TOLEDO, OH – Jake Paterson set a new Toledo ECHL record with his eighth career shutout as the Walleye defeated Kalamazoo 3-0 in front of a standing room only crowd of 8,300 Saturday night at the Huntington Center. Toledo has an overall record of 40-13-2-1 and is 19-5-1-1 at home.
Toledo’s first two shots found the back of the net for a quick 2-0 lead 2:46 into the first. Evan Rankin deposited a wrist shot for his 25th goal of the season just 29 seconds into the game to give Toledo a 1-0 lead. After the Walleye killed off a Kalamazoo power play, Tylor Spink scored his 20th goal of the season when he deflected a Simon Denis pass behind Kalamazoo goaltender Joel Martin at 2:46 of the first.
The power play controlled the puck for 90 seconds late in the first period and Alden Hirschfeld benefited as he fired in a one-timer for his 21 of the year and a 3-0 lead with 2:49 left in the first period. Kalamazoo out shot Toledo 12-4 in the second period, but goaltender Jake Paterson held the Wings off the board. Kalamazoo continued the pressure in the third period with 14 more shots but could not solve Paterson.
Walleye Notes: Paterson stopped all 34 of Kalamazoo’s shots and has a season record of 28-10-1-1. His 6th shutout of the season and the 8th of his Walleye career are both Toledo ECHL records… Shane Berschbach posted two assists and is two shy of the Toledo Walleye single season record for assists that he set in the 2014-15 season.
Follow us on Twitter @prohockeynews
You must be logged in to post a comment.