TOLEDO, OH – Two goals within seconds of one another in the third led the Toledo Walleye to a 3-1 Game 7 victory over the Kalamazoo Wings Tuesday night. Over 7,000 deafening fans witnessed Toledo advance to the second round of the Kelly Cup playoffs.
The first period saw no goals from either team. Jake Paterson muscled away all 13 shots he faced in the first frame. Toledo went 0-1 on the power play while the Wings did not play with a man down.
Jeff Lerg came into the game early in the second period in relief of Paterson. Kyle Bonis broke the tie with his 6th goal of the postseason at 16:11 of the second on a gorgeous feed from A.J. Jenks. Kalamazoo quickly tied it up a minute later on a deflection in font of Lerg. Kalamazoo recorded 6 shots on net compared to Toledo’s 11 in the middle frame.
Evan Rankin broke the 1-1 tie 8:29 into the third with his fifth of the postseason, leading the Walleye to a 2-1 lead. Zach Nastasiuk wristed one past Joel Martin seconds later, extending the Toledo lead to 3-1 in front of the deafening crowd.
Walleye notes: Jake Paterson stopped all 15 shots he faced in the first period and beginning of the second… Jeff Lerg stopped 13 of the 14 shots he faced… The game marked the 100th sellout in franchise history… The Walleye will square off against the Fort Wayne Komets at home Friday and Saturday in games one and two of the best-of-seven Central Division finals.
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