CINCINNATI — The Walleye were determined to put Monday’s controversial loss in the rearview mirror and they did that Wednesday night.
Toledo jumped out to a 1-0 lead less than two minutes into the contest. Cole Fraser threw a puck on net from the blue line and Brett Boeing tipped it for the first goal of the contest.
It was tied at one after a period, but the Walleye would take the lead in the second on the power play. T.J. Hensick scored his second of the playoffs to give Toledo the 2-1 lead and they wouldn’t look back.
Some picture-perfect passing gave Toledo a 3-1 lead with less than two minutes to go in the first period. Gordi Myer led the breakout and it led to a goal from Patrick Curry. Brandon Hawkins and Mitchell Heard got the assists on the highlight-reel goal.
Brandon Hawkins would add an empty-net goal in the third. Billy Christopoulos stopped 27 of 28 shots he faced.
“Our guys came out hard,” said Walleye head coach Dan Watson. “Getting that first goal really gave us momentum, gave us confidence. They buckled down and did a lot of the little things right here tonight.”
“It was a great win for us,” Walleye captain TJ Hensick said. “It’s something we can build off of.”
The series is now tied 2-2. Game five is in Cincinnati Thursday night at 7:35 pm.
