FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Toledo withstood an early determined push from Fort Wayne, but the Komets staved off elimination with another late surge Friday night to extend the Central Division finals.
Fort Wayne scored twice in the opening period and added two more in the third period to win 4-1 in Game 4 of the second-round series. Toledo entered the contest with a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series with a chance to close it out.
Fort Wayne’s Shawn Szydlowski stuck the dagger when he scored a power-play goal with 9 minutes, 58 seconds left in regulation on a shot from the point. Justin Schaafsma then scored his second of the game to put it away with 3:17 left.
IN PICTURES: Fort Wayne 4, Walleye 1
Facing a must-win scenario, Fort Wayne came out of the chute with pure desperation. Toledo weathered the early storm. Still, the Komets led 2-1 after the opening period before a crowd of 7,162 at Memorial Coliseum.
Fort Wayne outshot the Walleye 20-10 in the first period, and Toledo then had a 25-12 edge in the final two periods. Fort Wayne goalie Pat Nagle made 34 saves.
“That first period they came out flying and we knew they would,” Walleye coach Dan Watson said. “But we turned the page, and we kept at it and that’s the biggest thing. Loved our team’s compete. There was no quit. Even when it was 3-1, we were still buzzing. We were the better team.”
Game 5 is at 7:35 p.m. today at the Huntington Center.
The Komets scored on their second shot just 3:13 into the contest. Fort Wayne captain Jamie Schaafsma tipped a shot from the point by Cody Sol that eluded Toledo goalie Jeff Lerg.
Gabriel Desjardins then scored with 4:52 left in the first period when he skated up the left wing and beat Lerg under his arm.
Komets coach Gary Graham credited his veteran players, Szydlowski and Schaafsma, for stepping up.
“What a game by those guys. It was big,” Graham said.
Toledo veteran Evan Rankin got the Walleye on the board with one second left on a power play late in the first period. Alden Hirschfeld had the assist as Toledo made it 2-1 with 1:35 left in the first period. Rankin wristed home a rebound for his seventh goal of the playoffs.
“That gave us a little jump,” Watson said. “Guys came in feeling good and then the second period was excellent. We were all over them, and we had the better jump, but we just couldn’t capitalize on a couple of chances.”
Rankin tied Kyle Bonis for the team lead in goals this postseason.
Lerg (4-2) faced a shooting gallery in the opening period, stopping 18 of 20 shots. He finished with 28 saves.
“We knew the first period that they would come out flying,” Lerg said. “They were desperate tonight, and we knew it was coming. The first goal was tough, it was a tip. We were happy just being down one after the first period. We were in a good position. We were right there. It was really a one-goal came right down to the wire.”
After getting 20 pucks on net in the first period, the Komets did not get their first shot of the second until 9:48 was left in the second. Toledo finished with an 11-4 edge in shots in the second period.
The Walleye had a golden opportunity to tie it near the game’s midpoint, but Nagle stood up to the attack. Toledo outshot the Komets 11-1 to start the second.
“Nagle played extremely well,” Watson said. “You could see he was focused and tracking pucks.”
The Walleye went 0 of 3 on the man advantage in the middle period. They finished 1 of 6 on the power play.
Hirschfeld said the team will refocus and learn from it.
“We bounced back and played our game. It was a battle. Hopefully when we get back home, we’ll be dialed in from the start and play a full 60,” Hirschfeld said. “[Nagle] played a great game. We had plenty of chances. We’ll keep shooting and battling.”
It looked like Walleye forward A.J. Jenks had tied it with 13:03 left in regulation. But his shot hit the post and cross bar and did not go in the net.
“I thought we tied it a couple of different times there,” Lerg said. “They were just opportunistic at the end. We’ll regroup and have some energy left for tomorrow. We just have to be ready off the bat.”
The Komets were all over the Walleye over the first half of the first period as Toledo yielded multiple odd-man rushes. Lerg stoned Trevor Cheek, who was in on a full blown solo breakaway with 9:45 left in the first period.
Nagle made a solid save on Bonis to protect the one-goal lead 5:16 into game. Nagle also made a snap glove save on Tyson Spink on the first chance 1:55 into game.
Nagle made the save of the night for the Komets two minutes into the third when he stopped Tylor Spink, who was right on the doorstep.
The Walleye lost for the first time at Fort Wayne this season (2-1) and are 8-2 against the Komets.
“This is a tough building to play in, regardless of if we won here in the regular season,” Watson said. “We know how they play in this building. They have the best home record in the league for a reason. We knew it wouldn’t be easy. They proved it and now we know the competition level we need to be at tomorrow night.”
ROSTER MOVES: Walleye defenseman Simon Denis returned to the lineup on Friday. Denis had been sidelined since April 15. Denis was injured in a post-whistle assault by Kalamazoo captain Ben Wilson in Game 2 of the opening-round series. Wilson was suspended indefinitely.
Denis had the second best plus-minus rating among all ECHL players during the regular season (plus 40). Denis also ranked fifth among rookies in scoring with 55 points.
Denis replaced Landon Oslanski, who has a lower body injury that was not deemed serious. Denis is now closer to 100 percent.
“He’s ready to go,” Watson said. “He’s been working hard all week. He’s an excellent puck mover and a dynamic skater.”
Walleye rookie forward Tylor Spink, who was out of the lineup for Game 3 with the flu, returned to the lineup Friday. Spink has two goals and five assists in nine games during the postseason.
Contact Mark Monroe at: mmonroe@theblade.com, 419-724-6354 or on Twitter @MonroeBlade.
Walleye vs. Fort Wayne
Game 1: Walleye 2, Fort Wayne 1
Game 2: Walleye 4, Fort Wayne 3, OT
Game 3: Walleye 3, Fort Wayne 2
Game 4: Fort Wayne 4, Walleye 1 (Walleye lead series 3-1)
Game 5: 7:35 p.m. today, at Toledo
Game 6: 7:30 p.m. Monday, at Fort Wayne*
Game 7: 7:35 p.m. Wednesday, at Toledo*
* if necessary
All games on BCSN and 1230 AM
First Published May 6, 2017, 5:06 a.m.