RECAP: Walleye complete second consecutive sweep, advance to Western Conference Finals | Kelly Cup Playoffs
The Fish are off to a great start with a perfect postseason record. After a record 9-2 playoff win Friday, the Walleye advance to the Western Conference Finals.
UPDATE: It will be fish against fish in the Kelly Cup Western Conference Finals. Toledo will be taking on the Idaho Steelheads starting on Saturday May 20.
For more information on tickets throughout the 2023 Kelly Cup Playoffs, visit the Toledo Walleye website at this link.
The Toledo Walleye had a one-week break after they swept the Indy Fuel in the first round of the Kelly Cup playoffs, it was back to business for round two.
The Central Division Finals were a battle for the Buckeye State.
The Cincinnati Cyclones came off a first-round series against the Fort Wayne Komets, which saw the Komets claw back to force a game seven after trailing three games to one. The Cyclones dispatched the Komets with a 1-0 win on Wednesday, securing a spot in the Division Finals.
Head-to-head, Toledo was 5-4-2 against Cincinnati during the regular season. Both teams scored exactly 33 goals each, making for a goal differential of zero.
In the last regular season matchup between Toledo and Cincy on April 7, Toledo won a heated game by a score of 4-1. The two teams combined for 72 penalty minutes.
The Cyclones had home-ice advantage for the series, with the Walleye starting the first two games of the best-of-seven series on the road before playing three at home. But with Wednesday's win, Toledo has a chance to close out the series at home on Friday.
ECHL goaltender of the year John Lethemon and Detroit Red Wings first-round draft pick, goaltender Sebastian Cossa, split duties in net during the series against Indy, each playing two games for the Walleye.
Head coach Dan Watson plans on a repeat of the tandem that swept Indy.
"It'll be the exact same," Watson said Thursday. "Cossa will get game one, Leth (John Lethemon) will get game two, we'll rotate and go from there."
For more information on tickets throughout the 2023 Kelly Cup Playoffs, visit the Toledo Walleye website at this link.
RECAP: GAME 4, ROUND 2 Toledo wins 9-2, clinches series 4-0
With a score of 9-2, Toledo completes a second straight sweep and advance to the Western Conference Finals of the Kelly Cup Playoffs.
9:41 p.m.: And that's all. Toledo wins 9-2.
9:29 p.m. Cincinnati answers back not long after with the puck sneaking past Walleye goaltender John Lethemon. Walleye lead 9-2.
9:28 p.m.: Add another. Brett McKenzie alone in front of the net. Toledo leads 9-1 with 8:04 left in regulation.
9:17 p.m.: Gordie Green scores again. He's got two goals, two assists so far with a little under 15 minutes to go. The Walleye have set a new franchise record for postseason goals scored in a single game. Toledo leads 8-1.
9:11 p.m.: Start of the third. Toledo leads 7-1.
8:51 p.m.: End of the second. We head to intermission with Toledo on top 7-1.
8:46 p.m.: Touchdown and the point after. Drew Worrad taps one past Cincy's goaltender. Toledo leads 7-1.
8:40 p.m.: A blast from Walleye veteran TJ Hensick on the power play. His fourth goal of the playoffs and second in consecutive games with 5:12 left in the second. Toledo leads 6-1.
8:35 p.m.: With 7:26 left in the second, Walleye forward and Red Wings prospect Kirill Tyutyayev strikes on the power play. Toledo leads 5-1.
8:33 p.m.: Cincinnati gets on the board with 9:11 to go in the second. Toledo maintains the lead 4-1.
8:29 p.m.: Sturtz turns a blocked shot into a breakaway on the penalty kill. Sturtz fires one past Cincinnati's goaltender for a shorthanded tally and Toledo has a 4-0 lead.
8:13 p.m.: Cincinnati has made a change in net. Goaltender Beck Warm replaces Mark Sinclair for the second period. Puck is down and Toledo starts the second on the penalty kill with a 3-0 lead.
