Trois-Rivières, QC – The Toledo Walleye defeated the Trois-Rivières Lions by a score of 4-1 at the Colisée Vidéotron today after scoring four unanswered goals. Jacob Truscott opened the scoring for the Walleye, Denis Smirnov was credited for the game-winning goal, Mitch Lewandowski recorded the sixth short-handed goal of his Walleye career, Will Hillman scored, and Matt Jurusik stopped 30 of 31 shots he saw in today’s game. 

How it Happened:

Scoring started off slow, but a few penalties were handed out after a scrum in front of the Trois-Rivières net. Mitch Lewandowski and Cédric Desruisseaux each got minor penalties for roughing, and Lions Captain Morgan Adams-Moisan got a 10-minute misconduct for inciting near the Toledo bench, leading to two minutes of 4-on-4 hockey at the 8:43 mark of the first. 

Will Hillman took a slashing call with 21 seconds to go in the 4-on-4, putting Trois-Rivières on their first power play of the day. Sam Craggs had a shorthanded opportunity, but no scoring happened on any of the aforementioned penalties and Toledo killed off their penalty kill. 

Toledo got their first power play of the night just 20 seconds into the second period as Riley Kidney took a delay of game penalty for shooting the puck out of play, which was killed off by the Lions. 

Anthony Poulin got Trois-Rivières on the board first with his 10^th goal of the season, putting the Lions up 1-0 at the 8:14 mark of the second period. Jacob Truscott responded 31 seconds later, tying the game at 1-1 with his fourth goal of the season. Colby Ambrosio got the lone assist on the goal. 

Joe Dunlap took the second delay of game penalty by Trois-Rivières on the day, shooting the puck over the glass on his backhand at the 9:47 mark of the second to put the Walleye on their second power play of the game. The Walleye didn’t convert as the Lions got their second kill of the day.

Nate Roy was called for a hooking penalty, giving Trois-Rivières their second power play chance of the day. The Lions killed off the penalty, but the Walleye took the lead on a goal by Denis Smirnov 16:41 into the second, Toledo’s first lead of the weekend. Riley McCourt got the lone assist on Smirnov’s 15^th goal of the season that put the Walleye up 2-1. 

Denis Smirnov took a tripping penalty early in the third period, the third time the Walleye have been shorthanded on the day at the 1:26 mark of the period. The Walleye killed it off, continuing their success on the penalty kill. 

Will Hillman added some insurance for the Walleye, deflecting a shot from Dylan Moulton to extend Toledo’s lead to 3-1 over Trois-Rivières with 10 minutes to go in the third period. Nate Roy got the other assist on Hillman’s eighth goal of the season. 

Jacob Truscott took a minor penalty for a trip with 4:54 to go in the third, giving the Lions a power play opportunity late in the third period with the Walleye ahead by two. The Lions opted to pull the goalie with four minutes to go while on the power play.

Instead, Mitch Lewandowski recorded his seventh goal of the season and Toledo’s 13^th short-handed goal, which put the Walleye up 4-1 and all but sealed the victory for Toledo. Lewandowski’s goal tied him with Alden Hirschfeld for most shorthanded goals in a Walleye uniform, with six in his career with Toledo. 

Before everything was said and done, Colby Ambrosio and Israel Mianscum each got offsetting double minor penalties for roughing with 1:07 to go in regulation, ending each of their nights, though the remainder of the game was five-on-five. The 4-1 score held final, as Toledo’s penalty kill remained a perfect 8-for-8 on the weekend and held a 33-31 shot advantage over the Lions. 

Three Stars:

1 – F Denis Smirnov, TOL (GWG)

2 – D Jacob Truscott, TOL (1 G)

3 – F Anthony Poulin, TR (1 G)

What’s Next:

The Walleye will face off against the Trois-Rivières Lions for a final time this season on Sunday, looking to take a series win in the afternoon matchup. Puck drop for tomorrow’s game is set for 3:00 PM at the Colisée Vidéotron.