BRAMPTON, ONT – The Toledo Walleye used another offensive flourish to collect their eighth consecutive victory, scoring three power play goals en route to an 8-6 barn burner over the Brampton Beast on Sunday at the CAA Centre.
Carrying a 9-1-1-0 record through 11 games, the Walleye have surpassed the 1993-94 Toledo Storm – a squad that would eventually win the second of back-to-back Riley Cups – for the fastest start to a regular season in Glass City history. Potting eight or more goals for the first time since blanking Quad City by an 8-0 count on March 9, 2018, Toledo has earned points in each of its last nine outings (8-0-1-0).
Charlie O’Connor tallied his first two goals of the season, while Bryan Moore, Daniel Leavens and Jordan Topping each netted their first goals of the campaign. T.J. Hensick recorded a goal and three helpers to secure first-star honors, while Shane Berschbach contributed a goal and an assist for his fourth straight multi-point performance.
Toledo raced ahead to another early lead, drawing first blood for the seventh consecutive contest. O’Connor gained control of the puck at center ice and flipped a pass to Berschbach at the left circle, who sent the puck through the slot to O’Connor for a one-timer past former Walleye netminder Jake Paterson at the 3:18 mark. Twenty-nine seconds later, a second goal arrived when Wolfe and Hensick set up Moore in front to open up a 2-0 advantage.
The Walleye looked to add to their lead on their first chance with the man advantage, but Brampton (6-5-0-1) made its mark on the score sheet 12:53 into the opening stanza. While defenseman Jordan Henry served a slashing minor, Pat Nagle lost an edge playing the puck near his net, allowing David Pacan to gain possession and guide a shot into an empty cage to trim the deficit in half.
The visitors made no mistake on the next pair of power play opportunities. Berschbach lengthened his point streak to seven straight with his team-leading eighth goal of the year 15:43 into the first, before Leavens capitalized on an aggressive forecheck and pushed Toledo’s lead to 4-1 with 2:30 gone in the middle period.
Henry struck for the Beast 28 ticks after Leavens’ marker, but the Walleye restored their three-goal cushion near the halfway point of the frame. After Tyler Spezia cleanly won a faceoff in the Brampton zone, Samuel Thibault’s blast from the left point was tipped in front by O’Connor and past Paterson at the 10:15 mark to open up a 5-2 lead. At 15:52, Erik Bradford kept the Beast within striking distance as he cut the margin to 5-3 heading into the second intermission.
The scoring bonanza continued as the two teams combined for six goals in the third trimester. David Vallorani scored the game’s most controversial lamp-lighter 3:13 into the stanza, bringing his stick up high on Wolfe and racing into the offensive zone to log Brampton’s fourth of the night. Just over four minutes into the third, Hensick had his initial effort pushed aside by Paterson, but Wolfe was the first to reach the puck in the corner, where he spun around and fired sent a centering pass in front to Hensick for his fifth goal of the season.
Henry’s second goal of the night at the 5:15 mark did nothing to ground the high-flying Walleye attack, as Wolfe capitalized on the power play at 6:09 before Topping scored his first professional goal 56 seconds later at even strength to create an insurmountable 8-5 lead. Pacan wrapped up the scoring for the Beast with his second shorthanded tally of the night with 2:16 on the clock.
Brampton failed to cash in on three power play chances. Nagle turned away 27-of-33 shots for his sixth win of the season, as Paterson went the distance for the Beast and blocked 32-of-40 in a losing cause.
The Walleye wrap up their three-game road swing on Tuesday against the Wheeling Nailers. Puck drop from WesBanco Arena is scheduled for 10:45 a.m.
Three Stars:
1. Toledo – T.J. Hensick (goal, three assists)
2. Brampton – Danny Pacan (two shorthanded goals, two assists)
3. Toledo – Greg Wolfe (power play goal, two assists)
Fish Tales: Prior to Sunday’s game, the Walleye activated defenseman Marcus Crawford from reserve and placed forward A.J. Jenks on reserve… With his power play goal in the first period, Berschbach scored his 84th career goal in a Toledo uniform, passing Kyle Bonis for second-most in Walleye history… The Walleye are 26-5-2-0 against Brampton since the latter joined the ECHL, including an 11-2-1-0 record on the road…Toledo is a perfect 5-0 when leading after one period and 6-0 when ahead after 40 minutes.
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