Following a 5-1 victory over the Wichita Thunder Friday night, the Cincinnati Cyclones were looking to keep the momentum going against the Toledo Walleye Saturday at the Huntington Center in Toledo.
Though they fought valiantly to pull even after trailing 3-2 in the third period, the Walleye slammed the door and came away with a 4-3 victory in the 10th meeting between the two clubs this season.
The game started out well for the Cyclones. Lincoln Griffin, who came into the game leading his team with four goals against the Walleye, retrieved a rebound off an initial shot from Mathieu Gosselin and sent one through the five-hole of Toledo goaltender Jan Bednar for a 1-0 lead.
It was Griffin’s 21st goal of the season and his point streak is now at seven games.
Walleye captain Brandon Hawkins capitalized on a power play for his team-leading 33rd goal of the season to make the score 1-1 after 20 minutes.
The Cyclones would strike next on their second power-play attempt of the night just over two minutes into the middle frame. After a beautiful move on one knee by Gosselin got him past a Toledo defender, he fed the puck to Kyle Bollers, who took the shot and beat Bednar for his ninth of the season.
Hawkins responded again to tie the game 2-2 for the Walleye on another power-play chance at the 14:07 mark of the second period. A bad hop in the Cincy zone gave Hawkins space in the slot, and the ECHL MVP from last season didn’t miss.
With 5:47 remaining in the period, the Walleye would grab their first lead 3-2 and never relinquish it. After getting the puck behind the net, Mitchell Lewandowski centered a pass to defenseman Bobby Russell, who scored.
Cincinnati tried to get the equalizer, but the Walleye added an insurance goal with 11:48 left to play. Darian Pilon fired home a Sam Craggs rebound for his fourth of the season.
Cincinnati defenseman Josh Burnside pulled his team to within one with 27 seconds left on a 6-on-5 advantage. It was his first goal of the year, a quick wrister that found the back of the net, but the Walleye held on for the 4-3 victory.
The two teams will face each other again March 14 at Heritage Bank Center. Puck drop is set for 7:35 Pm ET.