TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - The Colorado Eagles defeated the Toledo Walleye 4-3 in overtime in Loveland, Colorado Wednesday night.
The winning goal happened barely two minutes into the first overtime period. That goal not only gave Colorado the victory, but also gave the Eagles a 2-1 series lead.
Both teams proved to be evenly matched as they competed to determine who will take control of the seven-game series.
The Walleye fell short by one with a score of 4-3 in Tuesday's game as the Eagles handed the Walleye their first home loss in the playoffs. Colorado's win tied the series at one-a-piece heading to Colorado.
Heading into Wednesday's game, many asked how the Walleye would respond to the infamously thin Colorado air that effect away teams of any sport playing in the Colorado area.
Just fourteen seconds after the puck dropped in Colorado, Shawn St-Amant slapped in a shot to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
Midway through the period, the Walleye's Kyle Bonis tied the game up with an assist from A.J. Jenks.
Only three minutes later, the Walleye took the lead with a goal by Tylor Spink.
Trailing 2-1, Colorado knotted the score once again with a goal by Alex Belzile.
In the second period, both defense proved stout as the game became a physical struggle to find the back of the net.
During the period, Matt Caito was hit by stick in the face. Though no foul was called, he went back into the locker room for examination.
The Walleye and Eagles remained tied heading in the period.
Three minutes into the period, Colorado's Sergei Boikov broke the dry spell with a goal to give the Eagles a 3-2 lead.
However, the Walleye again tied the score with a goal by Matt Caito.
For the remainder of the period, both goaltenders turned away every shot to force the game into overtime.
The Eagles came out firing in overtime. Toledo's Jeff Lerg made desperate save early into the period. However, barely a minute later, Colorado's Julien Nantel knocked in a goal to seal the victory for Colorado.
Despite putting up three goals, the Walleye only managed 11 shots while Colorado nearly tripled that number.
Game 4 will be Friday at 9:05 ET.
