TOLEDO, OH – The Toledo Walleye raced ahead to a two-goal lead within the opening five minutes of play, but the Fort Wayne Komets rallied to force overtime with 1:22 left in regulation, before scoring 2:28 into the extra session to claim a 3-2 decision on Sunday before a capacity crowd of 8,300 at the Huntington Center.
Despite losing a half-dozen players to injured reserve and five skaters split between three AHL clubs, the Walleye (21-6-3-0) have picked up at least a point in seven of their last eight games (6-1-1-0) to move within one point of first-place Cincinnati with a game in hand. Toledo is 4-1-2-0 against Fort Wayne (16-13-0-1) in the regular season series, with five meetings decided by a single goal.
Jordan Topping continued his blistering return from the holiday break, starting the scoring 2:57 into the contest. After his initial wrist shot from the right circle ht the near post, Topping took a pass from Shane Berschbach at the right side of the net and tucked a shot underneath Lukas Hafner for his third goal in as many outings.
The Walleye doubled their advantage with a shorthanded tally 1:46 later, as Justin Kea haunted his former club for the second consecutive game. A Fort Wayne turnover allowed Kea to gain possession inside his own blueline and race past the Komet defense before sending his breakaway attempt inside the left post.
Fort Wayne found its way onto the scoresheet later in the same period. After Anthony Petruzzelli crashed the right side of the net, the puck trickled through the goal mouth to Shawn Szydlowski at the left post for a tap-in at 16:37 to cut the deficit in half.
Kaden Fulcher preserved Toledo’s one-goal lead into the waning moments of the contest, but the Komets eventually made a breakthrough on their fourth and final power play opportunity of the night. With six seconds remaining in Connor Schmidt’s tripping minor, Cody Sol sent a wrist shot from the point that deflected off the Berschbach and past Fulcher with 1:12 left in regulation to salvage a point for the visitors.
The Walleye managed a pair of chances in the extra frame, but Fort Wayne completed their comeback bid near the halfway mark when Jake Kamrass skated out of the left corner and behind the Toledo net before centering a pass to Ryan Lowney for a shot that fluttered into the top left corner.
Toledo was unable to capitalize on five power play opportunities. Hafner was credited with the win after stopping 16-of-18 shots, while Fulcher’s individual three-game winning streak was halted despite turning away 23-of-26.
What’s Next: The top two teams in the Central Division will square off on Monday, as the Walleye conclude a stretch of four games in five nights with a New Year’s Eve clash against the Cincinnati Cyclones. Puck drop from the U.S. Bank Arena is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.
Fish Tales: Sunday’s attendance of 8,300 marked Toledo’s ninth sellout of the campaign… Zach Urban made his ECHL debut in Sunday’s game. The 25-year-old defenseman joined the Walleye after tallying eight assists in 17 games with the SPHL’s Macon Mayhem… The Walleye are 12-0-2-0 this season when leading after one period, and 13-0-2-0 when ahead after 40 minutes… Toledo is 12-1-3-0 in one-goal games this season.
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