Iowa Heartlanders post comeback victory, win series against Toledo Walleye
The Heartlanders took two out of three games against the Toledo Walleye at Xtream Arena this weekend.
Heartlander forwards Joe Widmar and Yuki Miura rush to gain control of the puck after a face-off at a hockey game between the Iowa Heartlanders and Toledo Walleye at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa, on Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2021. The Walleye defeated the Heartlanders, 4-0.
December 12, 2021
The Iowa Heartlanders took down the ECHL Central Division-leading Toledo Walleye for the second consecutive game on Saturday night.
Going into the third period at Xtream Arena, Iowa was down, 2-0. But a pair of goals by forward Yuki Miura and one by Cole Golka powered the Heartlanders in the third period. Goalkeeper Trevin Kozlowski blocked 36 of 38 pucks shot his way in the winning effort.
The Walleye took a quick, 1-0, lead in the first period. The rest of the first period saw the Heartlanders control possession, outshooting the Walleye, 11-9.
The second period started off with Iowa’s defensemen as they prevented Toledo from scoring on back-to-back power play periods. But the Walleye cracked the back of the net again in the second period, making the contest a 2-0 game.
The offense kicked it into high gear in the third period, rattling off three goals in the first six minutes and holding the lead until the end of the game.
“It was just our will and determination to get to the net,” Heartlanders assistant coach Derek Damon said. “We found a way to get it done and credit to those guys in the locker room.
“Incredible effort by [defense] the past two nights,” he added. “You can’t say enough on how well these guys battled; they gave everything they had the past two nights and it feels great to come out with a victory.”
Big Picture
The Heartlanders have now won three out of four games, with two coming against the Walleye. Iowa is 7-12-2-1 on the season.
“You started to see it last night, but we are really starting to come together as a team,” Damon said. “Both me and Gerry are over the moon in the way these guys played the past nights.”
Defense continues to shine
The Heartlanders defense played well throughout the third period, holding the Walleye to zero points in the last 28 minutes of the game.
The Heartlanders have an understaffed defense, with only four to five defensemen, but it held the Walleye to two goals per game in the Friday and Saturday contests.
Up Next
The Heartlanders will take a two-game road trip to Kansas City to take on the Mavericks. The Heartlanders’ first puck drop against the Walleye comes on Friday night at 7 p.m.
