Walleye Erase 2-0 Deficit for 4-2 Friday Night Win in Iowa
ECHL Toledo Walleye

Walleye Erase 2-0 Deficit for 4-2 Friday Night Win in Iowa

Published on December 12, 2025 under ECHL (ECHL)
Toledo Walleye News Release


Coralville, IA - The Toledo Walleye won tonight's game against the Iowa Heartlanders by a score of 4-2 at Xtream Arena. After falling 2-0 halfway through the second period, the Walleye scored four goals unanswered to defeat the Heartlanders. Brandon Hawkins had the game-tying and winning goals in a three-point effort, Tanner Kelly had a goal and an assist, Denis Smirnov recorded a goal, and Nolan Lalonde stopped 25 of the 27 shots he faced.

How it Happened:

Iowa got the game's first chance at the power play, as Toledo took a holding call just over halfway through the first period, which was successfully killed off.

Iowa took a penalty of their own at the 15:09 mark of the first, putting Toledo on their first power play of the day. The first penalty was killed off, but Iowa took another penalty at the 17:07 mark of the first, giving Toledo another two minutes on the man-advantage. However, the Walleye took a penalty a minute into the second power play, negating the last minute of the man advantage, setting Iowa up for 58 seconds of their own power play.

Matthew Sop got the Heartlanders on the board first with a goal shortly after their power play began, scoring at the 19:13 mark of the first period. The period ended with Iowa outshooting Toledo 12-10.

Toledo went on another power play at the 3:28 mark of the second period as Iowa took a roughing call but were unable to convert. Toledo took a penalty of their own at the 8:36 mark of the second, giving Iowa their third power play chance of the night. Keltie Jeri-Leon scored on the Iowa man-advantage, extending the Heartlanders' lead to two.

Toledo went on a power play again as Iowa took a minor penalty for charging at the 11:13 mark of the second period, their fourth chance of the night. The Walleye were unable to capitalize on that chance, although they did get five shots on net. Soon after the Iowa penalty expired, Toledo took another penalty of their own giving Iowa their fourth power play chance of the night, which was killed off successfully.

Toledo got on the board as Denis Smirnov scored his 6th goal of the season on a turnover at the 17:31 mark of the second period to cut Iowa's lead to one. Jacques Bouquot and Tanner Kelly each got an assist on the goal. The Walleye outshot Iowa 16-3 in the second period, bringing the shot total to 26-15.

Brandon Hawkins tied the game 29 seconds into the third period with his 9th goal of the season. Chad Hillebrand and Colin Swoyer got the assists on that goal. Hawkins scored again three minutes later as he intercepted a pass from Iowa in an attempt to clear their zone. The Fish took the 3-2 lead as Hawkins got his 10th of the season unassisted.

Toledo took a delay of game penalty at the 5:11 mark of the third, giving Iowa their 5th power play chance of the night, which was killed off. The Walleye got their fifth power play chance of the night after a slashing penalty by Iowa at the 11:33 mark of the third period. Tanner Kelly added another goal for the Walleye, his 5th of the season on the power play at the 11:59 mark of the third period to give the Fish a 4-2 lead. Brandon Hawkins got an assist for his third point of the night, and Riley McCourt got the secondary assist.

Toledo took another holding penalty at the 13:10 mark of the third for Iowa's 6th power play chance. The Walleye killed off that penalty as well, their 4th kill of the night. The Walleye took a 7th penalty at the 16:11 mark of the third on a boarding call. Iowa pulled their goaltender with three minutes to go while on the power-play, setting up a 6-on-4 attack for them in an attempt to regain some ground.

Iowa had the edge over Toledo in shots on goal in the third period 12-9, but Toledo's 35 shots topped Iowa's 27 for the game. Toledo's power play finished 1-for-5, and the penalty kill was 5-for-7.

Three Stars:

1 - F Brandon Hawkins, TOL (2 G, 1 A, GWG)

2 - F Tanner Kelly, TOL (1 G, 1 A)

3 - F Matthew Sop, IA (1 G, 1 A)

What's Next:

The Walleye will stay in Coralville to face the Heartlanders again tomorrow night, looking to build off the momentum from tonight's win. Puck drop for tomorrow's game is set for 7:00 PM.

Check out the Toledo Walleye Statistics

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ECHL Stories from December 12, 2025


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