TOLEDO, OH – Faced with two-goal deficits at the end of the opening period and again late in the second stanza, the Toledo Walleye battled back with four unanswered goals to defeat the Tulsa Oilers by a 6-4 count on Friday at the Huntington Center.
Winners in seven of their first eight contests on home ice to begin the 2018-19 campaign, the Walleye (15-3-2-0) used a pair of second-period goals from Matt Register to erase a 4-2 shortfall, before Daniel Leavens potted what proved to be the game-winner with 15:39 left in regulation to put Toledo in front for good. Kaden Fulcher turned aside 27-of-31 shots to collect his sixth win in eight professional starts.
The hosts started the scoring 11:33 into the first frame, as Greg Wolfe recorded his sixth goal of the season. Brenden Kotyk sent his snapshot from the right circle well wide of the Oilers’ (13-5-2-2) net, but Wolfe was positioned at the right post to lift the carom off the end boards into the top right corner.
Tulsa stunned the home crowd of 6,654 with three goals on three consecutive shots later in the same period. The visitors restored parity at 14:22 when Steven Kaunisto’s wrist shot from the left circle found the top right corner, and jumped ahead 2:04 later when Adam Pleskach set up Anthony McVeigh for a one-timer in the slot. A third goal arrived courtesy of Tyler Soy’s successful breakaway attempt at the 19:13 mark to extend the Oilers’ lead to 3-1 heading into the first intermission.
Jordan Topping trimmed Toledo’s deficit in half with 7:18 gone in the second. Leavens’ wrist shot from above the left circle caromed off the end boards to Topping, who managed to bank a backhanded effort off Fitzpatrick’s rear and in despite having been knocked to the ice by Scott Moldenhauer seconds earlier.
Behind 4-2 after Soy tallied his second goal of the night at 10:54, Marcus Crawford sent a pass from the left point across to Register for a one-timer that sailed past Fitzpatrick’s catching glove to cut Tulsa’s edge to 4-3 at the 13:25 mark. On Toledo’s fifth power play chance of the night, Register held the puck at the point before flipping a wrist shot through traffic past a screened Fitzpatrick to make it a 4-4 contest.
The Walleye continued to throw pucks on net, and were rewarded 4:31 into the third when Kotyk’s wrister from the right point grazed Leavens’ stick in the slot before fluttering into the net to give the hosts a 5-4 lead.
Tulsa pulled its netminder and called a timeout with 1:24 on the clock, but Bryan Moore added Toledo’s sixth goal when he won the race to Kevin Tansey’s clearing attempt and tapped the puck into the open cage with 49 seconds remaining to condemn the Oilers to their third straight setback.
The Walleye finished 1-for-6 on the power play, while Tulsa failed to cash in on two opportunities. Fitzpatrick blocked 19-of-24 shots in a losing effort.
What’s Next: Toledo concludes its four-game home stand on Saturday, as the Walleye square off against the Wheeling Nailers. Puck drop from the Huntington Center is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.
Three Stars:
1. Toledo – Daniel Leavens (game-winning goal, assist)
2. Toledo – Matt Register (two goals)
3. Tulsa – Tyler Soy (two goals)
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