Coralville, IA - The Toledo Walleye fell to the Iowa Heartlanders on Friday night in game one of the series at Xtream Arena.
The Heartlanders snapped Toledo’s 6-game win streak in the matchup between the Central Division’s top two teams.
Griffin Ness and Sam Craggs tallied goals. Mitch Lewandowski played in his first game back from his time in the AHL. And Conlan Keenan played in his 250th professional game.
How it Happened:
Iowa started off the scoring at 4:14, which was shortly followed by Griffin Ness tying it up at one goal each at 5:57, his first goal since December 7. Assisting in Ness' goal were Dalton Messina and Darian Pilon.
In the second period, Iowa restored their lead early on at 3:05. Once again, Toledo responded and tied it at 7:53 with a Tic-Tac-Toe from Jalen Smereck to Mitch Lewandowski and Sam Craggs to finish it off. The game was tied 2-2 heading into the final frame.
Iowa took the lead back at 14:49 of the third. Despite the strong and heavy pressure from the Walleye, the Heartlanders sealed the deal at 19:29 with an empty net goal and took game one with a 4-2 final.
Three Stars Sponsored by Local 245:
1. IWA - T. Walsh (1G)
2. IWA - K. McClellan (28 SVS)
3. IWA - R. Miotto (1G)
What’s Next:
The Walleye will look to split with Iowa as they finish out the series in Coralville. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. EST.
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