ECHL Playoffs Series Recap: Wheeling Nailers vs. Toledo Walleye | Round 2

Game Two

Toldeo extended its series to 2-0 after a 5-3 win over the Nailers on May 4. The scoring was shared around for Toledo as it had five goal scorers, with ten players recording at least a point. Jason Willms of the Walleye opened the scoring at 7:25, but Lee knotted the game at 17:13. Just 37 seconds after Lee tied things up, Lewandowski gave the lead back to the Walleye and took it into the first intermission. Toledo extended its lead early in the second as Anderson would get his name in the goal column at 4:02. The Nailers continued to try and claw their way back into the game, scoring to make it a 3-2 game at 12:56 when Isaac Belliveau buried one in the back of the net for his first of the series. Just under 3 minutes later, the Walleye got on the board again, but this time it was Orrin Centazzo to get his first of the series at 15:47 to take a 4-2 lead into the second intermission for the Walleye. Shots to this point were 30-24 in favor of the Walleye. Castor played unbelievably well again, and he did so in the third period to keep his team within reach. At 8:57 of the third, Lee notched his second of the game to bring the Nailers to within one with plenty of time tie things up. Wheeling put up nine shots in the third period, but were not able to get another past Bednar as Sawchuk would tack on an empty-net goal at 19:11 to make it a 5-3 game. Both goalies stood on their heads as the shots were 42-33 in favor of the Walleye.

For the Walleye, Craggs, Trenton Bliss, Michael Prapavessis, Jacob Graves, Kruse, and Lewandowski all recorded at least an assist in the game.

Davis Bunz, Quercia, Louie Roehl, Matt Koopman, Martel, and Belliveau picked up at least an assist on the Wheeling goals.

Bednar stopped 30-of-33 while Castor stopped 28 of the 32 shots he faced.

Game Three

Game three on May 8 was a completely different story from the first two. From the opening puck drop, Toledo had a foot on the gas the entire game, knowing it could have Wheeling on the brink of elimination and have a few extra days of rest. In the opening frame, the Walleye took a 3-1 lead into the second period. Sawchuk, Craggs, and Kruse scored the goals for the Walleye while Koopman scored the loan goal Nailers goal. Nailers did not generate enough shots on net in the second period, collecting just five registered shots on net, but were able to score two goals. The Walleye were able to match the Nailers in goals for the period as Toldeo took a 5-3 lead into the second intermission. Hawkins and Sawchuk (2) scored the goals for the Walleye as Drake and Quercia scored for the Nailers. Defensively, the Nailers were able to get things done to give themselves a chance, but could not muster anything up offensively. The Walleye were able to tack on two empty-net goals, one at 17:45 and one at 18:51 to win the game 7-3. Alexandre Doucet and Craggs tacked on the empty-net goals to seal the deal on a 3-0 series lead for the Walleye.

Craggs (2), Anderson, Sawchuk (3), Centazzo, Willms, Prapavessis and Lewandowski all recorded assists in the game for the Walleye.

Drake, Quercia and Koopman recorded the assists for the Nailers.

It was a rough outing for Castor as he gave up five goals on 21 shots in 31:28 of play. Sparks come on in relief for Castor and stopped all seven shots he faced in the 27 minutes of time he saw. Lethemon recorded the win for Toledo, stopping 19 of the 22 shots he faced, which moved him to 4-0 in the playoffs and 2-0 in the series.

Game Four

With their season on the line, the Nailers needed to make a desperate change, and they did so between the pipes with Gatuhier making his 2024 Kelly Cup Playoff debut in a must-win game for Wheeling. Gauthier had been reassigned to the Nailers to begin the series after time with their American Hockey League affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, for round one. Bednar and Gauthier played perfect hockey to begin the game, turning away every shot they faced in the first to keep it a scoreless game through 20 minutes. Wheeling led in shots for the period 13-8. The Nailers got that all important first goal when Dillon Hamaliuk opened the scoring at 8:09 of the second period. At 16:54, Toledo tied the game up thanks to a Hawkins goal, and the second would finish 1-1. A minute and a half after puck drop on the third period, Chase Gresock scored early to give the Walleye a 2-1 lead. Needing to find a way to tie things up and keep their season alive, the Nailers captain came in clutch to tie the game at 2 at 9:17, which would eventually force overtime for the second time in the series. A bad penalty from Wheeling’s Drake gave the Walleye an early powerplay opportunity at 5:03 of overtime. Toledo’s Sawchuck needed just 34 seconds of powerplay time to end the Nailers season and send his team to the Western Conference Finals.

Though a disappointing result, Gauthier did everything he could to give the Nailers a chance to fight another day. He stopped 33-of-36 shots. On the other end, Bednar stopped 24-of-26 to secure his fourth win of the playoffs, and second win of the series.

With the series sweep, Toledo swept a second-straight round to extend their win streak to 22 between the regular season and playoffs.