TOLEDO, Ohio – Shane Berschbach scored two goals and added an assist, as the Toledo Walleye cruised to a 4-1 win over the visiting Newfoundland Growlers in front of 8,472 fans on Wednesday night at the Huntington Center to pull within one game of tying the best-of-seven ECHL Kelly Cup Finals.
The Walleye let loose a barrage of shots on Growlers netminder Michael Garteig in the first period, out-shooting the Growlers 19-6, but neither team would score as the two teams would go into the first intermission in a scoreless tie.
Hudson Elynuik put Newfoundland on the board first, scoring his sixth playoff goal 4:01 into the middle frame. Derian Plouffe moved in on net on the left and dropped a pass behind to Elynuik, who blasted the puck past Pat Nagle to make it a 1-0 Growlers lead. Garrett Johnston picked up the secondary assist on the goal.
10-minutes later, Zach Gallant found the net for the home team, tying the game and starting a run of Walleye goals.
Greg Wofle gave Toledo the lead just a minute and a half later, collecting the puck off of the back wall and sending the puck past Garteig from a sharp angle to make it 2-1. The goal, his ninth of the playoffs, came from Berschbach and Kevin Tansey.
Berschbach added his first insurance goal three minutes later at 18:36 of the second, taking a pass from Matt Register and finding the net from the middle of the left circle on the power play to increase Toledo’s lead to two goals.
Berschbach potted his second of the night 11:32 into the third, beating Garteig on the backhand to make it 4-1.
The Growlers now hold a 2-1 series lead in the Kelly Cup Finals, with game four scheduled for Friday night in Toledo. Game five, also at the Huntington Center, will follow on Saturday night. If game six is necessary, the series will shift back to St. John’s, NL on June 4.
Contact the Writer: John.Hall@prohockeynews.com
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