Craggs records first professional hat trick as Toledo trounces Iowa

CORALVILLE, IA – The Toledo Walleye defeated the Iowa Heartlanders 7-3 on Saturday night at Xtream Arena.

What Happened:

The Toledo Walleye remained in Iowa for game two of the three-game series against the Iowa Heartlanders.

Jan Bednar would defend the net for the Walleye. Matt Anderson and Riley McCourt would man the defence, with Brandon Hawkins, Trenton Bliss and Mitch Lewandowski leading the Toledo attack.

Peyton Jones would be between the pipes for the Heartlanders. Robbie Stucker and Ben Brinkman would staff the defence, while Will Calverley, Jack Durflinger and Liam Coughlin would be on the attack for Iowa.

The first action of the game would be four-on-four hockey at 10:52 when Conlan Keenan and Louis Boudon exchanged Roughing minors for Toledo and Iowa respectively.

The Walleye would have the first true power play of the game at 15:27 when Chris Lipe was sent to the Heartlanders penalty box for Holding. The Heartlanders would successfully fend off the power play.

That would wrap the action in the first frame with Toledo and Iowa scoreless. The Walleye outshot the Heartlanders 16-5 in the period. Toledo was 0/1 on the power play in the period, while Iowa did not have an opportunity.

The second period action would begin with Hawkins burying the puck in the net at :23. Bliss and Lewandowski netted the assists on the icebreaker.

The Heartlanders got their first man-advantage at 3:02 when Lewandowski was sent to the Walleye penalty box for Tripping.

The Iowa man-advantage would expand to five-on-three at 4:15 when Brandon Kruse was assessed a Tripping minor of his own.

The Heartlanders would convert the power play to knot the game at 1-1 at 4:57. Maxim Cajkovic would find the net for the second time in as many days to even the score. Stucker and Brett Budgell assisted the equalizer.

Toledo would take the lead back at 8:27 when Sam Craggs found paydirt to make the score 2-1 Fish. Anderson and Kirill Tyutyayev added assists to the score.

The Heartlanders would get their next power play chance at 10:01 when Adrien Beraldo was sent away for High-Sticking.

Iowa would get another expanded power play at 11:10 when McCourt was sent to the Toledo penalty box for Tripping and was also given a ten-minute Misconduct.

The Heartlanders would knot the score back at 2-2 when Odeen Tufto converted the five-on-three advantage with a goal. Budgell and Cajkovic were the helping-hands on the score.

The Walleye would get their next power play chance at 16:43 when Brinkman was sent to the Heartlanders box for Roughing.

The Fish would convert the power play at 16:57 when Will Cullen found paydirt to reclaim the lead at 3-2. Hawkins and Bliss did the dishes, each collecting their second points of the game.

That would bring the second frame action to a close with the Walleye leading the Heartlanders 3-2. The Walleye outshot the Heartlanders 13-10 in the period and 29-15 cumulatively. Toledo was 1/1 on the power play in the period, while Iowa was 2/4.

The third period action would begin with a Walleye power play at 2:24 after Tufto was sent away for High-Sticking.

The Fish would convert the power play again, this time with Kruse finding the net at 3:12 to extend his point streak to six games. Hawkins and Bliss added assists on the second consecutive goal.

Toledo would open lead to 5-2 when Craggs found the net for the second time on the night at 6:20. Tyutyayev and Michael Prapavessis landed assists on the score.

Iowa would get their next man-advantage at 8:39 when Anderson was sent to the Toledo box for High-Sticking. Toledo would successfully kill off the power play.

The Walleye would tack on another at 11:48 when Keenan lit the lamp to extend the lead to 6-2. Cullen and Carson Denomie added the assists on the tally.

Toledo would get another power play chance at 14:59 when Brinkman was assessed a Delay of Game minor.

The Fish would convert the power play once more at 15:26 when Craggs tapped his third goal of the night past Jones for his first professional hat trick! Chase Gresock and Cullen collected the assists on the goal.

The Heartlanders would get a man-advantage when Keenan was sent to the Walleye box for Holding at 16:28. Denomie and Durflinger would also exchange blows with each being assessed Roughing minors and ten-minute Misconducts for the Walleye and Heartlanders respectively.

The Heartlanders would convert the power play at 18:16 when Boudon found the net to convert the power play. Casey Dornbach and Tufto added assists on the final tally.

The horns would sound, with the Toledo Walleye claiming a 7-3 win over the Iowa Heartlanders.

The Walleye outshot the Heartlanders 14-9 in the period and 43-24 overall. Toledo was 2/2 on the power play in the period and 3/4 overall, while Iowa was 1/2 on the power play in the period and 3/6 overall.

Three Stars Sponsored by Local 245:

1. Sam Craggs (3G) – TOL
2. Trenton Bliss (3A) – TOL
3. Maxim Cajkovic (1G, 1A) – IA 

What’s Next:

The Toledo Walleye will remain in Iowa to close out the three-game weekend series with the Iowa Heartlanders tomorrow, Sunday, December 17, 2023, with puck drop coming at 2:05 CT (3:05 ET) at Xtream Arena in Coralville, IA.