Toledo Walleye Weekly Release No. 19: March 6, 2023

Overall Record: 36-15-4-2, 1st Central Division, Current Streak: 15 Unbeaten

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

March 1 at Fort Wayne (5-3 Win)

March 4 vs. Iowa (4-1 Win)

March 5 vs. Wheeling (1-0 Win)

THIS WEEK’S GAMES (All Times Eastern)

March 8 at Wheeling at 10:45 a.m. (10:30 a.m., Fox Sports Radio 1230)

March 10 at Kalamazoo at 7 p.m. (6:45 p.m., Fox Sports Radio 1230)

March 11 at Indy at 7 p.m. (6:45 p.m., Fox Sports Radio 1230)

Walleye Notes

Rolling along: The Walleye kicked off the first week of March adding three more to the win column with victories over Fort Wayne, Iowa, and Wheeling. On Wednesday, Toledo set a new franchise record, grabbing their 11th straight win in a hard-fought 5-3 decision over the rival Komets. Saturday night, the success continued with a 4-1 home victory over the Heartlanders and win number 13 came on Sunday as the Walleye took a tight 1-0 shutout over the visiting Nailers. Not only did Toledo notch their 13th straight win on Sunday evening, but it also became the 15th straight game that the Walleye have gone unbeaten in regulation. Those 13 wins have Toledo tied for the fifth-longest all-time ECHL winning streak.

Seven straight is good: Rookie netminder Sebastian Cossa took center stage over the weekend as his partner, John Lethemon, got the call up to Grand Rapids. On Saturday night, the 20-year-old saved 32 of Iowa’s 33 shots in the home Walleye win. This was the only goal he has allowed in three games against the Heartlanders this season. Statistically speaking, Cossa went 165 minutes and 22 seconds without allowing an Iowa goal. On Sunday, Cossa earned his career-best seventh-straight win in the Toledo net along with his fourth professional shutout after registering 23 saves against Wheeling. The winning weekend improved his record to 20-13-0 and bumped him into the seventh spot among all goaltenders in the league with a 2.50 goals-against average. The Toledo goaltending tandem of Cossa and Lethemon also leads the league with four shutouts apiece with all of them coming in the last six weeks.

Hawkins saves the day: Not only does Walleye forward Brandon Hawkins lead the team in points (63) and goals (30) this season, but he also sits sixth on the league’s overall leaders list with 30 goals and 33 assists in 51 games played. Additionally, the 28-year-old leads the league in power play points with 29; this number indicates that almost half of his points this season have come on a Toledo man advantage. Hawkins also sits first in the league with 260 shots, averaging 5.1 per game. With four goals in three games last week, including two game-winners, Hawkins extended his point streak to ten games. The forward has totaled 17 points (11G, 6A) in those last ten appearances for the Walleye.

On the road again: Toledo kicks off a five-game road stint on Wednesday morning in Wheeling. The Walleye have taken their last three matchups against the Nailers, improving this season’s record to 5-3-2 with one final meeting left between the teams in the regular season. On Friday night, the Walleye will visit Kalamazoo for the sixth time this season. Toledo owns a 6-3-1 record over the K-Wings with the last five matchups going to the Fish and just four remaining. The Walleye will be in Indy for just the second time this season on Saturday night. The Fuel took the first game between the two this season, but Toledo heads into the matchup with the last two games under their belt.

Walleye Player of the Week:

Brandon Hawkins (4 goals = 4 points)

Walleye Goaltender of the Week:

Sebastian Cossa (2-0-0, 0.50 GAA, .982 save %)