Anderson stars in 4-3 Walleye win over Heartlanders

CORALVILLE, IA – The Toledo Walleye defeated the Iowa Heartlanders 4-3 on Friday night at Xtream Arena.

What Happened:

The Toledo Walleye hit the road for a weekend series in Iowa with the Iowa Heartlanders.

John Lethemon would be between the pipes for the Walleye. Riley McCourt and Matt Anderson would staff the defence, while Brandon Hawkins, Trenton Bliss and Mitch Lewandowski would lead the Toledo attack.

Peyton Jones would defend the home net for the Heartlanders. Robbie Stucker and Ben Brinkman would fill the defence, while Casey Dornbach, Davis Koch and Louis Boudon would be on the attack for Iowa.

Iowa would start the scoring at 7:12 as Koch found the net to give the Heartlanders a 1-0 lead. Dornbach and Boudon collected the assists on the icebreaker.

That would wrap the action in a quiet first period with the Heartlanders leading the Walleye 1-0. The Walleye were outshot by the Heartlanders 5-12 in the period. Neither team had a power play in the period.

The Walleye got the second period action underway by knotting the score at 1-1 when Conlan Keenan put the puck behind Jones with Anderson tabbing the solo assist.

Toledo would get the first power play chance of the game at 4:34 when Boudon was sent to the Iowa penalty box for Cross-Checking. Iowa would kill off the power play.

The Heartlanders would get their first man-advantage at 7:00 when Chase Gresock was sent to the Walleye penalty box for Interference. The Walleye would kill off the power play.

Toledo would find themselves in front after Anderson would find the net unassisted and shorthanded to give the Fish a 2-1 lead.

The Walleye would extend the lead to 3-1 when Brandon Kruse lit the lamp, continuing a red hot December. Orrin Centazzo and Anderson were the helping-hands on the score. The assist was Anderson’s second assist and third point of the night.

The Heartlanders would get their next power play chance at 14:10 when Adrien Beraldo was sent to the Toledo box for Cross-Checking. The Walleye would fend off the power play.

The Fish would tack on another score at 17:18, this time Lewandowski finding paydirt to make it 4-1 Fish. Hawkins and McCourt would assist the score.

The Heartlanders would get one back at 19:02 when Maxim Cajkovic put one behind Lethemon. Odeen Tufto added the solo assist to make it 4-2 Fish.

That would wrap the second frame with the Walleye leading the Heartlanders 4-2. The Walleye outshot the Heartlanders 17-10 in the period, with the two teams shooting even at 22-22 after two periods. Toledo was 0/1 on the power play in the period while Iowa was 0/2.

The third period action began with a Walleye power play at 1:14 as Boudon was assessed a Delay of Game penalty. The Heartlanders would kill off the man-advantage.

Iowa would start another power play at 8:51 when Centazzo was assessed a Tripping minor, but it was lowered to four-on-four hockey when Iowa was called for Too Many Men, which would be served by Cajkovic.

Iowa would score in the four-on-four when Koch found the net a second time at 10:21. Stucker netted the solo assist to bring the game to 4-3 in favor of the Walleye.

The horns would sound, signaling a 4-3 Walleye win over the Heartlanders.

The two teams shot even at 9-9 in the period and 31-31 overall. Toledo was 0/2 on the power play in the period and 0/3 overall, while Iowa was 0/1 in the period and 0/3 overall.

Three Stars Sponsored by Local 245:

1. Matt Anderson (1G, 2A) – TOL
2. Davis Koch (2G) – IA
3. Maxim Cajkovic (1G) – IA

What’s Next:

The Toledo Walleye will remain in Coralville, IA for game two of the three-game series against the Iowa Heartlanders, tomorrow, Saturday, December 16, 2023, at Xtream Arena with puck drop coming at 6:05 pm CT (7:05 pm ET).