Toledo, OH – The Toledo Walleye defeated the Fort Wayne Komets for the second consecutive night, this time by a score of 4-1 in game five of the Central Division Finals. Kyle Gaffney, Jacob Truscott, Brandon Kruse, and Tanner Dickinson each scored the first four goals of the game, Brandon Hawkins had two assists, and Carter Gylander stopped 27 of 28 shots against him. 

How it Happened:

The Walleye got off to a striking start, scoring each of the game’s first three goals in the first period. Kyle Gaffney had the first, his third of the playoffs, at the 11:59 mark of the period to give the Walleye the 1-0 jump. Cam Hausinger had the lone assist on that goal. 

Jacob Truscott scored a minute and a half later, his first of the playoffs at the 13:46 mark of the first. Brandon Hawkins got the primary assist on the goal, securing his 100^th playoff point in a Walleye uniform. Nate Roy got the secondary assist on the goal. 

Brandon Kruse scored Toledo’s third goal, his second of the playoffs, just inside two minutes remaining in the period to give Toledo the 3-0 lead. Sam Craggs got the lone assist on the turnover. The Walleye took the lead to the locker room at the end of the first while being outshot 17-9 by the Komets. 

Jacob Truscott took an interference minor just one minute into the second period, giving Fort Wayne the first power play chance of the day. Toledo killed off that penalty.

A minute and a half later, Tanner Dickinson tapped in a puck in the crease for his second goal of the playoffs, putting Toledo up 4:0 at the 4:37 mark of the second. Garrett Van Wyhe had the lone assist on the goal. 

Dru Krebs took a high-sticking minor on a breakaway, putting Toledo on their first power play of the night at the 12:55 mark of the second, which the Komets killed off. Josh Bloom and Reilly Funk got matching roughing minors, the first such penalties of the contest, which put the teams 4-on-4 at the 17:25 mark of the second. 

Harrison Rees got the Komets on the board with his first goal of the playoffs, scoring to cut the Walleye lead back down to three at the 18:38 mark of the second, still in 4-on-4 play. Jalen Smereck and Matt Brown got the assists on the goal. 

The Walleye still held a 4-1 lead going to the locker rooms after the second, outshooting Fort Wayne 11-5 in the period. Brandon Kruse and Matt Copponi each got roughing minors at the end of the second as the teams were heading off the ice, starting the third period in 4-on-4 action. 

Sam Craggs took a holding minor at the 8:40 mark of the third, giving the Komets another shot at the power play. Matt Miller took a slashing minor with 53 seconds left on Craggs’ penalty, negating the rest of Fort Wayne’s power play and putting Toledo on the power play for the 1:07 after Craggs’s penalty expires. Neither team scored on the chances, and Brady Stonehouse and Brandon Hawkins each earned double-minors for roughing, going 5-on-5 still at the 12:50 mark of the third. 

William Dufour took a holding minor and a misconduct, ending his night and putting Toledo on the power play for the night with four minutes to go in regulation. Garrett Van Wyhe appeared to have scored on the power play, but the goal was called back. Tyler Imamoto took a slashing penalty with 15 seconds to go in regulation, bringing Fort Wayne’s total up to 26 on the night. 

Local 245 Three Stars:

1 – G Carter Gylander, TOL (W, 27 SV, .964 SV%)

2 – F Kyle Gaffney, TOL (1 G)

3 – F Garrett Van Wyhe, TOL (1 A, +3)

What’s Next:

The Walleye will head back to Fort Wayne for game six of the series against Fort Wayne, scheduled for Tuesday, May 19^th at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. Puck drop for the game is set for 7:35 PM.