The Toledo Walleye took a 2-0 lead over the Fort Wayne Komets on Sunday, and this time, they held onto their lead, winning 2-1 over Fort Wayne and tying the teams’ second-round series at 1 game apiece.
Shane Berschbach and A.J. Jenks scored for Toledo, and Pat Nagle stopped 28 of 29 shots in the Walleye win.
The Walleye’s website posted a recap and highlight clip:
Walleye even series with Game 2 victory over Komets
(Toledo, OH) – Shane Berschbach picked up a goal and an assist as the Walleye defeated the Komets 2-1 on Sunday evening in Toledo. Pat Nagle stopped 28 of 29 shots and is 5-1-0 in the postseason. The Walleye tied the best of seven series at one game apiece.
The first period saw no goals go past either goalie, as Nagle would turn aside all nine shots faced and Michael Houser would stop the eight shots he saw.
Charlie O’Connor sent a pass back to Shane Berschbach (1st), who then tipped the puck behind Houser at 6:49 of the second period to put the Walleye up 1-0. Nagle would continue to shine as he stopped all 13 shots he faced in the frame.
AJ Jenks (4th) ripped a backhand shot to the back of the net at 1:05 of the third period to extend the Walleye lead to 2-0. Fort Wayne would cut into the Walleye lead with a power play goal that beat Nagle at 10:21 of the the third period. Toledo shined over the last couple of minutes, keeping Fort Wayne at bay for the win.
Fish Tales:
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The Walleye are in Fort Wayne on Wednesday night for Game 3 with a 7:30 p.m. puck drop. Game 4 is set for Friday night with an 8:00 p.m. puck drop. The team will return home for Game 5 on May 5th with a 7:35 p.m. puck drop at the Huntington Center.
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Nagle stopped 28 of 29 shots and is 5-1-0 in the postseason.
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Tyler Barnes (1G, 7A) and Kyle Bonis (3G, 5A) lead the Walleye with eight points in six postseason games played.
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Christian Hilbrich leads the Walleye with five goals in six postseason games played.
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AJ Jenks has three goals in his past two games played and was credited with the game-winner tonight.
“The guys that have been here and in this rivalry with Fort Wayne needed to step up and lead the way,” Berschbach said. “We definitely talked about it before the game. But everyone did their jobs. We kept it simple and got the job done.”
Walleye goaltender Pat Nagle earned his fifth win of the postseason, finishing with 28 saves.
Fort Wayne forward Gabriel Desjardins, the Komets’ leading scorer in the postseason, ruined Nagle’s shutout bid when he scored a power-play goal on a one-timer with 9 minutes, 39 seconds left in regulation.
The series now shifts to Fort Wayne for Games 3 and 4. The Komets host Toledo at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, then at 8 p.m. Friday at Memorial Coliseum.
Berschbach, who has scored 267 points in his Walleye career, had just one assist in five playoff games entering this one.
“It’s good. You always want to be involved,” Berschbach said. “My game is to produce, and I need to do that in order for our team to be successful. But it was an all-around great team effort.”
