Kalamazoo, Michigan - The Toledo Walleye won their third straight road game of the season with a nail biter against the Kalamazoo Wings, final score 3-2. Kaden Bohlsen and Tag Bertuzzi added to their tally for the season, and Cooper Zech picked up his first goal of the year.
Here's how it happened:
After a pair of preseseason matchups, Toledo and Kalamazoo squared off in Michigan for a regular season rematch. Kalamazoo wasted no time getting on the board and scored their first goal of the game :17 into the first period. #18 Sean Chisholm scored on a breakaway sprint to the net, assisted by #10 Andre Ghantous and #93 Cooper Walker.
Kalamazoo scored the second goal of the game just past the halfway point in the first period, with a goal by #10 Andre Ghantous, assisted by #8 Brandon Buhr. The Wings were also the recipient of the only minor penalty of the period, but managed to kill the penalty. Toledo put up 18 shots on goal in the first period and held Kalamazoo to only 6 for the period.
Toledo had more than a few chances to get on the board early in the second period. A pair of penalties by Kalamazoo led to a 5 on 3 for Toledo, but were once again held off by the Wings. The Walleye had yet another chance to score with a power play at 6:20 but were once again held to zero points in a man advantage.
The Walleye finally capitalized Kalamazoo's power play woes, scoring their first goal on a power play by #26 Kaden Bohlsen, assisted by #77 Cooper Zech and #12 Tanner Dickinson. With an assist from Bohlsen and #67 Mitch Lewandowski , #77 Cooper Zech scored Toledo their second goal of the game and brought the score even at 2-2 entering the third period. Toledo once again held Kalamazoo to under 10 shots on goal, and 0-1 on power plays.
The third period slowed things down for both teams. The Walleye picked up their second 2 minute minor 3:36 into the period, but again held off the Wings. With under 10 minutes left to play, #72 Jonathan Lemieux came up with a massive save after a 1 on 1 breakaway by #16 Ryan St. Louis of the Wings. The period ended after a pair of extended review calls, both negating potential Walleye goals.
In the first overtime game of the season, #84 Tag Bertuzzi wasted no time, sealing the game for Toledo with a massive assist by #28 Brandon Kruse. Toledo ended the night with 54 shots on goal and a final score of 3-2 from Kalamazoo.
Local 245 Three Stars:
1. TOL - T. Bertuzzi
2. TOL - K. Bohlsen
3. KAL - A. Koskenvuo
The Walleye win their third straight on the road, but begin their revenge tour tomorrow in Fort Wayne where they will face off against the Komets. Puck drop is at 3pm ET, and you can catch the game LIVE on FloHockey or listen at 1230 The Gambler.