Coralville, IA – The Toledo Walleye defeated the Iowa Heartlanders tonight at Xtream Arena by a score of 4-1. Chad Hillebrand recorded the game-winning goal with a short-handed goal at the end of the second, Tanner Kelly his sixth and seventh goals of the season in tonight’s game, Denis Smirnov and Mitch Lewandowski recorded two assists on the night, and Liam Soulière stopped 22 of the 23 shots he faced. 

How it Happened:

Jacob Truscott got the Walleye on the board with his first professional goal unassisted, scoring at the 8:01 mark of the first to put the Fish up 1-0. Mitch Lewandowski and Denis Smirnov each got an assist on the goal. Iowa took a cross-checking call at the 13:31 mark of the first, putting Toledo on the power play for the first time on the night. 

The Walleye got another man-advantage on an Iowa elbowing minor penalty with 1:24 left in the first period. Toledo outshot Iowa 11-10 in a fast-paced first period, with 36 seconds remaining on the power play as the second period began.

Iowa got their first chance at the power play 10:17 into the second period after a Toledo slashing penalty and coincidental roughing calls following. Two seconds after the power play expired, Iowa tied the game on a goal by Thomas Stewart at the 12:19 mark of the second. 

The Heartlanders went on a second power play chance as Toledo took a tripping penalty with 1:09 left to play in the second period. However, Chad Hillebrand scored a short-handed goal unassisted on a breakaway with 17 seconds remaining in the second, Toledo’s league-leading 9^th short-handed goal on the season.

Toledo outshot Iowa 13-5 in the second period and leads 24-15 across the game, while holding a 2-1 lead on the scoreboard to end the second. Iowa’s power play had 51 seconds remaining on it heading into the third period. 

Tanner Kelly added his second goal in as many days, his 6^th of the season, to put the Walleye up 3-1. Mitch Lewandowski and Denis Smirnov each got assists on the goal at the 8:53 mark of the third period, the second of the night for both. 

Iowa pulled their goalie with 2:30 to go, and Tanner Kelly scored almost immediately to add an insurance goal for the Walleye, his second goal of the night at the 17:36 mark of the third unassisted. 

The Walleye held on for the 4-1 win, outshooting Iowa 36-23. Power play units for both teams went 0-for-2 on the night. 

Three Stars:

1 – F Chad Hillebrand, TOL (Game-Winning SHG)

2 – D Thomas Stewart, IA (1 G)

3 – F Tanner Kelly, TOL (2 G)

What’s Next:

The Walleye will head back to Toledo next weekend to take on the Iowa Heartlanders two more times, looking to build on the two wins tonight. The first of the two games will be on Friday, with puck drop set for 7:15 PM at the Huntington Center.