Hensick's first Walleye goal is an overtime winner

CINCINNATI, Ohio – T.J. Hensick netted his first career ECHL goal 56 seconds into overtime as the Toledo Walleye claimed a 4-3 victory over the Cincinnati Cyclones on Wednesday at U.S. Bank Arena.Trailing 1-0 with fewer than four minutes remaining in the second stanza, the Walleye (2-1-1-0) erupted for three goals in a 2:56 span, only to see their lead evaporate in the third period before the four-time AHL All-Star wrapped up Toledo’s third extra session in four games. Brady Vail drew first blood for the Cyclones in the opening frame when he weaved his way to the right circle and fired a shot through traffic that grazed the inside of the right post and past Pat Nagle at the 18:30 mark. Cincinnati’s slim advantage remained intact until Dylan Sadowy potted his team-best fourth goal of the campaign 16:12 into the middle period. Daniel Leavens cleared the puck out of his own zone in the direction of Sadowy, who won the race to the puck and placed a shot into the right top corner knot the score at 1-1.The deadlock lasted all of 39 seconds as Brenden Kotyk gave the Walleye their first lead of the night. On an eventual 3-on-1, Kotyk gained the zone on the right wing and sent a shot past Michael Houser’s catching glove to make it a 2-1 contest.Toledo added a third goal with 52 seconds remaining in the same frame when Mackenze Stewart and Bryan Moore combined to set up Greg Wolfe at the right circle for another shot into the top right corner.Cincinnati regained control of the contest in the third, logging a pair of quick goals to restore parity. After Vasili Glotov won a face-off in the Toledo zone, Anthony Florentino’s effort from the point was deflected in front to trim the deficit in half at 7:35. Ninety-eight ticks later, Vail’s second tally of the night arrived when he picked up a loose puck at the left circle and snapped a shot inside the left post to secure at least a point for the hosts.The Walleye needed one offensive push to spoil Cincinnati’s comeback bid in the extra period. Matt Register did much of the heavy lifting on the attack, shrugging off a defender at the right circle and moving in close before sending a pass across to Hensick at the bottom of the left circle for a one-timer into an open cage. Toledo finished 0-for-2 on the man advantage while Cincinnati failed to cash in on three opportunities. Nagle blocked 31-of-34 shots for his second win of the season as Houser turned aside 24-of-28 sent his way.What’s Next:The Walleye conclude their five-game road swing on Friday against Fort Wayne with an 8 p.m. tilt at the Memorial Coliseum, before returning to the Huntington Center on Saturday to open the home portion of their schedule against the Komets at 7:15 p.m.Three Stars:1. Cincinnati - Brady Vail (two goals)2. Toledo - T.J. Hensick (game-winning goal)3. Cincinnati - Pascal Aquin (goal)Fish Tales:• The Walleye are 2-1 in games decided in overtime.• Prior to Wednesday’s game, the Walleye activated Leavens from reserve and placed forward Jordan Topping on reserve.• On this date 27 years ago, the Toledo Storm marked their ECHL debut with a 9-4 victory over the Raleigh IceCaps before a sold-out crowd of 5,059 at the Toledo Sports Arena.