Walleye burn Fuel, clinch Central Division

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – The Toledo Walleye defeated the Indy Fuel 3-2 on Wednesday night at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum, clinching the 2023-24 Central Division crown.

How it Happened:

The Toledo Walleye returned to Indianapolis for a rematch with the Indy Fuel needing a regulation win to claim the Central Division title.

John Lethemon started between the pipes for the visiting Walleye. Jacob Graves and Riley McCourt patrolled the blue line while Riley Sawchuk, Brandon Kruse and Alexandre Doucet led the Toledo attack.

Mitchell Weeks defended the net for the host Fuel. Ross MacDougall and Andrew Perrott manned the defense while Kyle Maksimovich, Cam Hillis and Brett Bulmer filled out the Indy front.

The Walleye got the action underway at 3:15 when Kruse found the net to put the Walleye ahead 1-0. Doucet added a solo assist to the icebreaker.

The Fish doubled their lead at 18:03 when Graves lit the lamp for the first time as a Walleye and just the second time this season. McCourt and Kruse added assists, the helper being the second point of the night for Kruse.

That wrapped the first frame with the Walleye leading the Fuel 2-0. The Walleye were outshot 5-9 in the period by the Fuel. Neither team had a power play chance in the period.

The second period action began with a Fuel power play at 5:14 when Matt Anderson was penalized for Slashing.

The Fuel converted the power play chance at 7:12 when Jon Martin sliced the lead in half. Cam Hausinger and MacDougall added assists on the score.

The Fuel got their next power play chance at 10:09 when Sam Craggs was sent to the Walleye penalty box for Interference. The Walleye killed off the penalty.

The Fuel evened the score at 2-2 at 12:17 when Maksimovich hit twine. MacDougall and Weeks added assists to the equalizer.

The Walleye got their first power play chance when Hillis was penalized for High-Sticking at 19:21, meaning most of the power play would occur in the third period.

That wrapped the second set of 20 minutes with the Walleye and Fuel tied 2-2.

The Walleye were outshot by the Fuel 3-8 in the period and 8-17 after two periods. Toledo did not complete a power play chance in the period, while Indy was 1/2.

The third period began with the Fuel killing off the remainder of penalty.

The Fuel got their next power play chance when Cole Cameron was caught for High-Sticking at 5:34. The Walleye killed off the power play.

The Walleye got their next man-advantage at 13:50 when Hillis was penalized for Holding.

The Walleye converted the power play at 14:08 when Trenton Bliss reclaimed the lead for the Fish at 3-2. Brandon Hawkins and McCourt picked apples on the go-ahead goal. The assist marked Hawkins’ 86^th point of the season, tying Shane Berschbach for the most points in a single season by a Walleye.

The Walleye fought off the late effort by the Fuel which saw them pull Weeks for an extra skater.

The horns sounded with the Walleye defeating the Indy Fuel 3-2 to officially clinch the 2023-24 Central Division title.

Three Stars Sponsored by Local 245:

1. Trenton Bliss (1G; GWG) – TOL
2. Brandon Kruse (1G, 1A) – TOL
3. Kyle Maksimovich (1G) – IND

What’s Next:

The Toledo Walleye will return home to host the Wheeling Nailers in the nightcap of day one of Fins and Feathers Weekend on Friday, March 29, 2024, at the Huntington Center with puck drop coming at 7:15 pm ET.

TOLEDO WALLEYE SIGN COLLEGIATE FORWARD GILMOUR

Today, the Toledo Walleye signed collegiate forward Brady Gilmour from the University of New Brunswick. Gilmour skated in 30 games at the University of New Brunswick this season, tallying 41 points (12G, 29A) and 8 penalty minutes. Over his four seasons at the institution, Gilmour accumulated 113 points (30G, 83A) and 8 penalty minutes over 102 games played.

The Grafton, ONT native and former Red Wings draft pick (2017; 7^th, 193) also previously spent four OHL seasons with the Saginaw Spirit, totaling 134 points (57G, 77A) and 28 penalty minutes over 231 games played.