KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Toledo Walleye rallied to erase a late three-goal deficit and force overtime, but were held to a point as Kyle Thomas scored the lone goal of a four-round shootout to give the Kalamazoo Wings a 4-3 victory on Saturday at Wings Event Center.
The Walleye (23-10-3-2) set a franchise record with their 55-shot performance, but were held off the scoresheet until A.J. Jenks notched a power play goal with 1:15 remaining in the second stanza. Matt Register solved Jake Hildebrand with 14:18 to go in the third, before cashing in a second time to knot the score at 3-3 with 3:03 left in regulation. In all, Hildebrand stopped 52 shots, while Kaden Fulcher turned away 33-of-38 as Toledo fell to 5-0-0-1 against Kalamazoo (18-19-0-2) in the regular season series.
Toledo outshot the hosts by a 14-4 margin to begin the contest, but trailed 1-0 heading into the first intermission. During the first half of a four-minute power play, Chad McDonald’s wrist shot from the left circle was fought off by Fulcher, but Thomas was positioned in front to guide the rebound inside the right post at the 16:36 mark.
Kalamazoo padded its lead with an even-strength marker 1:42 into the middle period. Erik Kattelus’ second effort from the left circle ricocheted off the stick of Marcus Crawford and straight to Matt Joyaux at the point for a slapshot inside the right post.
The Wings opened up a commanding 3-0 edge later in the frame, as Thomas netted his second power play goal of the night. On a 4-on-3 advantage, Tanner Sorenson’s wrist shot from the slot was blocked by Fulcher’s right pad, but Thomas was alone in front to lift the rebound over the sprawling Toledo netminder at 16:20.
The Walleye finally made their breakthrough on the power play with 1:15 remaining in the second. After Hunter Smith set up Shane Berschbach at the right circle, the latter sent a pass to Jenks at the left post for a one-timer underneath Hildebrand.
Toledo moved within a goal courtesy of Register’s first tally of the night 5:42 into the third. Jenks’ offensive-zone faceoff win propelled the puck to Register, who ripped a slapshot from the left point through traffic and into the right corner.
The Walleye used an odd-man rush to restore parity with barely three minutes to play in regulation. T.J. Hensick gained the zone and sent a pass from the right circle through the slot to Register in front for a tap-in at the 16:57 mark to salvage a point for the visitors. Both sides struck a goalpost during the extra session, but were unable to light the lamp as the game was decided in a skills competition.
Toledo finished 1-for-5 on the power play, while Kalamazoo converted on 2-of-4 opportunities.
With Toledo Walleye release
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