Walleye dominate early in tenth straight win

CORALVILLE, IA – The Toledo Walleye defeated the Iowa Heartlanders 5-1 on Wednesday night at Xtream Arena.

What Happened:

The Toledo Walleye headed West to Coralville, IA for the final true road trip of the year for the first of three games against the Iowa Heartlanders.

Jan Bednar split the iron for the Walleye. Jacob Graves and Riley McCourt patrolled the blue line while Brandon Hawkins, Trenton Bliss and Alexandre Doucet led the Toledo attack.

Peyton Jones defended the home net for the Heartlanders.. Chris Lipe and Kyle Masters skated the defensive zone while Adam Goodsir, Yuki Miura and Liam Coughlin filled out the Iowa front.

The Walleye wasted no time getting on the board as Hawkins lit the lamp unassisted at 3:33. Hawkins’ score was his 38^th of the season, also marking his 87^th point, breaking the single-season points record previously held by Shane Berschbach (86, 2016-17).

Alexandre Doucet flipped the puck past Jones at 11:23 to double the Walleye lead to 2-0. Bliss and Matt Anderson added helpers to the tally.

The Fish added on once more in the first frame, this time Sam Craggs scoring on Jones. Brandon Kruse and Michael Prapavessis assisted the tally.

The first frame ended with the Walleye leading the Heartlanders 3-0. Toledo was outshot 10-12 in the period.

The Walleye picked right back up where they left off to begin the second period, as Doucet spun his way to his second goal of the night at 3:43. Hawkins and Bliss assisted the score as it netted all three players their second points of the night.

Bliss put the game at 5-0 Walleye at 6:34 when he buried the puck into the twine. Prapavessis added a solo assist, his second of the game. The goal marked Bliss’ third point of the night.

A Holding call on Chase Gresock and a Delay of Game call against Kruse allowed Iowa to have a five-on-three advantage. The Heartlanders scored at 16:48 directly at the end of the initial penalty as Louis Boudon landed the advantage score with Brett Budgell and Casey Dornbach assisting the power play goal.

That wrapped the second set of 20 minutes with the Walleye leading the Heartlanders 5-0. Toledo was outshot 8-16 in the period and 18-28 after 40 minutes.

A quick-and-quiet third period saw no goals, with the Walleye claiming a 5-1 win over the Iowa Heartlanders. The win marked the tenth straight win by the Fish. Toledo was outshot 7-9 in the period and 25-37 overall.

Three Stars Sponsored by Local 245:

1. Alexandre Doucet (2G; GWG) – TOL
2. Trenton Bliss (1G, 2A) – TOL
3. Louis Boudon (1G) – IA

What’s Next:

The Toledo Walleye will remain in Coralville, IA for game two of the three-game series against the Iowa Heartlanders at Xtream Arena on Friday, April 5, 2024, with puck drop coming at 7:35 pm ET.