The Toledo Walleye hosted their rivals, the Fort Wayne Komets, at the Huntington Center on Friday evening. The Walleye celebrated all things Jimmy Buffett with Margaritaville Night. Players and fans donned special ocean-blue jerseys displaying a tropical walleye, and they were wearing sunglasses and a fishing cap in a liferaft. Fans were also seen sporting leis and parrot hats, paying homage to the late Jimmy Buffett. The game-worn jerseys were auctioned off, with all proceeds supporting a local charity.
John Lethemon defended the home net for the Walleye while Brett Brochu was between the pipes for the visiting Komets.
The Walleye quickly lit up the scoreboard at 2:01 with a rebound goal by Grant Gabriele—this marked Gabriele’s first goal of the season in his 100th ECHL game. Ricky Lyle and Sam Craggs came up with the assists. With the assist, Lyle banked his first professional point of his career. The Walleye outshot the Komets 13-3 in the first period, with neither team having a power play chance.
The second period started Toledo’s Jacob Graves and Fort Wayne’s Jack Dugan exchanging words and shoves before the puck was even dropped. The second set of 20 minutes was very similar to the first. However, it was the Komets who came up with the lone goal of the period. Nolan Volcan scored his 16th goal of the season with an assist from Dugan to tie the game 1-1. Neither team had a power play opportunity, and it was apparent that referees were letting both teams play with limited stoppages. The Walleye were outshot 6-13 in the period.
The game’s first powerplay came at 4:22 in the third period when Fort Wayne’s Dugan was penalized for roughing. The Walleye were unable to capitalize on the man advantage. However, another opportunity came at 10:46. Xavier Bernard was sent to the penalty box for “closing his hand on the puck.” Toledo’s Matt Anderson capitalized on the powerplay and snuck the puck by Brochu to put the Walleye up 2-1. Assists went to Michael Prapavessis and Chase Gresock.
Toledo would end the game on a power play when Fort Wayne’s Connor Corcoran was sent to the box for slashing. The Komets pulled their goalie, hoping to tie up the game, but Toledo’s Keenan sealed the victory with an empty-netter at 19:47. Craggs had the solo assist. Toledo outshot Fort Wayne 10-3 in the period and 29-19 across the game.
In the end, the Toledo Walleye managed to hold onto their lead and secure a hard-fought victory against the Fort Wayne Komets with a final score of 3-1.
In search of a single point to clinch a playoff spot, the Walleye head to Indianapolis to take on the Indy Fuel on Saturday, March 23. The puck drops at 7:00 p.m. at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum.
ITR 32: The Final Countdown – Inside The Rink
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