Four unanswered Toledo goals allowed the Walleye to erase a 2-0 deficit and pick up the 4-2 win over the Cyclones Sunday evening at the Huntington Center.
Cincinnati enters the ECHL All-Star break with 46 points (20-7-4-2) as the team remains in second place in the Central Division. Toledo picks up another win and rank behind the Cyclones in third with 39 points (17-14-4-1).
- A pair of rookies got the party started early for the visiting Cyclones, with Lee Lapid (7) and Josh Passolt (13) scored just 1:13 apart. Lapid's goal came on a 200-foot play, beginning with Phil Lagunov bending to block a Walleye shot on the other side of the ice. That block translated to a rush going the other way, with Cody Caron finding Lagunov, who dished the puck for Lapid to score between the legs of Toledo's John Lethemon.
- Passolt surprised nobody with yet another goal against Toledo, his eighth of the season while facing the Walleye, thanks to Jalen Smereck. The former clll-star defenseman threaded a stretch pass through the Walleye defense for Passolt to skate down the gut of the ice and shove past Lethemon, giving the 'Clones a 2-0 lead 8:07 into the action.
- Gordie Green halved Cincinnati's advantage by redirecting a shot from Donovan Sebrango atop the zone that managed to slide by Mark Sinclair 14:25 into the first. Toledo later tied the contest late in the second period off another redirect, this time from Trenton Bliss who clipped a shot coming to the net from Riley McCourt, making it 2-2 going into the third period.
- Both goaltenders made highlight saves during the second period. Lethemon stopped Justin Vaive after the captain raced down the ice for a breakaway, while on the other end Sinclair turned Brett Boeing and Thomas Ebbing aside from in-tight opportunities.
- Sam Craggs scored what turned into the game-winning-goal just 14 seconds into the third period, tipping a shot from Charlie Curti. Conlan Keenan fell on top of Sinclair, preventing the Cyclones goaltender from making the save, but officials determined he was pushed into the net by Josh Burnside, allowing the goal to stand and giving Toledo its first lead of the night.
- Mitchell Heard scored the insurance goal with 7:37 left on a short side wrist shot, giving Toledo the 4-2 win.
- Cincinnati hits the pause button as they take to the ECHL All-Star break, but return to action Friday on the road against Indy.
