Note: The following was printed before Saturday’s Game 5 in the ECHL Western Conference finals. The Walleye lost Saturday to the Colorado Eagles, 6-3.
LOVELAND, Colo. — The Walleye are no strangers to elimination games during the last three postseasons, and they have often shown resiliency to extend their season.
The Walleye find themselves facing a do-or-die situation in Game 5 of the Western Conference final against the Colorado Eagles.
Toledo won the first game of the best-of-7 series, but Colorado won next three to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 series.
Game 5 was Saturday night.
“Now our backs are against the wall totally,” Walleye coach Dan Watson said. “There is no tomorrow if it doesn’t go our way. So we have to be dialed in.”
The Eagles, who have outscored the Walleye 15-14 in the series, needed overtime to win each of the last two games.
A marathon Game 4 took 4 hours, 42 minutes to complete. Colorado finally prevailed 5-4 in three overtimes.
Watson said his team played extremely well and did all it could to win the game.
“If there is any group that can do it, it’s [this] group,” Watson said. “I still have full confidence in our guys and what they can achieve. We just need to win one game here and get it back home.”
Toledo must win to keep its season alive and get back to the Huntington Center. The series would shift to Toledo for Games 6 and 7 on Monday and Wednesday, if necessary.
Toledo played in three Game 7s during the 2015 playoffs. The Walleye eliminated Wheeling and Fort Wayne before being dispatched by South Carolina. The Walleye dug out of a 0-3 hole against South Carolina with three straight wins to force a Game 7.
Toledo also extended its run this postseason with a win in an elimination game against Kalamazoo. The Walleye won 3-1 on April 25.
“Our guys have been through this before with all the Game 7s,” Watson said.
Forwards A.J. Jenks, Shane Berschbach, Kyle Bonis, and Alden Hirschfeld, and goalie Jeff Lerg all played in those pressure-packed situations in 2015.
Jenks, who scored two goals on Friday, said the team needs to show up or go home.
“Every game is a Game 7 for us now,” Jenks said. “It’s pretty simple. You have to find a way to pull yourself back up and get out there and make it happen.
“I’m real confident. There’s still so much more to give from us. We have to find a way to pull it together and make it happen.”
Lerg, Toledo’s veteran goalie, played in all five Game 7s since 2015, going 3-2. He relieved Jake Paterson in Game 7 against Kalamazoo.
Lerg made 41 of 42 stops in one of the Game 7 losses, a 1-0 setback to South Carolina in three overtimes in the 2015 conference final. Lerg, who returned to the team midseason after a stint in Denmark, has played in 10 playoff games this year, going 6-3-1 with a 2.55 goals-against average.
Watson said playing in so many Game 7s shows how difficult it is to eliminate a team.
“We know how hard it is to put a team away,” Watson said. “It’s one of the toughest things to do in any sport. I know our guys will be ready to compete with desperation and urgency. We have strong leadership. It’s about our guys going out and delivering their best performance of the year.”
Colorado knocked out the two-time defending Kelly Cup champions, the Allen Americans, in the last round.
Colorado coach Aaron Schneekloth said his team must step up its play to close out this series.
“I know our group is going to have to play better to win the fourth game,” Schneekloth said. “The fourth one is always the hardest to win. It doesn’t matter if it’s the first round or who the opponent is.
“We have a great opportunity. But it’s not going to be easy. Our guys have to be prepared to play a solid hockey game because it’s going to be a battle.”
Toledo led by a goal at three different points in Game 4.
Toledoan Lukas Hafner, Colorado’s goalie, has won three games in the series. He stepped up in the extra periods Friday, stopping 32 of 36 shots, including 14 in the overtimes.
Colorado’s top offensive contributors during the regular season, Matt Garbowsky and Casey Pierro-Zabotel, came through in Game 4. Pierro-Zabotel, who led the Eagles with 88 points, tied the game with just over two minutes left in regulation. Garbowsky, who scored a team-high 36 goals, tallied the game-winner early in the third overtime.
The Walleye scored on their first shot, by Tylor Spink, just 3 minutes, 4 seconds into the game. It was the second straight game they scored on their first shot.
Jenks gave Toledo a 2-1 lead, then later tied it at 3. Zach Nastasiuk, who had missed four games with an injury, gave the Walleye a 4-3 lead near the midpoint of the third. But Colorado answered with a back- breaking, power-play goal with 2:09 left in regulation.
Paterson, who had missed eight games because of an injury and had not played since April 25, finished with 39 saves on 44 shots in the loss.
“We were the best team throughout the regular season, and I don’t think that’s an accident,” Jenks said. “We just have to pull things together. We just have to win one game right now.”
Contact Mark Monroe at: mmonroe@theblade.com, 419-724-6354 or on Twitter @MonroeBlade.
First Published May 21, 2017, 4:19 a.m.
