Walleye Crush Wheeling 7-1 — and the Nailers’ Goalie Got Tossed for Swinging at a Walleye
Seven goals. Seven different Walleye. And one goalie who completely lost it.
The Toledo Walleye rolled into Wheeling on Friday night and put up their biggest offensive night of the season, beating the Nailers 7-1 at WesBanco Arena. Quinn Preston needed just 34 seconds to open the scoring, and by the end of the night seven different Walleye had found the net on 44 shots.
But the score wasn’t the story by the third period. Down 7-1 with 6:05 left, Wheeling goalie Nolan Lalonde — a 22-year-old Columbus Blue Jackets prospect — snapped after a save and the whistle, swinging his blocker at Walleye forward Nolan Moyle. Moyle bent over holding his face. Lalonde took another swing toward the top of his head before teammates pulled him away, and he was tossed with a 10-minute match penalty for roughing.
Lalonde had already given up seven goals on 34 shots. Kasimir Kaskisuo came on in relief and stopped all 10 shots he faced. On the other end, Jonathan Lemieux stopped 26 of 27 for the Walleye win, and Moyle — the target of the outburst — finished the night with a goal and an assist.
The Walleye are the Detroit Red Wings’ ECHL affiliate, and this rivalry never needs much of a spark. Friday night, it got one anyway.
The Walleye are back at it tonight — Saturday, Nov. 14 — at the Fort Wayne Komets, with puck drop at 7:35 p.m. ET at Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
Sources: Toledo Walleye | Wheeling Nailers | The Hockey News | ECHL
