Walleye fall to Wings in preseason closer

TOLEDO, Ohio - The Walleye concluded the 2022 preseason on Saturday night with a 5-2 loss to the Wings on home ice. Gordie Green and Brandon Hawkins earned a goal apiece in the game. 

Although Toledo dominated the opening period finding 13 shots on goal to Kalamazoo's nine, both teams headed back to the locker room all tied up after the first 20 minutes of play. Toledo's Gordie Green, with the assistance of Mitchell Heard, gave the Walleye their first lead of the game 11:24 into the first.

The Walleye saw their first power play of the game when Wings forward Bair Gendunov headed to the box for tripping at 12:49. The Wings got the penalty kill and went on to tie the game with just under two minutes left in the first off a goal from Chad Nychuck.

Toledo went to work on the penalty kill after Simon Denis headed to the box for tripping in the first minute of the second period. The Walleye prevented any Wings scoring opportunities in those two minutes.

At the ten-minute mark, Walleye goalie Max Milosek was replaced by Rylan Parenteau. At 13:57, Toledo's Mitchell Heard earned his first penalty of the game off a slashing call. Parenteau headed to the bench 16 seconds later for Toledo to have the man advantage as a delayed hooking penalty came against Kalamazoo's Mason McCarty at 14:20. 

A shot by Walleye defender Kurt Gosselin made it past Wings goaltender Hunter Vorva at 14:48 of the second. After review, the goal was overturned due to goalie interference and the score remained tied at 1-1. 

With a minute to spare in the second, Toledo's Kurt Gosselin wound up in the box following a tripping call. The Fish kept the game at a 1-1 tie after 40, outshooting the Wings for a second straight period at nine to six. 

Kalamazoo wasted no time in the third as Logan Lambdin snuck one past Parenteau 22 seconds into the remaining minute of the Wings power play. Kalamazoo's Mason McCarty added another three minutes later to make it a 3-1 game.

Wings defender Chad Nychuk netted his second of the game at 12:53 of the third, just two seconds after Hunter Vorva headed to the Kalamazoo bench for the man advantage. Toledo's Brandon Hawkins, assisted by Tommy Parran and Ryan Lowney, responded just over two minutes later to make it a two-goal game.

Kalamazoo's Daniel D'Amico buried one more on an empty Walleye net at 17:42 of the third. The Wings held onto this lead to defeat the Walleye, 5-2, in regulation, despite being outshot 32 to 26. 

Walleye goaltenders Max Milosek and Rylan Parenteau each saw a period and a half of playing time. Milosek made twelve saves and Parenteau secured nine. 

Up Next:

The Walleye open up the regular season on Saturday, October 22 in Wheeling as they take on the Nailers at 7:10 p.m.

Three Stars:

1) KAL - C. Nychuk (2G)

2) KAL - L. Lambdin (1G)

3) TOL - B. Hawkins (1G)