Former UM goalie stops Walleye

Hunwick makes 44 saves in S. Carolina win

SPT walleye12p Walleye Todd Griffith is chased by the Stingrays' Tyler Johnson in the first period. The Toledo Walleye host the South Carolina Stingrays in Toledo, Ohio on November 11, 2012 The Blade/Jetta Fraser

South Carolina goalie Shawn Hunwick's stellar effort against the Walleye Sunday afternoon included 44 saves but his former college roommate ruined his bid for perfection.

Toledo peppered South Carolina with 45 shots but only rookie Luke Glendening was able to solve Hunwick. The Walleye saw their two-game winning streak broken as they fell 2-1 before a crowd of 4,227 at the Huntington Center.

Glendening and Hunwick were teammates for four seasons at the University of Michigan. Glendening was a captain for two seasons, while Hunwick was the Wolverines' starting netminder.

“He's a good friend of mine and we've been talking a lot about this game,” said Glendening, who now leads the Walleye with six goals. “I was definitely hoping to be on the other end of it. But that is the way hockey is. We've roomed together for two years. I've seen him play like that before, but I've always been on his team.”

Hunwick had a shutout going until Glendening scored on a rebound after Cody Lampl charged the net to get off a shot with 13:24 left in the game.

Hunwick, who is just 5-foot-7, made 17 saves in the first period, 10 in the second, and 17 in the third.

“He is about the only guy I didn't want to give a goal up to,” Hunwick said laughing. “But if I'm going to give one up to him, I'd rather it be a rebound like that and not him beating me with a shot.”

Rookie goalie Kent Simpson made 21 saves for the Walleye (6-6-1).

Walleye coach Nick Vitucci said he liked his team’s energy after playing four games in five nights.

“I told the team to be upset that you lost, but don't be upset the way you lost,” Vitucci said. “We threw everything at Shawn there. Just because he's 5-foot-8 (sic) doesn't mean he's not a great goaltender. We had a boatload of chances but none ended up in net. Sometimes you tip your hat to a very good goaltender.”

South Carolina got goals from Matthew Pistilli in the first and Dylan Clarke in the second.

Northview graduate Alden Hirschfeld plays for South Carolina and had a team-high three shots. Hirschfeld helped lead the Wildcats to the state title game in 2006 and played at Miami. Hirschfeld is in his first pro season and has seven points in 15 games.

“It's good to be back in the area,” Hirschfeld said. “I had a lot of text messages and phone calls from people that were coming out. All the guys knew this was my hometown, so it was pretty exciting to get the win.”

Willie Coetzee's efforts were emblematic of the Walleye's frustrations. Coetzee sent a game-high seven shots on goal along with others that were high or wide. Glendening had five shots. His linemates Byron Froese and and Terry Broadhurst each also had five shots.

“Mine was the only one that went in, but I thought we went to the net well,” Glendening said. “Shawn had a great game.”

A few minutes after Glendening scored, he had another chance but it was weak backhander. The pair chuckled on the ice.

Toledo's next game is on the road against Fort Wayne on Friday. The team returns home for a Saturday night game against Wheeling.

FISH TALES: In celebration of Veterans Day, a very nice moment was held before faceoff. The crowd refrained from screaming “Hit Somebody” during the National Anthem and Taps was played as veterans were honored. … F Travis Novak, who suffered a concussion on Saturday, was not in the lineup.

Contact Mark Monroe at: mmonroe@theblade.com, 419-724-6354 or on Twitter @MonroeBlade.