Making his return to the lineup after a three-game absence due to illness, Jenks was one of six Walleye (16-5-2-0) skaters to pick up multiple points, scoring twice and adding an assist to garner first-star honors, while Moore bookended the scoring with his eighth and ninth goals of the campaign. Shane Berschbach and T.J. Hensick each added a goal and an assist, while Ben Storm and Jordan Topping both contributed two helpers.
Toledo instantly seized the momentum, outshooting Norfolk (12-12-1-1) 17-4 through the opening 20 minutes. Moore started the scoring to put the Walleye in front 6:05 into the contest. After taking Matt Register’s centering pass in the slot, Moore worked his way to the lower part of the left circle and fired a shot inside the near post.
The Walleye doubled their lead 1:02 later, as Topping gained possession behind the Norfolk net before flipping a no-look pass to Jenks in the slot for a one-timer inside the right post.
Jenks struck two posts near the midway point of the first, but added to his goal-scoring tally later in the frame during the first half of a four-minute power play. On a tic-tac-toe sequence, Berschbach sent a pass from the right circle down low to Storm, who directed the puck to Jenks in front for a quick strike past Ty Reichenbach at the 15:10 mark to give the Walleye a commanding 3-0 advantage heading into the first intermission.
Norfolk capitalized on its lone power play chance 1:06 into the second stanza. With six seconds remaining in Moore’s hooking minor, T.J. Melancon sent a slapshot from the right point past Pat Nagle to cut Toledo’s lead to 3-1.
The Walleye authored a quick response, collecting two goals 34 seconds apart to build a 5-1 cushion. Jenks gathered a loose puck in the Norfolk zone and skated into the high slot before unselfishly setting up Berschbach at the left circle for a wrist shot over a sliding Reichenbach at the 7:06 mark. A fifth goal arrived on Toledo’s next offensive rush, as Hensick used Topping as a decoy and lifted a wrist shot from the left circle into the top left corner.
The Admirals cut their deficit to 5-3 by scoring twice in a 16-second span, but Tyler Spezia got the Walleye back on track with his fourth goal of the campaign 14:13 into the middle period. Storm’s diagonal pass from the right half-boards was intended for Trevor Yates at the left post, but the puck ricocheted to Spezia in front for a tap-in to make it a 6-3 contest.
Luke Nogard cashed in on his breakaway attempt with 4:54 gone in the third, but Moore wrapped up the scoring on an eventual 2-on-1 when he buried a shot from the right circle past Reichenbach’s blocker at 6:13 to clinch a 7-4 victory.
The Walleye finished 1-for-3 on the man advantage. Nagle earned his 10th win of the year after blocking 18-of-22 shots, as Reichenbach stopped 38-of-45 in a losing cause.
With Toledo Walleye release
You must be logged in to post a comment.