TOLEDO, Ohio – A pair of second period goals and a strong night for Jeff Lerg proved to be enough as the Toledo Walleye (31-10-3-2) defeated the Cincinnati Cyclones (24-21-1-4) by a 3-1 final score in front of 5,536 at Huntington Center on Friday night.
Both teams threatened to strike in the opening period, however, Toledo's Jeff Lerg (W, 29 saves, 22-5-1-1) and Cincinnati's Rob Madore (L, 24 saves, 9-11-1-3) kept their opponents off the scoreboard through 20 minutes.
The Walleye broke the stalemate just 2:50 into the middle stanza when Tyler Elbrecht snapped a one-timer past Madore after catching a feed from Shane Berschbach, making it 1-0. Toledo added another at 16:39 when Alden Hirschfeld got open in the middle, caught a pass from the boards, and lit the lamp for his seventh goal of the season to extend the edge to 2-0. And thanks to 11 middle period saves for Lerg at the other end of the ice, the home club carried the two-goal cushion into second intermission.
Toledo found the net again at 5:31 of the final period as rookie Joe Houk crashed in and deposited a rebound for his first pro goal and a 3-0 lead. In the waning minutes, the Cyclones were finally able to cash in with the extra skater at 18:25; as Madore went to the bench, David Pacan came up with a loose puck in the slot and fired home his eighth goal of the year to cut the deficit to a pair. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late as the Walleye salted away the final minute and sealed a 3-1 victory.
The Cyclones will be back on the ice at U.S. Bank Arena tomorrow night as they play host to the Reading Royals at 7:30pm! It will be our 2nd annual Fireworks Extravaganza presented by Cincinnati Bell featuring a postgame INDOOR pyrotechnics display! Call 513.421.PUCK to secure your seats and for more details. Fans can also get the latest team updates throughout the season on Facebook, Twitter (@CincyCyclones), and Instagram!
Click here for tonight's box score
Walleye Sink Cyclones, 3-1
