In a special atmosphere, the Toledo Walleye's special teams made all the difference as they opened the 2023 Kelly Cup playoffs with a 4-1 win over the Indy Fuel on Friday night.
The Walleye scored all four goals on the power play in Game 1 of the ECHL Central Division semifinals.
Toledo, which finished with the best power play and penalty units in the ECHL during the regular season, went 4 of 7 on the man advantage and shut down two of Indy's three power plays.
The Walleye also finished with a 32-19 edge in shots before a pumped-up crowd of 8,033 at the Huntington Center to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 series.
Seth Barton, Gordie Green, Brandon Hawkins, and Trenton Bliss all scored power-play goals for the Walleye, and goalie Sebastian Cossa finished with 18 saves.
“Our power play certainly came through. If they're going to try and play like that against us, we have to make them pay,” Walleye coach Dan Watson said. “They took undisciplined penalties, and those are the ones you have to make sure that you cash in on because otherwise they're going to keep doing it. Those opportunities were big moments.”
Bliss also had two assists, Hawkins had a goal and assist, and Kirill Tyutyayev had two assists.
“The atmosphere was special,” Bliss said. “Just to skate out of the tunnel and the fans are cheering and they yell 'hit somebody' during the national anthem. It just gave me the chills. That's what you kind of dream about growing up, playing professional, playoff hockey. These fans made it even more special.”
With the game tied at 1 early in the third, the Walleye scored 20 seconds into a power play to take a 2-1 lead. Green scored what turned out to be the game-winner into an open net after a great, cross-crease dish from Bliss. The Walleye took the one-goal lead with 14:26 left in regulation.
“That was huge,” Green said. “It was 1-1 in the third period, and the next goal is massive. I think both teams had a lot of emotions. Everyone's kind of flying around and it was a fun game and fun atmosphere. Getting this first one at home is huge. [Saturday] is going to be a similar game. They play hard, and we just have to focus on ourselves and playing our game.”
Indy had 34 penalty minutes and Toledo had 16.
“Our special teams are clicking,” Cossa said. “When teams are taking undisciplined penalties, we've got to make them pay. And we had the best penalty kill in the league for a reason. Guys are buying in and putting their bodies on the line. So that helps a lot.”
Game 2 will be held at the Huntington Center at 7:15 p.m. on Saturday. The series, which is following a 2-3-2 format, then shifts to Indy for Game 3 on Tuesday.
A post-whistle scuffle with 12:18 left led to a Walleye power play as the Fuel’s Chase Lang got four minutes for roughing. Hawkins then scored on a laser shot that hit the crossbar and went down into the net. The power-play goal gave the Walleye a 3-1 lead with 10:52 left in regulation. Tyutyayev had the initial shot, and Hawkins quickly got to the rebound before launching the quick wrist shot.
Toledo killed off two Indy power plays to protect the two-goal lead. Bliss then scored a power-play goal on assists from Hawkins and Riley McCourt.
Cossa, the rookie goalie and top Red Wings prospect, made nine saves in the third to seal it.
Watson said he likes the consistency of Cossa's game.
“He's confident, seeing pucks, and he's competing around his net,” Watson said
Watson said he plans to start John Lethemon, who won the ECHL's goalie of the year award, on Saturday.
“We're rotating for now,” he said.
The Walleye came out with great jump in the first period. Barton scored a power-play goal to put Toledo up 1-0 at 10:55 of the first period. Returning from an AHL call-up on Sunday, Barton scored on assists from Charlie Curti and T.J. Hensick.
“That was special,” Barton said. “That's a fun way to get the crowd into it early. The power play was big, obviously. There are a few weapons and a lot of guys that can put it home. We aren't going to get mixed up in all that stuff.”
Indy tied it with a power-play goal of its own. Colin Bilek scored with 5:01 left in the first period to square things at 1 as Cossa was screened.
Toledo outshot Indy 12-5 and controlled the vast majority of the opening period.
“I loved our start,” Watson said. “There are 8,000 people out there and they're raring to go. You can handle this a couple of different ways. I thought our guys just channeled it and they were focused. They used that energy the right way.”
Indy finally got its first shot of the game with 7:21 left in the first period. Toledo had nine shots on goal and led 1-0 at that point.
“I felt it right before the game and in the room,” Cossa said. “It's playoff hockey. It's an exciting time. Everyone's pumped up there, and that just gets the fires going.”
The game remained tied at 1 after two periods as Indy stepped up its play in the middle period as the crowd became a bit nervous. The game got significantly tighter with Indy earning more offensive zone time. The Fuel had back-to-back shots deflect off the post near the middle of the period.
But the Walleye scored on three of 13 shots in the third.
“We were connected all night long,” Watson said. “We expect this to be a hard and intense series.”
First Published April 22, 2023, 3:45 a.m.
