The Toledo Walleye hosted their rivals, the Fort Wayne Komets, at the Huntington Center on Saturday night to close out their regular season home schedule. The Walleye successfully eliminated the Komets from extending their season into the playoffs with a 3-1 victory.
John Lethemon defending the home net for the Walleye. Ryan Fanti was between the pipes for the visiting Komets.
The first period came and went quietly, with only a single penalty to Fort Wayne’s Noah Ganske for playing with a broken stick at 18:33. Neither team scored, but the Komets outshot the Walleye 15-12.
Toledo started the second period on a power play. However, they were unable to get the puck by Fort Wayne’s Fanti. The Komets struck first at 1:22 with a goal by Carl Berglund. Ethan Keppen and Jack Dugan added the assists. Toledo tied the game at 18:31 when Matt Anderson found the back of the net. Brandon Hawkins and Trenton Bliss added the assist to the equalizer. The Walleye tied the franchise record for Most Shots in a Single Period with 26. Fort Wayne only had 10 shots.
Toledo took the lead when Orrin Centazzo lit the lamp in the third period at 4:55. Brandon Kruse and Jed Pietila were on the assists. Centazzo’s goal was his 150th professional point, while Pietila earned his first professional point. Toledo’s Conlan Keenan sealed the victory with an empty netter at 19:55 from Kruse and Bliss. The final horn sounded with a 3-1 victory for the Toledo Walleye.
Overall, Toledo outshot Fort Wayne 47-32. The Three Stars of the game went to Toledo’s Centazzo for his game-winning goal, John Lethemon with 31 out of 32 saves, and Fort Wayne’s Fanti with 44 out of 46 saves.
Toledo heads to Fort Wayne on Sunday, April 14, to close out the 2023-2024 regular season. The puck drops at the War Memorial Coliseum at 5:00 p.m.
