Eight Fish find the net in Mikesch's first Toledo win

Fort Wayne, IN. – The Toledo Walleye claimed a commanding 9-2 victory over the Fort Wayne Komets on Friday night at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne.

What Happened:

The Walleye went to Fort Wayne looking to bounce back from the season-opening overtime loss against Kalamazoo.

Jan Bednar would make his first start of the season for the Fish in the net. Grant Gabriele and Riley McCourt would man the defense while Brandon Hawkins, Trenton Bliss and Orrin Centazzo would be on the attack.

Francios Brassard would be between the pipes for the Komets. Xavier Bernard and Connor Corcoran would be the initial defense, while Alexis D’Aoust, Matt Wedman and Carl Berglund would be on the attack for Fort Wayne.

Fort Wayne would start the first period action with a goal at 4:25 by Cam Wright. Xavier Cormier picked up the lone assist. Alexandre Doucet evened up the game at 1-1 with a deflection goal at 5:01. Sam Craggs and Matt Anderson each notched their first assists of the season. Jake Gatenby would be sent to the box for Fort Wayne at 6:12 for slashing, giving the Walleye their first power play of the game. Brandon Hawkins sniped his first goal of the season on the power play at 7:29 with help from Mitch Lewandowski and Trenton Bliss, putting the Walleye ahead 2-1. Matt Wedman found the net for Fort Wayne at 9:21 to tie the game back up at 2-2. Jake Johnson and Jack Dugan assisted the equalizer for the Komets. The Walleye would respond right away as Centazzo power a one-timer past Brassard to put the Walleye in front 3-2. Bliss and Hawkins collected the assists, the second point of the game for both. The Walleye would give Fort Wayne two power play attempts. Chase Gresock was sent to the box at 12:03 for Delay of Game. The Komets were unable to convert the power play chance. Centazzo would be sent to the box at 15:00 for slashing, the Komets were also unable to convert that power play. Darien Kielb would be sent to the box for Hooking at 17:23. The Walleye would be given their second man-advantage of the game, but were unable to convert. That would end the first period action with the Walleye up 3-2. The Fish outshot the Komets 17-12 in the first period. The Walleye were 1/2 in power play chances in the first frame, while the Komets were 0/2 with a man-advantage.

The second period action began with Jake Willets saucing his way to a goal after a rebound, making it 4-2 Walleye at 5:31. Craggs netted the lone assist on the score. Craggs would follow with a goal of his own on a two-on-one at 6:56, with Doucet getting the assist. The score was Craggs’ third point of the night and Doucet’s second. Dugan would get sent to the Fort Wayne box at 8:09 for hooking, giving the Fish their third power play opportunity. The Walleye would convert the power play as Lewandowski found the net with help from Gresock and Will Cullen, boosting it to 6-2 Walleye at 9:10. Hawkins would be sent to the penalty box at 12:18 for interference, giving the Komets their third power play. Fort Wayne would yet again be unable to convert. Morgan Adams-Moisan would be sent to the box for Fort Wayne for elbowing at 16:53. The Walleye would not be able to convert the power play, ending the period with a 6-2 lead. The Fish and Komets each recorded 11 shots in the second frame. Toledo was 1/2 on power plays in the period, jumping to 2/4 overall, while Fort Wayne was 0/1 on the period, moving to 0/3 on the night.

The third period would kick off with a Fort Wayne power play after Cullen was assessed an Interference minor. The Komets would once again fail to convert the advantage as Kielb would be assessed a Hooking minor for the Komets at 3:05, dropping the game to four-on-four for 38 seconds. The Fish would need just three seconds to score, as Brandon Kruse scooped the faceoff and smacked it past Brassard at 3:08, making it 7-2 Toledo. Conlan Keenan would get the solo assist for his first point. The Walleye would quickly score again as Doucet tapped in a pass at 4:57 for his second goal, making it 8-2 Walleye. Gresock and Cullen each collected their second assists of the game. The goal collected the third converted power play of the night for the Walleye. Bernard was assessed an Interference minor at 7:07, giving the Walleye another power play chance. The Fish did not convert the advantage. Dugan would be assessed High-sticking at 9:38, giving Toledo another chance with an advantage. The Walleye could not convert the opportunity. Absolute chaos would ensue during the final ten minutes of the game. Keenan and Bernard would each be assessed Roughing minors at 12:09, dropping it to four-on-four. Then at 13:38, Kirill Tyutyayev and Nolan Volcan would each be sent to the penalty boxes for Toledo and Fort Wayne respectively. Tyutyayev was assessed a Slashing minor, while Volcan was assessed a Cross-Checking minor. In the midst of all the penalties, Cullen slid his first goal past Brassard at 14:24, making it 9-2 Walleye. Gabriele and Doucet assisted the score, netting the fourth point of the game for Doucet and the third for Cullen, while Gabriele tallied his second point. Adrien Beraldo would have his night end early, as at 16:32, he would be assessed a double minor for Roughing, and a game misconduct for Continued Altercation. That would give Fort Wayne a fifth power play, which they could not convert. The power play chance ended early after Willets and Cormier were sent to their respective boxes at 17:19 and both were assessed double minors for Roughing. The Komets would be handed the final penalty of the night at 18:51 for Slashing. That would give the Walleye their eighth and final man-advantage of the evening, which they did not convert. That would end a third period which saw 13 penalties and six power plays between the two teams. The Komets outshot the Walleye in the period 13-12. The Walleye were 1/4 in the frame on power plays while Fort Wayne was 0/2 with a man-advantage in the third period.

That would wrap the bludgeoning dished out by Toledo, as they claimed a 9-2 win over the Komets. The Walleye outshot the Komets 40-36 overall during the game. The Fish were 3/8 overall on power plays while the Komets were 0/5.

Three Stars Presented by Local 245:

1. Will Cullen (1G, 2A) – TOL
2. Sam Craggs (1G, 2A) – TOL
3. Alexandre Doucet (2G, 2A) - TOL

What’s Next:

The Walleye will return home for Opening Weekend on Friday, November 3, 2023 against Reading at the Huntington Center. Puck drop will be at 7:15 pm ET.