The Toledo Walleye set several attendance records Friday night, but the rival Fort Wayne Komets put a damper on the festivities.
With not much at stake, Toledo suffered a rare home loss in the final regular-season game of the year. Toledo led by one goal early, then fell behind by two in the second period, and ultimately dropped a 5-2 decision at a sold-out Huntington Center.
The Walleye already had clinched the Central Division and Western Conference regular-season titles. Toledo (49-17-5) also had wrapped up home-ice advantage for the first three rounds of the Kelly Cup playoffs, which start next weekend.
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Veterans Shane Berschbach and Kyle Bonis scored for Toledo, which has the top home record in the ECHL at 28-7-1. The game was played before a franchise-record crowd of 8,388, the 28th sellout of the season.
But Fort Wayne scored two third-period goals to snap Toledo's three-game winning streak. Walleye coach Dan Watson said he saw positive and negative play from his team.
“I liked our energy off the start. We were moving pucks and moving our feet. But for some reason we stopped doing that,” Watson said. “Our puck movement got a little bit stale. They capitalized on their opportunities and we didn't.”
VIDEO: Walleye-Komets
The organization also set a new record for total attendance in a season (273,613), averaging a crowd of 7,600. Watson said to sellout 28 out of 36 games is impressive.
“You look at the percent capacity and it's over 100 percent [102 percent]. That's impressive as well,” Watson said. “It's an outstanding fan base. We love playing here. Our guys want to play hard every time they step on to the ice. We don't take it for granted.”
Berschbach scored 3 minutes, 30 seconds into the game on a terrific assist from A.J. Jenks. Bonis, the team’s leading goal scorer, recorded his 27th of the season at the game's midpoint.
“I thought we had a really good start,” Bonis said. “Our fans were jacked up for this game. We were mentally prepared. But they were a bit ahead of us on a few things. They capitalized on their chances.”
Toledo goaltender Pat Nagle, who was facing his former team for the fourth time this season, finished with 23 saves. Nagle, who earned a spot on the All-ECHL second team Thursday, finished 2-2-0 against the Komets.
The rivals had not met since Jan. 12, when Toledo beat Fort Wayne 3-1 at the Huntington Center.
Fort Wayne coach Gary Graham said his team, which was 3-4-3 in its past 10 games, has had an uneven lineup because of injuries and recent signings. The Komets, who also had little to play for after locking up the No. 2 seed in the division, finished the regular-season series 6-2-0 against the Walleye.
“We've been in a funk lately. We're trying to find a way to get some things going. We've had a hard time elevating our game,” Graham said. “They took it to us in the first period. But then we played with the lead for once. Both teams did a lot of good things. We won't get too wrapped up in this one. The game didn't have many implications. Both teams know what each other is about.”
On the game's first goal, Jenks zipped a quick pass to Berschbach, who was on the doorstep. Berschbach drilled it past Fort Wayne goaltender Michael Houser, who finished with 32 saves, for a 1-0 lead.
The Komets tied it on a strange goal at 7:36 of the first. Fort Wayne scored on its first shot of the game after a dump in by Cody Sol caromed off the boards and hit a seam or stanchion. Nagle was going behind his net to play the puck, which bounced right to Anthony Petruzzelli, who slammed it into an empty net.
“That was a weird bounce that we haven't seen here,” Watson said.
The Komets made it 2-1 on a shot, their third of the game, from the point by Curtis Leonard that was deflected past Nagle by Gabriel Desjardins with 6:28 left in the first.
The Komets went up by two when Jason Binkley scored just seconds after a Fort Wayne power play expired. Daniel Maggio screened Nagle on the play with 10:53 left in the second.
Just 1:24 after the Komets went up 3-1, Bonis scored to make it 3-2. The goal was set up by Tyler Barnes, who faked a shot and instead shuffled a quick pass to Bonis, who one-timed it.
Bonis has been the Walleye's most productive player down the stretch. The veteran forward now has 14 points, including nine goals, in his past 12 games.
Mike Borkowski then was robbed almost midway through the third by Houser, who dove over and got his stick on Borkowski's shot.
Just minutes later, former Walleye player Bobby Shea gave the Komets a 4-2 lead with 11:30 left in regulation. Although it appeared Phelix Martineau, who was making his pro debut, should have been credited with the goal.
The Komets capped it with an empty-net goal from Desjardins with 1:04 to go in regulation.
Watson said his team did not do a good enough job with its net-front presence. He also said the power play, which finished 0 of 5, could not get it done.
“When you have five, you have to cash in,” he said. “We did not bare down hard enough.”
The Walleye wrap-up the regular season Saturday at Indy.
“We'll have to be ready,” Watson said. “They are a hungry team in their building. We have to play the right way for 60 full minutes.”
Despite the relative unimportance of the game, Watson opted not to rest any of his key starters. He said they will all play Saturday as well, including Nagle.
“No one is tired. Everyone is fine,” he said.
Toledo opens the Kelly Cup playoffs at home next Friday. The opponent is still to be determined based on this weekend's results. The Walleye could face Kalamazoo, Indy, or Kansas City.
“It's a potential first round match-up for us,” Bonis said of Saturday's game against the Fuel. “So it will be a big test for us.”
■ FISH TALES: The 23-man playoff roster must be set at 3 p.m. Monday. Watson said he expects defenseman Simon Denis, who is on an AHL call-up, to be on it along with other recent AHL call-ups Patrick McCarron, Mike Borkowski, and Dylan Sadowy. Mike Embach, who was a scratch Friday, also will be back for Game 1.
Contact Mark Monroe at: mmonroe@theblade.com, 419-724-6354, or on Twitter @MonroeBlade.
First Published April 7, 2018, 1:44 a.m.
