Toledo Walleye lose 3-1 to Cincinnati Cyclones
1/31/2014The Walleye saw their modest two-game winning streak snapped tonight.
Toledo fell 3-1 to Cincinnati before an announced crowd of 4,529 at the Huntington Center.
The Walleye (14-23-3) were seeking a season-high third straight win.
Toledo goalie Jared Coreau made his first start for the Walleye since Dec. 7 and finished with 24 saves.
The Walleye got plenty of chances, outshooting Cincinnati 41-27. But they could only get one by Cyclone goalie Joe Howe.
Toledo's Maxim Shalunov tied the game at 1 with 9:30 left in regulation. Shalunov skated up the left wing and beat Howe with a long shot.
But just 1:08 later, Cincinnati re-gained the lead as Brian Nugent scored his second of the night to put the Cyclones up 2-1 with 8:22 left.
Jonathan Hazen then gave the Cyclones a 3-1 advantage with 6:29 left. He pounced on a loose puck behind Coreau in the crease.
Cincinnati took a 1-0 lead exactly six minutes into the second period as Nugent, who was at the top of the crease right in front of Coreau, scored.
At the end of the second period, Toledo trailed by one goal but had a 23-21 edge in shots. Late in the middle period, Toledo's Aaron Clarke had a wide open net but his shot tipped off of the crossbar.
In the scoreless first period, Toledo outshot Cincinnati 11-7.
Captain Kyle Rogers, who played in his 250th game for the Walleye, is now tied with Andrew Williamson for fourth in most games played in a Toledo uniform. The top three are Rick Judson (455), Robert Thorpe (364), and Nick Parillo (262), who all played for the Storm.
Coreau was called up to Grand Rapids and started in five games for the Griffins (0-4-0 with a 4.39 goals against average).
After hosting Elmira on Saturday night at 7:15, the Walleye will play five straight games on the road.