TOLEDO, OH – Jordan Topping and Bryan Moore each scored twice as the Toledo Walleye used the strength of six unanswered goals to tame the Brampton Beast 7-4 on Thursday before a sold-out crowd of 8,082 at the Huntington Center.
Topping and Moore were among six Walleye (20-6-2-0) skaters to record multiple points in another high-scoring encounter against Brampton (12-16-2-1). Greg Wolfe and Shane Berschbach both tallied a goal and a pair of assists to earn second and third-star honors, respectively. T.J. Hensick paced Toledo with three helpers and a plus-3 rating, while Daniel Leavens contributed a goal and an assist.
The Walleye raced ahead to an early lead as Topping broke the deadlock 3:58 into the opening period. On a delayed penalty, Kevin Tansey gained the zone and chipped the puck to Berschbach, who fed a rinkwide pass from the left circle across to Topping for a one-timer past the outstretched catching glove of Austin Lotz.
Brampton evened the score with a power play marker 54 seconds in the middle period, but Toledo jumped back in front 6:02 into the second stanza. Shayne Morrissey’s shot from the left half-boards was blocked by Lotz, but Hensick gathered the rebound at the left side of the net and centered the puck to Wolfe in the slot for a wrister into the top right corner.
The Walleye doubled their advantage on Topping’s second goal of the night 1:27 later. After taking Berschbach’s feed at the edge of the left circle, Topping undressed a pair of Brampton defenders by moving from forehand to backhand before lifting a shot into the top right corner to give the hosts a 3-1 edge heading into the second intermission.
The night went from bad to worse for Brampton, as the Walleye posted a four-spot in the final frame. A no-look pass from Trevor Yates at the Brampton line sparked Leavens’ partial breakaway attempt, which the latter slid through the five-hole at the 2:15 mark.
A fifth goal arrived on an eventual 3-on-2 when Wolfe set up Moore for a simple one-timer from the right circle at 6:10. The Texas-sized lead continued to grow, as Toledo’s aggressive forecheck on the power play allowed Berschbach to scoop up a loose puck in the slot and bury his team-leading 13th goal of the campaign at the 9:05 mark.
With Toledo well on its way to a fifth win in six games, the advantage swelled to six as Moore notched his second goal of the game and 12th of the season with 9:31 remaining. Hensick’s drop pass reached Moore in the slot for a pair of point-blank chances, the last of which resulted in Toledo’s final goal. Brampton responded with three unanswered in the closing stages to create a less humiliating scoreline.
The Walleye finished 1-for-4 on the power play, while the Beast finished 1-for-5 on the man advantage. Kaden Fulcher turned away 27-of-31 shots to boost his record to 9-2-1, as Lotz blocked 23-of-30 in a losing effort.
What’s Next:
Toledo begins a stretch of three games in three nights on Saturday, as the Walleye travel to West Michigan to take on the Kalamazoo Wings. Puck drop from Wings Event Center is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Three Stars:
1. Toledo – Jordan Topping (two goals)
2. Toledo – Greg Wolfe (goal, two assists)
3. Toledo – Shane Berschbach (power play goal, two assists)
Fish Tales: The Walleye lead Brampton 3-1 in the regular season series, outscoring the Beast by a 23-19 margin… With the assists on Topping’s first goal, Berschbach and Tansey each extended their point streaks to five consecutive games… Morrissey and Connor Schmidt each made their Walleye debut, while Justin Kea made his first appearance at the Huntington Center since being acquired from the Orlando via Fort Wayne… Hensick has recorded multiple points in four of his last outings.
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