Walleye caught by Mariners for late loss

TOLEDO – The Toledo Walleye fell to the Maine Mariners 6-4 on Saturday night at the Huntington Center.

What Happened:

The Toledo Walleye held a rematch against the Maine Mariners on Labatt Hockey Night in Toledo for the middle game of the weekend.

Jan Bednar defended the home net for the Walleye. Brendon Michaelian and Michael Prapavessis manned the defence while Brandon Hawkins, Trenton Bliss and Orrin Centazzo led the Toledo attack.

Brad Arvanitis started between the pipes for the visiting Mariners. Zach Malatesta and Ryan Mast staffed the defence while Jimmy Lambert, Alex Kile and Chase Zieky rounded out the Maine attack.

The action began with a Mariners goal at 2:52 when Lambert hit twine for the second time in as many days. Kile added the solo assist on the icebreaker.

The Fish got their first power play chance at 15:29 when Mast was caught Tripping.

The Walleye converted the power play at 15:56 to even the score when Bliss went top-down for the tally. Hawkins and Riley McCourt added assists to the equalizer.

Maine came right back for another goal at 16:50, this time Kile finding the backside to go up 2-1. Tyler Drevitch and Wyllum Deveaux assisted the score.

The two teams would exchange Roughing minors at 19:51, resulting in the period closing with four-on-four hockey and carrying over into the second period. Adrien Beraldo and Austin Albrecht exchanged the penalties for the Walleye and Mariners respectively.

That wrapped the first period action with the Walleye trailing the Mariners 2-1.

The Walleye outshot the Mariners 12-10 in the period. Toledo was 1/1 on the power play in the period, while Maine did not have an opportunity.

The second frame began with the remainder of the four-on-four hockey being killed off.

Toledo knotted the game at 2-2 at 2:50 when Centazzo banked the puck off of Arvanitis’ back for the score. Brandon Kruse and McCourt assisted the score. The helper was McCourt’s second assist of the evening.

The Mariners got their first power play chance at 3:49 when Kruse was penalized for Tripping.

Before the penalty could be killed off, it dropped to four-on-four hockey at 5:14 when Adam Mechura was caught Hooking.

All penalties were killed off.

The Walleye claimed their first lead of the evening at 13:27 when Riley Sawchuk deflected the puck into the net for a 3-2 lead. Mitch Lewandowski and Michaelian were the helping-hands on the score.

The Walleye added on at 17:54 when Alexandre Doucet found the net for the third time in as many games. Lewandowski and Sawchuk added assists to the score.

Maine brought it back within one at 18:27 when Mechura found the net. Brooklyn Kalmikov and Fedor Gordeev added apples to the tally.

That wrapped the second period with the Walleye leading the Mariners 4-3.

The Walleye outshot the Mariners 19-4 in the period and 30-14 cumulatively. Both teams were 0/1 on the power play in the period.

The Mariners came out swinging to begin the period in quick succession.

First, at :33, Kile sniped a game-tying goal to put the score at 4-4. Mast added an assist to the score.

Then, at 1:08, Drevitch found the net to put Maine ahead 5-4. Mechura and Kalmikov did the dishes on the go-ahead goal.

After that score, John Lethemon entered the game to relieve Bednar in the crease.

In an effort to knot the score, the Fish pulled Lethemon in favor of an extra skater.

The Mariners sealed the win with an unassisted empty-netter at 19:42 by Gordeev to go up 6-4.

The horns sounded with the Walleye falling to the Maine Mariners 6-4.

The Walleye outshot the Mariners 15-6 in the period and 45-20 overall. Neither team had a power play in the period. Toledo was 1/2 on the power play overall while Maine was 0/1 overall.

Three Stars Sponsored by Local 245:

1. Alex Kile (2G, 1A) – MNE
2. Riley Sawchuk (1G, 1A) – TOL
3. Tyler Drevitch (1G, 1A) – MNE

What’s Next:

The Toledo Walleye will remain at home to finish out the weekend tomorrow, Sunday, February 25, 2024, when the Walleye welcome the Fort Wayne Komets back into the Huntington Center with puck drop at 5:15 pm ET.