Walleye News and Notes

Brooms out against Indy: In a series that was close (three games decided by a goal) the Walleye took care of Indy in short order, posting the first-ever sweep in Toledo Walleye history. The last time a Toledo team swept a team out the playoffs was in the 2006 Kelly Cup Playoffs when the then Toledo Storm defeated the Johnstown Chiefs three games to none in a best of five series.

Winning series: With its win over Indy, Toledo has won at least a round in the playoffs in three of the last four years. In 2015, Toledo advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals and last year reaching the Western Conference Finals. Since the start of the 2015 playoffs, Toledo has a playoff record of 27-22.

Leading the way: Both Kyle Bonis (3G, 5A) and Tyler Barnes (1G, 7A) are tied for the league lead with eight points each. The seven assists for Barnes is the most for any player so far in the playoffs. Christian Hilbrich is tied for the league with five goals in the playoffs. Both Austen Brassard (2G, 2A) and Simon Denis (1G, 3A) each posted four points in the series win over Indy. Goaltender Pat Nagle allowed just nine goals in four games vs. Indy for a 1.79 goals against average and a .942 save percentage.

Welcome in a Close Friend/Foe: The closest rivals in the ECHL (106 miles from Huntington Center to Memorial Coliseum) meet for the third time in the last four years during the postseason. Toledo took the previous meetings first during the 2015 Kelly Cup Playoffs in seven games to advance to the then Eastern Conference Finals and then in five games last year to advance to the Western Conference Finals.

Stats during the Year: Toledo finished the regular season with a record of 2-5-1 (2-2-0 at the Huntington Center and 0-3-1 at Fort Wayne), and were outscored 29-21 in the season series. The total shots were fairly even with Toledo having 236 on Fort Wayne and the Komets with 243 on Toledo. The Walleye power play was 4-31 (12.9%) against Fort Wayne during the regular season while Toledo’s penalty kill stopped 16 of 17 power plays (94.1%). The two teams finished as the top two in attendance during the regular season (Fort Wayne 7,784 and Toledo 7,600).

Komets get through Cincinnati: Fort Wayne took down Cincinnati in five games scoring three times in the third period Sunday to advance in a 4-2 win. Like the Walleye, two of the contests went to overtime with game one ending in a second overtime. The only loss for the Komets in the series came in game three when the Cyclones took a 7-6 overtime victory. Gabriel Desjardins had a big series, scoring twice and picking up six assists to tie Barnes and Bonis for the overall lead in ECHL playoff scoring. Phelix Martineau had three goals and three assists against the Cyclones.