Four Fish score in Friday night win over Kalamazoo

TOLEDO – The Toledo Walleye defeated the Kalamazoo Wings 4-2 on Friday night at the Huntington Center.

What Happened:

The Toledo Walleye welcomed the Kalamazoo Wings into the Huntington Center to close out a four game homestand.

Jan Bednar would defend the home net, with Matt Anderson and Will Cullen leading the defense. Sam Craggs, Colin Theisen and Conlan Keenan would spearhead the Toledo attack.

Jonathan Lemieux started between the pipes for the Wings. Kalamazoo would have Chaz Reddekopp and Michael Joyaux on the defense with Brad Morrison, Ty Glover and Erik Bradford manning the attack.

The action would begin at 3:51 with a Toledo power play after Tanner Sorenson was sent to the Kalamazoo penalty box for Slashing.

It appeared that Riley McCourt had scored a power play goal at 15:00, but it was waved off for Interference. The Wings would successfully kill off the power play shortly after.

The Walleye would strike first blood at 10:37 when Theisen found the back of the net with some help from Keenan and Adrien Beraldo.

The Walleye would come right back with another score at 11:08, this time by Trenton Bliss going alone against Lemieux. Kirill Tyutyayev and Brandon Hawkins were the helping-hands.

That would wrap the action in the first 20 with the Walleye leading 2-0. The Walleye outshot the Wings 13-8 and Toledo was 0/1 on the power play while Kalamazoo did not have an opportunity.

The second period action would begin with four-on-four hockey at :37, with Theisen heading to the Toledo box for Unsportsmanlike Conduct, and Bradford going to the Kalamazoo box for Hooking.

The Walleye would open it up at 8:50 with another goal, this time the first ECHL goal for Riley Sawchuk after passes from Orrin Centazzo and Anderson.

Cullen would get sent away at 15:19 for an Illegal Check to the Head, giving Kalamazoo their first power play of the game.

The Fish would successfully kill off the penalty to round out the action of the second 20.

The Walleye were outshot by the Wings 6-11 in the period and are even at 19-19 overall. Toledo did not record a power play opportunity in the period, while Kalamazoo was 0/1.

A back-and-forth third frame had no notable action until 12:15 when Glover scored an unassisted goal to tear Bednar’s clean sheet, making it 3-1.

Kalamazoo would bring it within one at 18:49 when Joyaux would find the net, netting Bradford and Glover assists.

The Walleye would seal the deal when Keenan buried an empty netter at 19:25 with an assist from Bliss, making it 4-2 Walleye.

That would wrap the action in the final 20 with the Walleye winning 4-2. Toledo outshot Kalamazoo 14-5 in the period and 33-24 overall. Neither team had a power play in the period, and both the Walleye and Wings were 0/1 with a man-advantage in the game.

Three Stars Sponsored by Local 245:

1. Trenton Bliss (1G, 1A) - TOL
2. Colin Theisen (1G) – TOL
3. Michael Joyaux (1G) - KAL 

What’s Next:

The Toledo Walleye will head to Fort Wayne for a road matchup with the Komets tomorrow, Saturday, November 18, 2023, with puck drop at 7:30 pm ET.