Toledo, OH – The Toledo Walleye defeated the Tahoe Knight Monsters by a score of 4-3 tonight at the Huntington Center, the team’s sixth consecutive win at the Huntington Center and their ninth win in their last 10 games. Brendon Michaelian recorded a goal and an assist, Tanner Kelly got credit for the game-winning goal, Cam Hausinger recorded an assist in his first game as a Walleye, Sam Craggs and Brandon Hawkins scored, and Carter Gylander stopped 22 of the 25 shots he faced. 

How it Happened:

Brendon Michaelian got the scoring started for the Walleye, ripping his fifth goal of the year from the blue line at the 10:50 mark of the first period. Colin Swoyer and Garrett Van Wyhe got the assists on the goal that put the Walleye up 1-0. 

Sam Craggs was penalized for a slashing call, putting Tahoe on their first power play of the day. Trent Swink got the goal back on the power play at the 14:03 mark of the first, tying the game at one goal each with his 21^st goal of the year. 

Sloan Stanick, who led the league in points earlier this season, scored his 18^th goal of the season 1:06 later to take the 2-1 lead for the Knight Monsters. The score held to the end of the first period, as Tahoe lead 2-1 while Toledo outshot them 10-7.

Tahoe scored just 42 seconds into the second period, as Sloan Stanick recorded his second goal of the night to put the Knight Monsters up 3-1 over the Walleye. Brandon Hawkins scored his 26^th goal of the season at the 5:21 mark of the second, bringing the Walleye back within one. Brendon Michaelian and Reilly Funk each got assists on the goal. 

The Walleye got their first power play chance of the night as Louka Henault was called for a holding minor at the 7:41 mark of the second. Twelve seconds later, Linden Alger took a slashing call, putting Toledo on a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:48. Sam Craggs scored on the advantage, his eighth goal of the season. Johnny Waldron and Brandon Kruse got the assists on the goal that tied that game at three goals each. 

Tanner Kelly scored his 23^rd goal of the season with just 1.6 seconds left in the second period after a fierce puck battle, putting the Walleye back in the lead at 4-3. Nate Roy got an assist on the goal, and Cam Hausinger got his first point as a Walleye with an assist, closing out the second period with a 4-3 Walleye lead. 

Reilly Funk and Trent Swick each got roughing minors at the 5:42 mark of the third, leading to two minutes of 4-on-4 hockey. Neither team scored on the opportunity. The Walleye went to the penalty kill with 7:37 to go as Tanner Kelly took a boarding penalty. The Walleye killed off the call, their first kill of the day. 

Tahoe pulled goaltender Jordan Papirny in favor of the extra attacker with 1:57 to go in regulation, but the extra effort wasn’t enough to stop the Walleye from taking the 4-3 win. Toledo took the win outshooting Tahoe 30-25, killing off one of their two penalties and scoring on a 5-on-3 chance. 

Local 245 Three Stars:

1 – D Brendon Michaelian, TOL (1 G, 1 A)

2 – F Tanner Kelly, TOL (GWG)

3 – D Sloan Stanick, TAH (2 G)

What’s Next:

The Walleye will face off against the Tahoe Knight Monsters again tomorrow night in the second game of their three-game weekend series. Puck drop for the contest is set for 7:15 PM at the Huntington Center.

News:

Earlier this week, the Walleye signed defenseman Jonathan Ziskie to an ECHL Standard Player Contract out of Niagara University. The 6’3” 187-pound Macomb, MI native has posted 11 points (4 goals, 7 assists) with the Purple Eagles, recording 18 penalty minutes in 32 games during the 2025-26 season.

Ziskie skated with Niagara for all four years of his college career, playing 97 total games with the Purple Eagles and recording eight goals, 16 assists (24 total points), and 34 penalty minutes between 2022-26. Prior to playing in Niagara, Ziskie played four seasons in the NAHL with the Minnesota Magicians (2018-20) and Bismarck Bobcats (2020-22), racking up 56 points (15 goals, 41 assists) and 128 penalty minutes in 120 games. In the midst of those four seasons, Ziskie played fifteen games for the Fargo Force of the USHL in 2019-20, collecting two assists, a +5 rating, and four penalty minutes.