Bliss' hat trick fuels comeback over Komets

FORT WAYNE, IN – The Toledo Walleye defeated the Fort Wayne Komets 6-4 on Saturday night at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.

What Happened:

The Toledo Walleye hit the road for their sixth meeting of the year with the Fort Wayne Komets.

John Lethemon would defend the net for the Walleye. Matt Anderson and Will Cullen would man the defense while Sam Craggs, Conlan Keenan and Kirill Tyutyayev would lead the Toledo attack.

Tyler Parks would be between the pipes for the Komets. Logan Dowhaniuk and Darien Kielb would lead the defense while Shawn Szydlowski, Morgan Adams-Moisan and Jake Chiasson staffing the Fort Wayne attack.

The action would begin with a Fort Wayne power play at 3:03 as Brandon Kruse was sent to the Toledo penalty box for Slashing.

The Komets would convert the power play at 4:14 as Szydlowski would find the net. Jack Dugan and Jake Johnson would net the assists.

There would be four-on-four hockey at 5:29 as Adrien Beraldo and Martin Has were sent to their respective boxes for Toledo and Fort Wayne. Beraldo was called for Hooking, while Has was assessed Cross-Checking.

The Komets would score again at 17:20, this time Carl Berglund finding the net with a solo assist going to Nolan Volcan.

That would wrap the action from the first frame with the Komets holding a 2-0 lead over the Walleye.

Toledo outshot Fort Wayne 13-7 in the first period. Toledo did not have a power play chance in the period, while Fort Wayne was 1/1.

Fort Wayne would kick off the second period with a goal at :15 by Adams-Moisan with Szydlowski getting the assist.

Toledo would get their first power play opportunity at 7:15 when Ture Linden was sent to the Fort Wayne penalty box for High-Sticking.

The Fish would convert the power play as Trenton Bliss found the net at 7:49. Brandon Hawkins and Riley McCourt were the helping-hands on the tally.

The Walleye would strike again at 12:51 as Cullen would net his third goal of the season, all three coming against Fort Wayne. Alexandre Doucet would snag the solo assist.

Toledo would get another power play chance at 15:54 when Berglund was sent away for Tripping.

The Walleye would convert the man-advantage again with a goal by Bliss at 16:10. This time McCourt and Kruse did the dishes for Bliss to tie the game at 3-3.

Bliss would find the net a third time for the Fish at 18:12 with a solo assist by Hawkins to take a 4-3 lead. The hat trick marked the first of Bliss' professional career, and the first of the season by a Walleye player.

That would wrap the action in the second frame with Toledo holding a 4-3 lead over Fort Wayne.

Toledo outshot Fort Wayne 13-8 in the period and 26-15 cumulatively. The Walleye were 2/2 in the period with a man-advantage, while Fort Wayne did not have an opportunity.

After a long third period of back-and-forth hockey, the final 8:02 was full of action.

The Walleye would extend their lead to two at 11:58 when Riley Sawchuk found the net with help from Chase Gresock and Doucet.

Fort Wayne would pull Parks for an extra skater, allowing the Komets to score at 18:09 to make it 5-4 Walleye. Matt Wedman continued his strong play against the Walleye with the goal, his fifth goal against the Walleye this season. Connor Corcoran and Kielb added assists to the score.

Brandon Hawkins would seal the victory with an empty-netter at 18:26 to open the score to 6-4. Mitch Lewandowski tallied the solo assist to keep his assist and point streaks alive, extending both streaks to four games.

That would close the action with the Walleye claiming a 6-4 win over the Komets.

Toledo outshot Fort Wayne 10-9 in the period and 36-24 overall. Neither team had a power play in the period. The Walleye were 2/2 on the power play overall while the Komets were 1/1.

This is the first game of the season where every power play was converted.

Three Stars Sponsored by Local 245:

1. Trenton Bliss (3G) – TOL
2. Riley Sawchuk (1G) – TOL
3. Shawn Szydlowski (1G, 1A) – FW

What’s Next:

The Toledo Walleye will head east to Wheeling, West Virginia to open the December slate with the Wheeling Nailers on Friday, December 1, 2023 at WesBanco Arena with puck drop coming at 7:10 pm ET.