7:55 p.m.: Twenty minutes are in the books. Heading into the second period, Toledo leads 3-0.
7:48 p.m.: A snipe from Brandon Hawkins at the point makes it through traffic. Toledo leads 3-0 with 2:58 left in the first.
7:27 p.m.: This time it's Gordie Green of a deflection of a Charlie Curti shot. With 14:16 left in the first, Toledo leads 2-0.
7:19 p.m.: With 18:06 left in the first, Andrew Sturtz puts the tip in the back of the net. Toledo leads 1-0.
7:15 p.m.: Boxer Albert "Prince" Bell is the ceremonial cowbell ringer for the night. The puck is down and game four is underway.
RECAP: GAME 3, ROUND 2 Toledo wins 2-1, leads series 3-0
An incredible performance by rookie goaltender Sebastian Cossa powers the Walleye to a win over the Cyclones.
The Walleye maintain a perfect postseason record, backstopped by Cossa turning aside 43 of 44 shots and goals by Drew Worrad and TJ Hensick.
9:50 p.m.: Toledo wins 2-1.
9:17 p.m.: Cincinnati gets on the board after a turnover by Toledo. Toledo still leads 2-1.
9:10 p.m.: Third period is now underway at the Huntington Center.
8:49 p.m.: Second period comes to a close with Toledo on top 2-0.
8:48 p.m.: Toledo forward TJ Hensick is having an excellent game and now has a goal to show for it. Charlie Curti notches his second assist of the night and Toledo leads 2-0.
8:34 p.m.: Hensick to Drew Worrad to the back of the net with a little over 8 minutes left in the first. Toledo takes the lead 1-0.
8:10 p.m.: Toledo starts the second on the penalty kill. There's not much going on and the score stays knotted up at 0-0.
7:53 p.m.: An unusually quiet start to game three as the first period draws to a close and the score remains 0-0.
7:18 p.m.: As expected, Cossa is starting for the Toledo Walleye. The puck is down and game three is officially underway.
The Walleye return to the Huntington Center up two games to none in the central division finals. Puck drop is 7:15 p.m. Wednesday.
Head coach Dan Watson will start Cossa in net, continuing the rotation after Lethemon's win in game two.
There will also be a couple of firsts in this game. Walleye center Conlan Keenan makes his return to the lineup after an injury against Indy in the first-round series.
For the superstitious, Toledo has not lost a series that Keenan has played in while on the roster. He was a healthy scratch for all games of the Kelly Cup finals in 2022, where Toledo lost to the Florida Everblades.
Cincinnati's Mark Sinclair will be at the opposite end, marking his first start in goal during the series and a change from the Cyclones' norm so far of Beck Warm.
RECAP: GAME 2, ROUND 2 Toledo wins 5-2, leads series 2-0
The Walleye built off Friday's momentum for game two on the road against the Cyclones on Saturday night in Cincinnati.
10:00 p.m.: Walleye beat Cincinnati 5-2 to take a 2-0 series lead. The Fish will be back home beginning on Wednesday for Game 3.
9:59 p.m.: Brandon Hawkins scores an empty net goal to give the Walleye a 5-2 lead late in the third period. Should seal the deal.
9:41 p.m.: T.J. Hensick scores to make it 4-2 Walleye with 9:14 left in third period.
9:37 p.m.: Cincinnati scores a power play goal with 10:43 left in the third period to make it a 3-2 game.
9:03 p.m.: Second period ends with Walleye leading 3-1.
John Lethemon is seeing a little more action now as he has 23 saves through 40 minutes. The veteran net-minder is doing his job to keep the Walleye on top.
8:35 p.m.: After the Cyclones scored to make it 2-1, the Walleye respond with a goal by Drew Worrad to make it 3-1 Toledo.
8:10 p.m.: End of the first period. Walleye have a 2-0 lead and also lead in shots on goal, 16-7.
7:44 p.m.: Walleye are picking up where they left off in game one with an extremely fast start.
Gordie Green's goal makes it 2-0 Walleye less than six minutes into the game.
