FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Tyler Spezia’s goal with 52 seconds remaining in regulation rescued a point for the Toledo Walleye before Greg Wolfe and A.J. Jenks both scored in the shootout to clinch a 3-2 victory over the Fort Wayne Komets on Saturday at the Memorial Coliseum.
Improving to 3-0 in shootouts to begin his professional career, Kaden Fulcher collected first-star honors by turning away 25-of-27 shots along with two stops in the skills competition to collect his seventh win in 10 starts. Trailing 2-0 with under five minutes to go in the second period, the result gives the Walleye (17-5-2-0) a 4-0-1-0 record against Fort Wayne (13-10-0-1) in the regular season series, with each of the last four meetings decided by a single goal.
The Komets grabbed the lead 4:26 into the contest, as Jake Kamrass was credited with his 11th goal of the campaign. Jason Binkley sent a pass across to Ryan Lowney at the left point for a wrist shot that grazed off the stick of Kamrass in front and past Fulcher.
Toledo carried the play to begin the middle stanza, at one stage outshooting Fort Wayne by a 9-3 margin. However, Fort Wayne doubled its advantage at the 7:56 mark when Lowney’s wrister from the point was deflected in front by Mason Baptista for his first goal since rejoining the Komets following a 25-game spell in Europe.
T.J. Hensick got the Walleye on the scoresheet on the club’s third power play chance of the night. Wolfe sent a pass from the top of the right circle to Bryan Moore, who fired the puck across the goal mouth to Hensick at the bottom of the left circle for a one-timer off Zach Fucale’s catching glove and in.
Still behind 2-1 in the closing stages of regulation, the Walleye pulled Fulcher for the extra skater and used their timeout with 1:41 remaining. The 6-on-5 advantage paid off when Spezia raced in from the right circle and placed a shot through the five-hole with 52 seconds on the clock to force the extra session.
Following an end-to-end overtime in which Fort Wayne outshot Toledo 6-3, Shawn Szydlowski and Wolfe each found the net in the opening round of the shootout. After Fulcher turned away Lowney’s effort in the top of the second inning, Jenks made no mistake in the bottom of the frame to stake the Walleye to a 2-1 lead, which held on to be the final tally.
The Walleye finished 1-for-4 on the power play, while the Komets failed to convert on a pair of opportunities. Fucale blocked 37-of-39 shots to earn third-star accolades.
What’s Next:
Toledo continues its four-game road swing on Wednesday, as the Walleye travel to West Michigan to battle the Kalamazoo Wings. Puck drop from Wings Event Center is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Three Stars:
1. Toledo – Kaden Fulcher (W, 25 saves)
2. Fort Wayne – Mario Baptista (goal)
3. Fort Wayne – Zach Fucale (SOL, 37 saves)
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