Kalamazoo, MI - The Toledo Walleye close out their two game series against the Kalamazoo Wings with a 4-3 victory in Kalamazoo. After an early goal by Preston, the Walleye jumped ahead with goals by Zech and Funk, and Nick Nardecchia backed it up with the 4th goal of the night and his second of the season.
Here's how it happened:
Toledo didn't waste any time in the first period, putting up 24 shots on goal and holding Kalamazoo to just 6 the entire period. Kalamazoo got caught with an early penalty but their defense held, keeping the score at 0-0. Toledo picked up a penalty of their own at the midway point, but the game remained scoreless after 20:00 minutes.
Kalamazoo struck just :55 seconds into the second period, extending Toledo’s brutal 7 game drought without an opening goal. The Walleye kept it moving, answering with a goal of their own by #43 Quinn Preston after an errant pass by the Wings, with #48 Kyle Gaffney and #15 Marcus Crawford picked up assists. Kalamazoo once again jumped ahead, putting up their second goal of the night at 12:25, the final goal of the period.
After Kalamazoo got ahead early in the second period, #77 Cooper Zech followed suit with a goal only :22 into period 3, tying the game at 2-2. #22 Reilly Funk joined the party with a goal of his own 4 minutes later with assists by #16 Brandon Hawkins and #5 Nick Andrews, his second assist of the night, and was the first lead of the night for the Walleye.
Only a minute later, #24 Nick Nardecchia found the net for his second goal of the season, and put Toledo up by 2 with only 5:35 played in the third. The Walleye slowed things down for the rest of the period, only interrupted by a Kalamazoo goal in the final 5 minutes, but closed the game out with a 4-3 victory.
Local 245 Three Stars:
1. TOL - N. Nardecchia
2. TOL - C. Zech
3. TOL - N. Andrews
After opening the season with 7 straight road games, the Walleye return home to the Huntington center TOMORROW to face off against the Fort Wayne Komets. Join the fun at the Opening Night Block Party at Hensville Park from 4pm-6pm, then head on over to the Huntington Center as we kick off our home season vs. rival Fort Wayne. You can catch the game LIVE on FloHockey or listen at 1230 The Gambler.
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