Walleye top Kalamazoo 3-1
11/2/2013The Walleye snapped a two-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over Kalamazoo tonight.
Toledo scored twice in the second period on goals from rookie Marek Tvrdon and captain Kyle Rogers. Walleye forward Trevor Parkes had a goal and two assists.
Toledo goalie Mac Carruth (3-1-0) made his second consecutive start. Carruth finished with 25 saves before a sellout crowd of 7,680 at the Huntington Center. The rookie lost the shutout with 1:10 left.
The Walleye (3-2-1) had lost 6-4 at Kalamazoo (1-3-0) on Friday night.
Both teams wore Star Wars-themed jerseys that were auctioned off for charity after the game. The Stanley Cup and other NHL trophies also were on display at the Huntington Center.
Tvrdon scored on a long slap shot just as Toledo's power play expired early in the second period. Toledo took a 1-0 lead on assists from Travis Novak and Parkes.
It was the first professional goal for Tvrdon, a 20-year-old rookie from Slovakia. He was assigned to Toledo from Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League on Tuesday.
Rogers gave Toledo a 2-0 lead as his shot to the short side somehow squeezed by Kalamazoo goalie Jordan Binnington (27 saves).
Parkes added a power play goal with 5:41 left on assists from Alden Hirschfeld and Jason Lepine.
Carruth made a good stop on a solo breakaway to keep it scoreless midway through the first period. He followed that with a snap glove save late in the period. In the third he made a good pad save to keep the shutout intact.
But Kalamazoo's Ludwig Blomstrand ruined the shutout bid in the waning moments of regulation.
It was the second of 13 meetings between the teams. The Walleye play the Wings more than any other team this year. Toledo went 5-4-4 against Kalamazoo last season.
Toledo will complete a stretch of four games in five days when they play at Evansville on Sunday at 5 p.m.