Centazzo, Tuomisto combine for five goals in overtime win over Cyclones

CINCINNATI, OH – The Toledo Walleye defeated the Cincinnati Cyclones 6-5 in overtime on Saturday night at the Heritage Bank Center.

What Happened:

The Toledo Walleye headed South to Cincinnati for the first time in the 2023-24 season to finish out a home-and-home weekend with the Cyclones.

John Lethemon would be between the pipes for the Walleye. Riley McCourt and Antti Tuomisto would patrol the defence, while Brandon Hawkins, Orrin Centazzo and Trenton Bliss led the Toledo attack.

Tonight’s game was the 250^th professional game in Hawkins’ career.

Julian Sime would defend the home net for the Cyclones. Jalen Smereck and Josh Burnside would man the defence, while Justin Vaive, Zack Andrusial and Louie Caporusso would staff the Cincinnati attack.

The Cyclones would get the action started with a goal at 3:25 by Lincoln Griffin. Ole Julian Bjorgvik-Holm and Steven MacLean netted assists on the icebreaker.

Cincinnati would strike again at 7:33 when Luka Burzan found the net, getting help from Tim Doherty and Matthew Cairns to make it 2-0 Cyclones.

The Cyclones would stretch the early lead to three as they came right back down to score again at 8:25. This time it was Patrick Polino that put one past Lethemon. Griffin and Sahil Panwar tallied the assists on the score.

The Cyclones would get the first power play chance of the game at 9:13 when Sam Craggs was sent to the Toledo penalty box for Hooking.

The Walleye would successfully kill off the power play.

Toledo would get their first power play chance at 11:39 when Panwar was sent to the Cincinnati penalty box for Elbowing.

The Walleye would convert the power play at 12:49 when Centazzo slipped one past Sime. McCourt and Brandon Kruse netted the assists, extending Kruse’s point streak to four games.

That would wrap the action in the first frame with the Cyclones leading the Walleye 3-1.

The Walleye outshot the Cyclones 14-11 in the period. Toledo was 1/1 on the power play in the period, while Cincinnati was 0/1.

 The second period action began with a Toledo power play at 5:35 when Polino was sent to the Cincinnati penalty box for Hooking.

Toledo would convert the power play at 5:41 when Centazzo would bury his second goal and power play goal of the evening to make it 3-2. Kruse and McCourt would once again get the assists, this time in the opposite order.

The Walleye would get their next man-advantage at 6:36 when Caporusso was sent away for Hooking.

The Cyclones would kill off the power play successfully.

The Walleye would come all the way back to tie it when Centazzo found the net for a third time. Hawkins and Adrien Beradlo added assists to the equalizer.

The Cyclones would get their second man-advantage of the evening at 14:19 when Matt Anderson was assessed an Interference minor.

The Walleye would successfully kill off the power play.

Cincinnati would get one last power play in the period at 18:07 when Craggs was sent away for Tripping, allowing the period to close on a power play.

The second frame would come to a close with :07 remaining on one power play and another on the horizon as McCourt was assessed a Roughing minor as the horns sounded.

At the end of the second period, the Walleye and Cyclones were tied 3-3.

The Walleye outshot the Cyclones 9-6 in the period and 23-17 cumulatively. Toledo was 1/2 on the power play in the period, while Cincinnati was 0/1 on completed power plays.

The third period would begin with the Walleye killing off both power plays that carried over from the second frame.

The Fish would get their next man-advantage at 3:18 when Polino was sent away for Tripping.

Toledo would convert the power play at 4:43 when Tuomisto found the back of the net for his second goal in as many days. Will Cullen got the solo assist on the score to take the lead 4-3.

Chaos would ensue at the puck drop as Darian Pilon and Nick Isaacson would drop the gloves with both picking up five-minute majors for Fighting and ten-minute Game Misconducts for Toledo and Cincinnati respectively.

The Fish would extend the lead at 6:15 when Conlan Keenan put one past Sime to make it 5-3. Kirill Tyutyayev and Sam Craggs would be the helping-hands on the score.

The Cyclones would bring it back within one at 8:18 when Smereck put one past Lethemon to make it 5-4. Panwar and Griffin collected their second assists of the evening.

Cincinnati would tie it back up at 5-5 when Doherty found paydirt at 18:24. Burzan and Smereck did the dishes on the late equalizer.

That would wrap the third frame with Toledo and Cincinnati tied at 5-5, which meant there would be overtime.

The Walleye and Cyclones both put 10 shots on goal in the period, with the Walleye outshooting the Cyclones 33-27 cumulatively. Toledo was 1/1 on the power play in the period, while Cincinnati was 0/2 on power plays completed in the period.

The Walleye would take home the victory in overtime as Tuomisto found the net again to give the Walleye a 6-5 win! Tyutyayev netted a solo assist on the game-winner.

Both teams tallied five shots on goal in the overtime period, with the Walleye outshooting the Cyclones 38-32 overall. Toledo finished 3/4 on the power play, while Cincinnati was 0/4.

Three Stars Sponsored by Local 245:

1. Tim Doherty (1G, 1A) – CIN
2. Lincoln Griffin (1G, 2A) – CIN
3. Conlan Keenan (1G) – TOL

What’s Next:

The Toledo Walleye will head West for a weekend series against the Iowa Heartlanders in Coralville, IA. The first game will take place on Friday, December 15, 2023, at Xtream Arena with puck drop coming at 6:35 pm CT (7:35 pm ET).