Walleye fall short in overtime loss to Wings

KALAMAZOO, MI – The Toledo Walleye fell to the Kalamazoo Wings 3-2 in overtime on Saturday night at the Wings Event Center.

What Happened:

The Toledo Walleye swam North to close a home-and-home weekend series with the Kalamazoo Wings.

Jan Bednar started between the pipes for the Walleye. Matt Anderson and Michael Prapavessis manned the defence while Sam Craggs, Conlan Keenan and Brandon Kruse led the Toledo attack.

Hunter Vorva defended the home net for the Wings.  Derek Daschke and Connor Walters staffed the defence while Luke Morgan, Collin Adams and Jordan Seyfert filled out the attack for Kalamazoo.

The lone action in a quick-and-quiet first period was a Walleye power play when Ayden MacDonald was sent to the Wings penalty box for Cross-Checking at 7:15. The Wings killed off the power play.

The first period action closed with the Walleye and Wings in a scoreless tie.

The Walleye and Wings shot even at 9-9 in the period. Toledo Was 0/1 on the power play in the period, while Kalamazoo did not have a chance.

The Wings found the board first to begin the second period action as Joshua Passolt slid the puck in the five-hole to put the Wings up 1-0 at 12:32. David Keefer added a solo assist on the icebreaker.

Another back-and-forth period in the second period finished with the Walleye trailing the Wings 1-0.

The Walleye outshot the Wings 11-4 in the period and 20-13 cumulatively. Neither team had a power play in the period.

The Walleye kicked off the third period by tying the score at 1-1 at 5:54. Trenton Bliss found paydirt for the second time in as many days to even the score. Kruse netted a solo assist on the equalizer.

Kalamazoo reclaimed the lead at 10:48 when Daschke flipped one past Bednar. Adams and Morgan assisted the tally.

The Wings got their first power play of the night at 12:30 after Riley McCourt was sent to the Walleye penalty box for Tripping. The Walleye killed off the penalty.

The Fish pulled Bednar in favor of an extra skater and it pulled off as Orrin Centazzo found the net to tie the game at 2-2. Bliss and Brandon Hawkins assisted the score. The assist was the 103^rd of Hawkins’ Walleye career, tying him for 4^th most all-time with Evan Rankin.

The horns sounded with the Walleye and the Wings tied 2-2, sending the game to overtime.

The Walleye outshot the Wings 9-6 in the period and 29-19 cumulatively. Toledo did not have a power play chance in the period, while Kalamazoo was 0/1.

The Wings claimed the win at 1:59 when Passolt had an empty net due to a collision, allowing the Wings to win 3-2. Jacob Nordqvist and Erik Bradford assisted the game-winner.

Kalamazoo took both shots on goal in the third period.

The Walleye outshot the Wings 29-21 overall. Both Toledo and Kalamazoo were 0/1 on the power play.

Three Stars Sponsored by Local 245:

1. Joshua Passolt (2G, GWG/OT)
2. Hunter Vorva (W, 27/29 SV)
3. Derek Daschke (1G)

What’s Next:

The Toledo Walleye will head South to visit the Cincinnati Cyclones at the Heritage Bank Center on Friday, February 16, 2024, with puck drop coming at 7:35 pm ET.