Walleye Fall Late in 3-2 Shootout Loss to Heartlanders
ECHL Toledo Walleye

Walleye Fall Late in 3-2 Shootout Loss to Heartlanders

Published on January 17, 2026 under ECHL (ECHL)
Toledo Walleye News Release


Coralville, IA - The Toledo Walleye dropped tonight's game against the Iowa Heartlanders in heartbreaking shootout fashion 3-2 at Xtream Arena. Jed Pietila and Brandon Hawkins each scored in the first period, Tanner Kelly had two assists, and Matt Jurusik stopped 32 of 34 shots he faced and two of three in the shootout.

How it Happened:

Jed Pietila got the action started early tonight for the Walleye with his third goal of the season at the 3:34 mark of the first period to put Toledo up 1-0. Denis Smirnov and Tanner Kelly got the assists on the goal.

Iowa got the first chance at the power play as Matt Jurusik took a delay of game penalty a little over a minute later, but the Walleye penalty kill unit was able to fend off all of Iowa's chances and maintain the 1-0 lead.

Iowa took a penalty but couldn't get a stick on the puck for about 15 seconds, allowing Toledo to get an extra attacker on the ice for a second. The Heartlanders eventually took the hooking call at the 16:27 mark of the first period for Toledo's first power play chance of the day.

Brandon Hawkins scored his 21st goal of the season and 3rd of the weekend just after Iowa's penalty expired, with 1:31 to go in the first period to put the Fish up 2-0. Assists on the goal came from Riley McCourt and Tanner Kelly, his 2nd on the night. Despite being outshot 11-7, Toledo still held the 2-0 lead at the end of the first period.

William Rousseau took over in net in place of Dante Giannuzzi to start the second period for Iowa, Giannuzzi allowing two goals on seven shots in the first after playing in two periods last night.

Toledo got their second power play of the night as former Walleye Anthony Firriolo went to the box for a hook at the 5:02 mark of the second period. Nothing came of it, and Nick Carabin got the Heartlanders on the board with a goal less than three minutes later, making it a 2-1 hockey game.

Iowa got their second chance at a power play as Tanner Kelly took an interference call at the 13:17 mark of the second period, which was successfully killed off. Toledo got a power play on a delay of game call against Iowa with 1:50 to go in the second period. Time on the clock expired with 10 seconds to go on the power play, as Toledo led 2-1 at the end of the period. Shots were even at 22 each.

After nearly a full period of a clean score sheet, Iowa opted for the extra attacker with 2:30 to go in the third. Liam Coughlin scored with 26 seconds to go in regulation to bring the game to a 2-2 tie, forcing 3-on-3 overtime.

Overtime wasn't enough to settle this game, so it was decided in a shootout:

1st round

IA: Brandon Schultz - GOAL

TOL: Brandon Hawkins - NO

2nd round

IA: Matthew Sop - NO

TOL: Tanner Dickinson - NO

3rd round

IA: Keltie Jeri-Leon - NO

TOL: Mitch Lewandowski - NO

Schultz's goal was the game-decider, as Iowa took this game 3-2. Each team was even at 35 shots, but Iowa barely got the edge. Neither team scored on the power play, as Toledo went 0-for-3 and Iowa went 0-for-2.

Three Stars:

1 - G William Rousseau, IA (0 GA, 28 SV)

2 - F Brandon Schultz, IA (Shootout GDG, 1 A)

3 - D Nick Carabin, IA (1 G)

What's Next:

The Walleye will head over to Bloomington to finish the weekend with a matchup at Grossinger Motors Arena tomorrow night. Toledo has a 2-1-1-0 record against the Bison this season, winning one of two games the last time the two times they saw Bloomington on the road. Puck drop for tomorrow's game is set for 5:00 PM.

Check out the Toledo Walleye Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



ECHL Stories from January 17, 2026


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central