TOLEDO, OH – The Toledo Walleye defeated the Fort Wayne Komets 4-1 in a do-or-die match-up in the race for the Central Division crown on Thursday night at the Memorial Coliseum.
How it Happened:
Toledo got it going early as they got their first power-play of the game after Dru Krebs was sent to the penalty box for slashing. Tanner Kelly deflected a shot by Riley McCourt into the back of the net for his 25th goal and 10th power-play goal of the season. The 10 tallies by Kelly with the man-advantage are the most among ECHL rookies. Brandon Hawkins checked onto the stat sheet with the secondary assist at 9:47 of the first period.
The Walleye struck again at 16:51 of the first, this time McCourt’s shot went untouched, giving him his seventh goal of the year. Cam Hausinger and Tanner Dickinson added helpers on the tally.
The two teams headed to the locker room with the Walleye leading 2-0 despite being outshot 7-11.
Toledo came back out applying heavy pressure in the Fort Wayne end and eventually was rewarded.
Johnny Waldron landed a strike on the power-play from Colin Swoyer and Brandon Kruse to extend the Walleye lead to 3-0 at 10:15 of the second period.
The Komets responded in the winding moments of the middle frame as Alex Aleardi put home a rebound at 18:42 of the second period.
The Walleye outshot the Komets in the period 11-10, but still trailed 18-21 in the shot column overall.
After Dickinson was sent to the box for hooking at 7:50 of the third, the Walleye stood strong to kill off the penalty and transitioned it into a Sam Craggs strike, opening the gap to 4-1 with Kruse adding his second assist of the night.
The Walleye killed off a four-on-three after roughings were exchanged between Reilly Funk for Toledo and Tyson Feist for Fort Wayne at 16:21, followed by McCourt being sat down for tripping at 17:55.
The final horn blew on a 4-1 Toledo Walleye victory, keeping their hopes alive for the Central Division title. The Walleye outshot the Komets 12-8 in the third period and 30-29 overall. Goaltender Matt Jurusik stood tall, saving 28 of 29 shots on goal, moving to 2-0 against Fort Wayne this season.
IBEW Local 245 Three Stars:
- Riley McCourt (TOL) – 1G, 1A; GWG
- Brandon Kruse (TOL) – 2A
- Alex Aleardi (FW) – 1G
