Three Fish find the net in shootout loss

TOLEDO – The Toledo Walleye fell to the Cincinnati Cyclones 4-3 in a shootout on Wednesday night at the Huntington Center.

What Happened:

The Toledo Walleye welcomed the Cincinnati Cyclones into the Huntington Center to start a four-game week.

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

Olof Lindbom would start between the pipes for the Cyclones. Ole Julian Bjorgvik-Holm and Reece Harsch would man the defence with Zack Andrusiak, Tim Doherty and Justin Vaive filling out the Cincinnati attack.

The Cyclones would get the action started at :54 when Josh Burnside slipped one past Bednar to put the Cyclones up 1-0. Andrusiak and Vaive added assists to the icebreaker.

The Walleye would get their first power play chance at 1:29 when Patrick Polino was sent to the Cyclones penalty box for Holding.

Toledo would convert the power play at 2:08 when Bliss sniped one past Lindbom to tie the game at 1-1. McCourt and Hawkins tallied assists on the score.

The Walleye would get another power play chance at 6:30 when Vaive was sent away for Roughing.

The Cyclones would storm down the ice to take the lead back at 6:38 when Polino scored an unassisted shorthanded goal to make it 2-1 Cyclones. The Cyclones would additionally kill off the power play.

Toledo would get another man-advantage at 13:13 when Sahil Panwar was sent away for High-Sticking. Cincinnati would fend off the power play.

That would close the first period action with the Cyclones leading the Walleye 2-1.

The Walleye outshot the Cyclones 11-10 in the period. Toledo was 1/3 on the power play in the period while Cincinnati did not have an opportunity.

The second period action would begin with a Cyclones power play at 2:08 when Brandon Kruse was sent to the Walleye penalty box for Hooking. The Walleye successfully killed off the power play.

Cincinnati would extend their lead to 3-1 at 11:30 when Burnside found the net for the second time on the night. Jalen Smereck collected the solo assist on the tally.

The Fish would bring it back within one at 15:08 when Sam Craggs found paydirt from Riley Sawchuk and Kruse.

Hawkins and Harsch would exchange blows at 17:01, resulting in both being assessed five-minute majors for Fighting.

That would draw the second frame to a close with the Cyclones leading the Walleye 3-2.

The Walleye were outshot by the Cyclones 6-10 in the period and 17-20 cumulatively. Toledo did not have a power play chance in the period, while Cincinnati was 0/1.

The third period action would start would a Walleye power play at :51 when Alex Wideman was sent to the Cyclones penalty box for Hooking. The Cyclones would kill off the power play.

Cincinnati would get their next power play chance at 4:59 when Adrien Beraldo and Vaive exchanged blows. Both would be assessed five-minute majors for fighting, while Beraldo would also be given two minutes for Instigating, leaving Toledo a man down. Toledo would kill off the power play.

The two teams would exchange penalties again at 7:44 dropping it to four-on-four hockey. Orrin Centazzo was assessed a Roughing penalty for Toledo, while Smereck was assessed an Interference penalty for Cincinnati.

The Walleye would gain a four-on-three advantage at 7:56 when Louie Caporusso was sent to the Cyclones box for Holding. All penalties were killed off.

The Fish would get their next power play chance at 14:08 when Lincoln Griffin was sent to the Cyclones penalty box for High-Sticking.

The Walleye would convert the power play to knot the game at 3-3 at 15:17 when Hawkins buried the puck into the twine to keep the team lead tied between himself and Craggs at 16. Centazzo and McCourt were the helping-hands on the equalizer.

The Fish would remain on the power play as Lee Lapid was sent away for the Cyclones at the time of the goal for High-Sticking. The Cyclones would kill off the power play.

That would wrap the third period action and send the game to overtime at 3-3.

The teams shot even in the period, with the Cyclones outshooting the Walleye cumulatively 29-26. Toledo was 1/3 on the power play in the period while Cincinnati was 0/1.

The overtime action would begin with a Cincinnati power play at :50 when McCourt was sent to the Toledo penalty box for Holding. Toledo would kill off the power play.

The Walleye would get an OT power play of their own at 3:45 when Polino was sent to the Cyclones penalty box for Slashing. The Cyclones would fend off the power play.

Cincinnati would get one final power play at 6:46 when McCourt was sent away for Holding the Stick.

Toledo would kill off the penalty as the horns sounded, signaling a shootout to decide the game.

The Walleye outshot the Cyclones in overtime 4-2, but were outshot 30-31 cumulatively. Toledo was 0/1 on the power play in overtime, while Cincinnati was 0/2.

Conlan Keenan would shoot first for the Walleye, and was unable to put it past Lindbom.

Lapid would shoot first for the Cyclones, just sneaking it past Bednar to take a 1-0 advantage.

Hawkins would shoot next for the Walleye, and just couldn’t find paydirt.

Wideman would follow for the Cyclones, and his shot was gloved by Bednar, leaving it at 1-0 Cincinnati.

Centazzo would be the final shooter for the Fish, and he could not out-maneuver Lindbom, giving Cincinnati a 4-3 Shootout victory.

The Walleye were outshot by the Cyclones 30-32 overall. Toledo was 2/8 on the power play while Cincinnati was 0/4.

Three Stars Sponsored by Local 245:

1. Lee Lapid (GWG/SO) – CIN
2. Josh Burnside (2G) – CIN
3. Brandon Hawkins (1G, 1A) – TOL

What’s Next:

The Toledo Walleye will head North to visit the Kalamazoo Wings on Friday, December 29, 2023 at the Wings Event Center, with puck drop coming at 7:00 pm ET.