Toledo Walleye Weekly Release No. 24: April 1, 2024

Overall Record: 43-14-4-5, 1st Central Division, Current Streak: 9 Wins

  

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

March 27 at Indy (3-2 Win)

March 29 vs. Wheeling (3-2 Win)

March 30 vs. Indy (3-2 Win/SO)

THIS WEEK’S GAMES (All Times Eastern)

April 3 at Iowa (7:35 p.m., Fox Sports Radio 1230)

April 5 at Iowa (7:35 p.m., Fox Sports Radio 1230)

April 6 at Iowa (7:05 p.m., Fox Sports Radio 1230)
 

WALLEYE NOTES

Staying red hot: The Toledo Walleye went 3-0-0 over last week, defeating the Indy Fuel on Wednesday (3-2) before coming home to defeat the Wheeling Nailers on Friday (3-2) before beating Indy again on Saturday (3-2/SO) to wrap up Fins and Feathers Weekend.

Chasing history: Forward Brandon Hawkins tied Shane Berschbach’s single-season points record with an assist in Wednesday night's game at Indy but was unable to surpass the feat during the weekend. Hawkins will seek the record in Iowa as Hawkins looks to make history night-after-night. Hawkins needs three goals to set the franchise single season record for goals in a season at 40, which would surpass his own record of 39 from last season.

Passing his way to the history books: Defenseman Riley McCourt has been filling the assist column all season. McCourt's assist in Friday's game claimed the single season record for most assists by a defenseman in Walleye history at 44. McCourt took the record from Nolan Zajac who posted 43 assists, during the 2016-17 season. He has also tied himself with Gordie Green, Andy Bohmbach and Maxime Tanguay for 6th-most assists in a single season overall. McCourt trails just Brandon Hawkins’ total of 49 assists for second-most on the Walleye this season.

Men of March: The Toledo Walleye posted a strong March at 14-2-0, and that doesn’t come without some strong individual performances. Brandon Hawkins led the Fish in points during March with 20 points (6G, 14A) over his 16 games. Riley McCourt matched Hawkins in the assist column as 14 of his 17 March points were assists. Riley Sawchuk was the lead goal-scorer in March as he lit the lamp nine times while also adding nine assists for 18 total points. Jan Bednar had an absolutely dominant month of March between the pipes, posting a 6-1-0 record with a 1.59 GAA and a .939 SVP. Bednar’s GAA is the second lowest in March across the ECHL of goaltenders to play 200 minutes or more.

Walleye wagon: The Toledo Walleye have found their groove, riding a nine-game winning streak, a season-high. The Fish have also won their last eight home games – a season-high – and their last six road games. The Central Division champs continue to roll towards the playoffs absolutely crushing a stretch of 16 games in 30 days this past month.

Job’s not finished: The Toledo Walleye are returning to the Kelly Cup playoffs for the eighth consecutive time dating back to the 2014-15 season (19-20 ended early, Walleye sat out 20-21). The Walleye are sitting at 95 points which is second-best in the Western Conference and the entire ECHL behind only the Kansas City Mavericks.

Down the stretch: The Walleye will play a three-game series against the Iowa Heartlanders this week to finish out their season series with games coming on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday at Xtream Arena. Toledo has a record of 6-0-1 against the Heartlanders.

WALLEYE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:

Brandon Kruse (3G, GWG, +5)

WALLEYE GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK:

John Lethemon (2-0-0, 1.89 GAA, .931 SVP)