in Wall, they have someone to turn to in an emergency.

"He could make $4 million too," Selanne quipped.

[Highlander_Yank]

Is Wall still wearing his Silvertips face mask? It kind of looked like he was in a picture I saw on the Tips website, but I couldn't quite tell.

[Kristi]

Is Wall still wearing his Silvertips face mask? It kind of looked like he was in a picture I saw on the Tips website, but I couldn't quite tell.

No that is his Portland Pirates (not to be confused the the Winterhawks!!!) helmet.

[Section_Z]

Ducks hold off the Flames


Wall, who only two days ago was backing up Michael Leighton in the minors, made his first save on a shot by Jarome Iginla early in the first period before making a much better point-blank stop on Marcus Nilson. He also foiled Iginla again on a rebound shot late in the period.


The ideal scenario would have been for Leighton, Portland's No. 1 goalie, to be recalled, but the Ducks feared he would be claimed on reverse waivers because he has played 42 NHL games and is making more than $75,000 this season in the minors.

So the call went to Wall. David McKee has backed up Giguere in Bryzgalov's absence, but Coach Randy Carlyle said he went with Wall because of his experience.

"He could make $4 million too," Selanne quipped.

So Leighton just got claimed by Nashville, on the call up waivers. Suddenly the Anaheim/Portland organization is very short in net. Looks like Wall could be seeing a lot of ice time in the future.