Walleye extend Western Conference finals with Game 5 win at Kansas City

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Persistence paid off for the Toledo Walleye as they finally saw a couple of big breaks go their way, and they extended the Western Conference finals with a 3-1 win against the Kansas City Mavericks on Saturday night.

Brandon Hawkins scored a power-play goal in the first period, and defenseman Jacob Graves scored the game-winner early in the third period of Game 5 of the Western Conference finals before a crowd of 5,598 at Cable Dahmer Arena.

K.C. pulled goalie Cale Morris with 1:50 left in the game, and Brandon Kruse secured the victory with an empty-net goal with 55 seconds remaining.

Game 6 will take place here on Monday at 5:05 p.m. as Toledo looks to push the series to a decisive seventh game on Wednesday.

Graves had the huge goal 1:49 into the third period. He centered a pass in the crease, and the puck snuck in under the pads of Morris.

“It was kind of a lucky bounce,” Graves said. “I just had a step and, honestly, it was a pass and I got pretty lucky. Knowing that it's do or die, it's pretty easy to wake up in the morning and put your boots on. You just go out there and do your job.”

Toledo finished with another huge edge in shots (27-16) as they have dominated that category all series.

“We were remarkable without the puck tonight,” Walleye coach Pat Mikesch said. “We just defended in those hard areas and pressured when we could. It was a really good effort. I'm proud of them.”

Walleye goaltender John Lethemon, who had 25 saves in Toledo's other win in the series (4-3 in Toledo last Monday), started for the third straight game. Lethemon, who had made 25 saves in a 2-1 overtime loss on Friday, finished with 15 saves.

“I'm proud of this group,” Lethemon said. “That was a heck of an effort all around tonight. We played a full 60 minutes, start to finish. Whatever push they did have, we weathered it.

“I felt great. I haven't started back-to-back in a while, but I actually like playing back to back so I felt better tonight than I did the night before.”

Morris finished with 24 stops.

Walleye forward Riley Sawchuk, the team’s leading scorer, had three assists. Hawkins had a goal and an assist.

“I think it was a bounce we earned,” Hawkins said of the Graves goal. “We did things the correct way. There was no cheating on the ice.”

Each team scored a power-play goal in the first period.

The game was tied at 1-1 after two periods as Toledo had a 16-11 edge in shots.

A perfectly placed snap shot from ECHL MVP Hawkins gave the Walleye a 1-0 lead with 10:40 left in the first. Hawkins beat Morris up high with a shot from the top of the right circle. The power-play goal was the seventh of the playoffs for Hawkins.

The Mavericks tied it at 1-1 on a power-play goal by David Cotton with 7:06 left in the first. Cotton, stationed in front of the net, tipped in a shot from Justin MacPherson.

It was Toledo's second power-play goal of the series and the first for the Mavs.

The Walleye allowed just four shots in the first period.

“That's one of the parts of our game where we want to suffocate,” Hawkins said. “If we take away opportunities, that will lead to more offense.”

At the game's midpoint, the teams were tied at 1-1 despite Toledo having a 14-6 edge in shots.

The Walleye did not convert on their second power play as Sam Craggs hit the post with a shot early in the second.

K.C. got its best stretch of sustained pressure around the 14-minute mark of the second period and Lethemon had to be sharp, making two solid saves.

The Walleye went to their fourth power play moments after Graves scored, but could not extend their lead. Jason Willms then could not cash in on a point-blank chance when Morris made a snap glove save near the midpoint of the third.

The return of forward Mitchell Lewandowski, who had been sidelined with an injury, provided an additional boost.

“It's amazing with these guys,” Lewandowski said. “It's just our culture and our whole locker room. Every guy pulls their part. We had our backs against the wall tonight and it was a great result for our team. Pat did a great job coming into the locker room yesterday and kept our focus right.”

Hawkins had a glorious chance to extend the lead with 6:47 left, but Morris made a good pad save.

“We have a huge challenge in front of us, but I like where we're at,” Mikesch said. “I like the way we're playing. I love our energy level. I think there's a chance we can even get healthier by Monday. It's just kind of a wait and see. But, ultimately, whoever dresses we're comfortable with.”