FORT WAYNE, IN – The Toledo Walleye fell to the Fort Wayne Komets 4-1 in game one of the Central Division Finals. Reilly Funk lit the lamp for the first time in the postseason, as the Fish look to reset and reload ahead of game two back in Toledo.

How It Happened:

Toledo picked up the first power-play chance of the game just 1:39 into the contest when Blake Murray was penalized for High-Sticking, but it would drop to a short four-on-four and an eventual Fort Wayne power-play after Colin Swoyer was sent to the box for Tripping at 2:56.

The Komets then were caught with Too Many Men on the Ice with just one second remaining on the penalty kill, putting the Walleye back on the power-play. The Komet Kill stood strong, holding the league’s best power-play unit off the board.

Fort Wayne got on the board first at 13:53 when Josh Bloom found the back of the net.

A Tripping call against Dylan Moulton put Fort Wayne back on the power-play at 17:31, but a Slashing call against Jalen Smereck just 24 seconds into the penalty kill dropped play back to four-on-four hockey for eight seconds. A Slashing going against Brandon Hawkins at 18:04 made it four-on-three hockey.

The Komets doubled their lead with an Austin Magera power-play strike at 18:47 of the period.

The two teams headed to the locker rooms with the Walleye trailing 2-0 and being outshot 17-8 after 20 minutes of play, and a four second penalty kill to begin the second frame.

Toledo’s penalty kill continued to get plenty of work, as they finished off the penalty against Hawkins, but then was back on the kill after Jacob Truscott was called for Tripping 32 seconds into the period.

The Fish lit the lamp at 12:14 of the second as Funk landed his first playoff point to draw the Walleye within one. Dylan Moulton picked up the assist on the tally.

The Komets responded with a goal by former Walleye Kirill Tyutyayev at 19:10 of the period, sending the teams off with the Komets ahead 3-1, and outshooting the Walleye 29-25 after a strong second frame that saw 17 Walleye shots.

A back-and-forth third period had a lot of action and opportunities, but only one goal was scored, as the Komets tacked on one more, as Matthew Brown sealed the deal for the hosts during a four-on-four at 14:31, putting the score at 4-1.

The Walleye were outshot 37-34 and held 0-3 on the power-play in the contest, but were able to kill off three of four penalty kills.

Carter Gylander put up a playoffs-high 33 saves in net, but was shackled with the loss.

Three Stars:

1. Austin Magera (FW) – GWG, 2A
2. Samuel Jonsson (FW) – W, 33/34 SV
3. Kirill Tyatyayev (FW) – 1G, 1A

What’s Next:

The Toledo Walleye return home for game two of the Central Division Finals inside the Huntington Center against the Fort Wayne Komets on Tuesday, May 12^th, with puck drop coming at 7:15 p.m.