Toledo, OH – The Toledo Walleye won today’s school day game by a score of 3-2, with goals from Colby Ambrosio, Tanner Kelly, and Riley McCourt. McCourt extended his point streak to six games, Chad Hillebrand and Tanner Dickinson each had two points, and Nolan Lalonde stopped 29 of the 31 shots he faced.
How it Happened:
Colby Ambrosio kicked off the scoring quickly for the Walleye, netting the first goal of the game and his second of the year just 1:44 into the first period. Chad Hillebrand and Tanner Dickinson get the assists on the goal on the first shot of the game. However, Toledo took the first penalty of the game with a holding call at 5:44 into the first and killed off the penalty. Cincinnati had the top power play unit in the ECHL entering today’s game. Nolan Lalonde made two fantastic saves on quality scoring chances by Cincinnati to hold a 1-0 Toledo lead in a 7+ minute stretch without a whistle.
The Walleye would come back with a power play at the 16:27 mark as Maple Leafs prospect Braeden Kressler took a tripping penalty. Tanner Kelly scored his second goal of the season on the power play with 1:41 left in the first period, as Chad Hillebrand recorded his second assist of the night and Nick Andrews recorded his 7th assist of the season. The Walleye finished the period leading Cincinnati in shots on goal, 8-5, and boasting a 2-0 lead over the Cyclones
Toledo took a cross-checking penalty at the 1:12 mark of the second period, setting up Cincinnati’s second power play of the day. Cincinnati snuck a shot just over Lalonde’s left shoulder to get on the board, just after their power play expired to make it a 2-1 game.
Cincinnati tied the game up at 2-2 with 7:21 left in the second period with a goal from Braeden Kressler. Toledo headed to the penalty kill soon after as a result of a puck over the glass, which was quickly negated as Cincinnati took a penalty 50 seconds in.
Riley McCourt scored his second goal in as many games, extending his point streak to six consecutive games with a goal to put the Walleye up 3-2 one second before the power play expired. Brandon Hawkins got an assist on the goal, and Tanner Dickinson recorded his second assist of the day. Cincinnati lead Toledo in shots 18-14 at the end of the second period, but Toledo held a 3-2 lead going into the third.
Cincinnati went on a power play with 12:22 to go in regulation on a tripping call by Toledo, which was killed off for a fourth time by the Walleye. The Fish went on a power play with 2:48 to go in the third period and then took a penalty of their own with 2:08 to go. The Cyclones pulled their goaltender in the midst of 4-on-4 hockey and played with an extra attacker for the rest of the 4-on-4 and 40 seconds of a power play.
The Walleye held on to win, as Nolan Lalonde kept the Cyclones off the board in a crucial third period. Toledo’s special teams were near-perfect, going 5-for-5 on the penalty kill and 2-for-3 on the power play. Cincinnati outshot Toledo 31-17, but the Walleye held on for the 3-2 win.
Local 245 Three Stars:
1 – D Riley McCourt, TOL (GWG)
2 – F Chad Hillebrand, TOL (2 A)
3 – F Colby Ambrosio (1 G)
You must be logged in to post a comment.