Walleye fall in shootout, 4-3 to South Carolina
2/18/2014CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Walleye could not maintain an early two-goal lead, then could not protect a late one-goal edge on Tuesday night against South Carolina in losing their sixth straight game.
The Stingrays tied the contest at 3 with 34 seconds left in regulation and eventually won 4-3 in a game that went to a shootout.
Toledo forward Phillippe Lefebvre scored his first goal in a Walleye uniform to give his team a 3-2 lead with 3 minutes, 30 seconds left in the third period.
After a scoreless overtime, two South Carolina skaters scored on Walleye goalie Jared Coreau in the shootout to take the two points. Coreau was strong throughout, finishing with 30 saves. He stopped three skaters in the shootout.
Aaron Clarke and Alden Hirschfeld scored in the first period for Toledo.
But Maxim Shalunov, David Gilbert, Bobby Shea, and Hirschfeld could not score against South Carolina goalie Max Strang (21 saves) in the shootout.
The Walleye still picked up their first point since last winning on Feb. 7 at Cincinnati. Toledo (16-29-4) fell to 7-17-4 on the road.
Toledo took a 2-0 lead early. Clarke scored his 13th goal to get the Walleye going on assists from Aaron Bogosian and Russ Sinkewich at the 11:36 mark of the opening period.
Hirschfeld then gave Toledo a two-goal cushion just 2:10 later. Kevin Lynch assisted on Hirschfeld’s eighth of the season.
But South Carolina scored a goal late in the first, then tied it with a power play goal early in the second period.
Toledo returns home to host Orlando on Friday and Saturday.