TOLEDO – The Toledo Walleye fell to the Cincinnati Cyclones 4-3 in overtime on Friday night at the Huntington Center.
Both teams entered the evening in tight playoff races within the Central Division. The Walleye entered the night leading the Fort Wayne Komets by one point for the divisional lead, while the Cyclones are in a dead-heat with Indy, Bloomington and Kalamazoo who are all within one point of each other for the final two divisional playoff spots.
How It Happened:
After an early penalty kill by the Walleye, the Cyclones buried a pair of goals, with Jake Johnson (7:29) and Jaxson Murray (8:13) finding twine.
Toledo battled back, as Nick Andrews sniped one to get the Walleye on the board from Tanner Dickinson and Cam Hausinger at 10:52.
The teams headed to the locker room with Toledo trailing 2-1 despite outshooting Cincinnati 16-5.
The visitors stormed out of the locker room and put their lead back at two, as Ryan Kirwan landed his 25th goal of the season just 15 seconds into the middle frame.
Garrett Van Wyhe cut the deficit back to one at 3:47 of the second from Hausinger and Jacob Truscott. Hausinger’s assist marked his second of the game and fifth point in his last four games (2G, 3A).
Toledo then came out swinging in the third period, as Brandon Hawkins tied the game 2:36 into the third period, his third goal in as many games, with Dickinson and Kyle Gaffney netting assists. Dickinson’s marked his second assist of the night and his seventh point (3G, 4A) in his last four games. Gaffney’s assist marked his first point as a professional in his pro debut.
The two teams went back-and-forth through the remainder of the third period, but another round of overtime was the result after 60 minutes.
Cincinnati landed the final blow 2:39 into overtime, as Luke Grainger landed the game-winner for the visitors.
IBEW Local 245 Three Stars:
- Luke Grainger (CIN) – GWG
- Ryan Kirwan (CIN) – 1G
- Nick Andrews (TOL) – 1G
What’s Next:
The Toledo Walleye now head to Cincinnati to finish off their 15-game head-to-head series tomorrow afternoon at 4:05 p.m. at the Heritage Bank Center.
Adirondack Thunder
Allen Americans
Atlanta Gladiators
Bloomington Bison
Cincinnati Cyclones
Florida Everblades
Fort Wayne Komets
Greensboro Gargoyles
Greenville Swamp Rabbits
Idaho Steelheads
Indy Fuel
Iowa Heartlanders
Jacksonville Icemen
Kalamazoo Wings
Kansas City Mavericks
Maine Mariners
Norfolk Admirals
Orlando Solar Bears
Rapid City Rush
Reading Royals
Savannah Ghost Pirates
South Carolina Stingrays
Tahoe Knight Monsters
Toledo Walleye
Trois-Rivières Lions
Tulsa Oilers
Utah Grizzlies
Wheeling Nailers
Wichita Thunder
Worcester Railers