7:41 p.m.: Walleye take a 1-0 lead in game two just over two minutes into the game. Goal scored by Thomas Ebbing on Toledo's first shot of the game.
7:35 p.m.: Game two is underway
1:41 p.m.: ECHL suspends Cincinnati Cyclone Sean Allen for his hit on Toledo's Charlie Curti during the 3rd period of Friday night’s game. Allen was handed a 5 minute major penalty for boarding & will not play in Saturday's game. Curti did remain in the game after the hit.
RECAP: GAME 1, ROUND 2 Toledo wins 6-2, leads series 1-0
Toledo broke the tie and shattered game one open in the third. The Walleye powerplay was nothing short of perfect Friday night, showing up big when needed and tallying five of Toledo's six goals.
10:22 p.m.: That's all for game one. Toledo takes it by a score of 6-2 and carry the series lead 1-0.
10:08 p.m.: Toledo's power play time has expired on Cincinnati's nightmare of a major penalty. There's under 8 minutes to go in regulation and Toledo leads 6-2.
10:05 p.m.: It's Trenton Bliss again. Toledo has now scored four power-play goals in four minutes and is 5-for-5 with the man advantage. The net comes off behind Cincy goaltender Beck Warm but it doesn't matter, it's a good goal. Toledo leads 6-2.
10:02 p.m.: A tripping call goes against Cincinnati. It's a 5-on-3. It's almost instantly that Walleye forward and Red Wings prospect Kirill Tyutyayev buries the fourth power-play goal of the game. Toledo blows open the lead 5-2.
10 p.m.: And another on the board for Gordie Green. It's his second of the night and Toledo leads 4-2.
Special teams remain lethal for the Walleye. There's not much time wasted on this power play.
9:58 p.m.: It doesn't take long. Walleye forward Brandon Hawkins fires one past goaltender Beck Warm. Toledo takes the lead again 3-2.
Because of the major penalty, Toledo remains on the power play with the possibility of extending the lead.
9:55 p.m.: A boarding call assessed to Cyclones defenseman Sean Allen after a hit on Walleye defenseman Charlie Curti. It's a 5-minute major and a game misconduct for Allen, who notched 219 penalty minutes in 69 regular season games for Cincinnati.
9:50 p.m.: With 15:12 left on the clock in regulation, Cincinnati ties it up 2-2.
9:40 p.m.: Start of the third.
9:19 p.m.: Not much in the second as the score remains unchanged. Cincinnati will start the third period on a power play. Toledo leads 2-1.
8:52 p.m.: Score remains 2-1 with 12:21 to go in the second. There have been several stoppages due to the net coming off the pegs, likely attributed to ice conditions and style of goaltending. It's been a factor in past games including last year's playoffs.
8:35 p.m.: It's the start of the second in Cincinnati.
8:15 p.m.: That's it for the first period. The score remains unchanged, Toledo in the lead 2-1.
8:08 p.m.: Walleye forward Trenton Bliss extends his point streak to five games, capitalizing on a four-on-three powerplay. With 3:11 left in the first, Toledo is back on top 2-1.
7:57 p.m.: With 7:58 left in the first, Cincinnati gets on the board. It's a tie game 1-1.
7:37 p.m.: And it's a good goal. Fifteen seconds in, Toledo has the lead 1-0.
7:35 p.m.: Just 15 seconds into the game, the puck is in the back of the net off the stick of Toledo Walleye forward Gordie Green. The goal is under review.
The first game of the second round is Friday, May 5 at Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati.
Sebastian Cossa is again anticipated to open the series in net for the Walleye on Friday with John Lethemon to get the start Saturday.
At the opposite end of the ice, the Cincinnati Cyclones will likely go with Beck Warm, who has played in all seven of the Cyclones' postseason games, starting six of them. Warm, who was in net for Cincinnati's loss on April 7, also happens to be Cossa's teammate from junior hockey, setting up an Edmonton Oil Kings alumni rematch to kick off the series.