TOLEDO, Ohio — The Toledo Walleye are picking up right where they left the last time they played in a non-shortened ECHL season.
After coming oh-so-close to winning the Kelly Cup as the league’s best team in the 2019 finals, the Walleye missed opportunities to try again after COVID-19 cut short the 2019-2020 season and the Walleye opted out of playing last year.
The Fish are back though.
The Walleye ended the season with the best record in the league which earned them the Brabham Cup and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs.
And as wonderful as that is, everyone knows, the real prize comes from winning the playoffs, something the Walleye have yet to do in their franchise’s history.
Round 1 - vs. Cincinnati Cyclones
Game 2
Both team's offenses came out red hot with the Walleye's Brandon Hawkins scoring the first goal of the game after just 9 seconds.
From there, the teams traded goals before the Cyclones took a 3-2 lead heading into the 2nd period.
And that's where it stayed. The Walleye lost the game 3 - 2. Hawkins scored both of the Walleye's goals.
The series moves to Cincinnati for the next 3 games.
Game 1
The Huntington Center was absolutely rocking on Friday night as playoff hockey made it's return to downtown Toledo.
It didn't even take 5 minutes for the cleanup crew to scoop up an actual Walleye, thrown from the stands after John Albert scored his first of three goals on the night.
It wasn't an easy win for the Walleye by any means as the Cyclones battled the Fish to a 2-2 tie by the end of regulation.
And in a clear indication that both teams are playing hard to win during the first round of the playoffs, it took a full 14 minutes, 55 seconds before Albert bounced the puck off the net's stanchion, the back of the Cyclone's goaltender and into the net, securing the win and his second second hat trick of the season.
After the game, Albert talked about the importance of the fans in helping the team to victory.
"I want to thank the fans. Just a great energy in the building. It's nice to be home. They fuel us, they get us going and obviously in overtime, we got the win."
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