The Trois-Rivières Lions and Toledo Walleye faced off in Game 4 of the Kelly Cup Final on Friday Night in a pivotal game for both teams. Toledo, who has been rotating goaltenders, would go back to back with Bednar for the first time in a series since the first two games of the Kelly Cup Playoffs. Off the opening faceoff, it was the Lions who had the early chances, a trend that has been evident throughout the series. Despite getting a couple of chances early, it would be the Walleye who held the Lions to just three shots in what was a very defensive opening frame, with a total of nine shots finding the goaltenders.
Trois-Rivières put five shots on net in the opening five, including solid looks on the PP. Despite not being able to score on the PP, it would be the Trois-Rivières Lions who got on the board first as Jacob Paquette fired a slapshot that beat Bednar to open up the scoring at the 7:32 mark. Trois-Rivières held that lead until 17:12. Tyler Spezia fed Brandon Hawkins in front for a tip-in to tie the game with less than three minutes remaining. Hawkins leads the ECHL in points during the Playoffs (27). The Toledo goal would set up a very exciting third period. Trois-Rivières outshot Toledo 10-6 in the middle frame. Toledo also lost Trenton Bliss late in the second period, as he didn’t return for the third period.
In the third, the Walleye would have had a plethora of chances to take the lead. Toledo got an early power play and fired five shots on Luke Cavallin, all of which were stopped. The Lions would take the lead as Vincent Sèvingy scored on a shot from the point . Trois-Rivières buckled down defensively, holding Toledo to a stretch of seven minutes without a shot. Toledo would have their chances late as Alex Beaucage took a cross-checking penalty with under four minutes to go. The Walleye would pull Bednar with 2:15 left, but Cavallin continued to shut the door for the Lions. Logan Nijhoff added an empty-netter with 19 seconds left to seal the deal for the Lions. Trois-Rivières will have a chance to raise the Kelly Cup tomorrow afternoon in front of their home crowd.
ITR 49: For Real This Time – Inside The Rink
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