Craggs, Fish ride high-powered offense to fourth straight win

FORT WAYNE, IN – The Toledo Walleye claimed a 6-4 win over the Fort Wayne Komets on Friday night at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.

What Happened:

The Toledo Walleye headed to Fort Wayne to open a three-game weekend with the Fort Wayne Komets, the first of the weekend and the lone road contest of the three.

John Lethemon made the start between the pipes for the Walleye, with Riley McCourt and Jake Willets on the defense and Orrin Centazzo, Brandon Hawkins and Trenton Bliss on the attack.

Tyler Parks got the start in the net for the Komets with Joe Gatenby and Xavier Bernard leading the defense and Alexis D’Aoust, Nolan Volcan and Matt Wedman leading the Fort Wayne attack.

The Komets wasted no time as Volcan scored a goal at :39 with help from D’Aoust to put Fort Wayne up 1-0.

Colin Theisen would be assessed the first penalty of the game for the Walleye for Kneeing at :56, putting the Komets on the power play.

The Komets were unable to convert the power play, but followed it up with a second goal, this time by Ture Linden at 3:56, courtesy of some help from Morgan Adams-Moisan and Gatenby, making it 2-0.

Toledo would be assessed the second penalty of the game as Will Cullen was sent to the box for Slashing at 9:58.

However, shortly after at 11:24, Darien Kielb would be sent to the box for Cross-Checking, making it four-on-four for :35.

Both teams would be unsuccessful on their respective ends of the power plays.

At 15:41, the Fish would fight back as Hawkins would find the back of the net with some help from Bliss and Centazzo to make it 2-1.

Centazzo would get checked into the ice at 17:27 in front of the net, collecting the first regulation penalty shot of the season for Toledo.

Centazzo would sneak the puck past Parks to tie the game at 2-2 at the same time stamp.

That would bring a riveting first 20 to a close, as the Walleye outshot the Komets 17-9 in the period. Toledo was 0/1 on the power play, while Fort Wayne was 0/2 in the first period.

The second period action began when D’Aoust out Fort Wayne back on top 3-2 at 6:39 with an assist off of a faceoff by Xavier Cormier.

The Walleye would bounce right back to tie it at 3-3 with a Sam Craggs goal at 7:57, assists going to Chase Gresock and Brandon Kruse on the score.

The Fish would find themselves out front after Mitch Lewandowski found the back of the net at 9:56, putting the Walleye up 4-3. Matt Anderson and Theisen were the helping-hands.

Bliss would be sent to the Toledo penalty box at 18:30 for Tripping. That would put Fort Wayne on the power play for the remainder of the second frame and the first :30 of the third frame.

The first 1:30 of Fort Wayne’s third power play was unsuccessful as the second 20 drew to a close.

The Walleye outshot the Komets 18-10 in the period and 35-19 overall. Toledo did not have a power play opportunity in the second period, while Fort Wayne did not complete a power play in the period.

The first action of the third period would be at :29 when Kielb would be assessed a Cross-Checking minor, giving Toledo their second power play of the evening, which they could not convert.

Then at 4:22, Adams-Moisan would be assessed a Cross-Checking minor, but Adams-Moisan and Willets would drop the gloves and would each be assessed a Roughing minor for Fort Wayne and Toledo respectively.

The Walleye would open their lead to two when Craggs put the puck between Parks’ legs and into the net for goal at 7:07, his second of the game. Lewandowski bagged an assist, his second point of the game.

At 10:07, there was a mass-melee between the two teams that sent three Komets to the penalty box, being Adams-Moisan for Roughing, Shawn Szydlowski for Tripping and Kielb got a five-minute major for Fighting, as did Willets for the Walleye. That would give the Walleye a five-on-three for a full two minutes.

The Komets would bring it within one at 14:31 when Adams-Moisan found the back of the net with help from Cormier and Bernard on the shorthanded score. Bernard and Adrien Beraldo would then each collect five-minute majors for Fighting after the goal.

The Walleye would extend the lead back to two at 19:24 when Conlan Keenan buried an empty-netter to make it 6-4 Walleye. Craggs picked up the assist for his third point of the game.

That would round out the third period as the Walleye outshot the Komets 11-10 in the third frame and 46-29 overall. Toledo was 0/3 on the power play in the period and 0/4 overall, while Fort Wayne was 0/1 in the period and 0/3 overall.

That would wrap the action as the Walleye sealed a 6-4 win to move to 4-0-1 on the season, extending the winning streak to four games while having been unbeaten in all five games played.

Three Stars Sponsored by Local 245:

1. Sam Craggs (2G, 1A) – TOL
2. Morgan Adams-Moisan (1G, 1A) – FW
3. Matt Wedman – FW

What’s Next:

The Toledo Walleye return home to continue the weekend series with the Fort Wayne Komets tomorrow, November 11, 2023, at the Huntington Center when the Walleye will hold Military Appreciation Night, with puck drop at 7:15 pm ET.