Walleye take point in overtime loss to Cyclones

TOLEDO – The Toledo Walleye fell to the Cincinnati Cyclones 5-4 in overtime on Sunday evening at the Huntington Center.

What Happened:

The Toledo Walleye welcomed the Cincinnati Cyclones into the Huntington Center to finish out the weekend and a home-and-home set.

Jan Bednar defended the home net for the Walleye. Matt Anderson and Riley McCourt staffed the defence while Sam Craggs, Conlan Keenan and Brandon Kruse led the Toledo offense.

Talyn Boyko started between the pipes for the Cyclones. Reece Harsch and Josh Burnside manned the defence while Zack Andrusiak, Louie Caporusso and Justin Vaive ran the Cincinnati offense.

The Cyclones got on the board first at 6:49 as Andrusiak snuck one past Bednar. Landon Cato and Vaive added assists to the icebreaker.

Cincinnati added a second goal at 13:00 when Lee Lapid found the net from former Walleye Cole Fraser to make it 2-0 Cyclones.

The Walleye broke into the score column less than a minute later at 13:58 when Kruse lit the lamp. Craggs and Michael Prapavessis assisted the tally.

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

The Walleye outshot the Cyclones 14-7 in the period. Neither team had a power play chance in the period.

The second period action began with a Walleye power play at 8:46 when Andrusiak was sent to the Cyclones penalty box for Tripping.

The Walleye converted the power play at 10:14 to tie the game at 2-2. Chase Gresock hit twine on the power play from Prapavessis and Riley Sawchuk to knot the score.

The Walleye got another power play chance at 13:14 when Fraser was sent to the Cyclones penalty box for Roughing. The Cyclones killed off the power play successfully.

The Cyclones got their first power play chance at 18:52 when Keenan was sent to the Walleye penalty box for Slashing. The power play would carry over into the third period for the final 52 seconds.

The Fish took the lead at 19:07 when Mitch Lewandowski lit the lamp shorthanded. Jake Willets added the solo assist on the tally.

That wrapped the second period action with the Walleye leading the Cyclones 3-2.

The Walleye outshot the Cyclones 15-7 in the period and 29-14 cumulatively. Toledo was 0/2 on the power play in the period while Cincinnati did not complete a power play.

The third frame began with the Walleye killing off the Cyclones power play.

Toledo stretched the lead to two at 4:28 when Orrin Centazzo found paydirt. Brandon Hawkins and Colin Theisen were the helping-hands on the score.

Cincinnati brought it back within one at 4-3 when Lincoln Griffin put one behind Bednar at 8:02. Colton Kalezic and Tim Doherty added assists to the score.

The Cyclones knotted it back up at 10:17 when Burnside lit the lamp. Harsch and Griffin assisted the score.

The Walleye got their next power play chance at 11:59 when Doherty was sent to the Cyclones penalty box for Hooking. The Cyclones killed off the power play.

The Cyclones got their next power play chance at 19:12 when McCourt was sent to the Walleye penalty box for Boarding. The penalty would carry over into overtime for the first 1:12.

That wrapped the third period action with the Walleye and Cyclones tied at 4-4.

The Walleye outshot the Cyclones 7-6 in the period and 36-20 cumulatively. Both Toledo and Cincinnati were 0/1 on completed power plays in the period.

The overtime action started with the Walleye killing off the Cyclones power play.

Cincinnati would claim the overtime victory after Harsch found the net at 2:59 from Lapid and Griffin to seal the 5-4 overtime victory.

The Walleye were outshot 1-3 in overtime but outshot the Cyclones overall 37-23. Toledo did not have a power play chance in overtime and were 1/3 overall, while Cincinnati was 0/1 in the period and 0/2 overall.

Three Stars Sponsored by Local 245:

1. Reece Harsh (1G, 1A, GWG/OT) – CIN
2. Lincoln Griffin (1G, 2A) – CIN
3. Michael Prapavessis (2A) – TOL

What’s Next:

The Toledo Walleye will travel to Indianapolis for a midweek game against the Indy Fuel at Indiana Farmers Coliseum on Wednesday, January 10, 2024, with puck drop coming at 7:00 pm ET.