Kalamazoo strikes twice late to beat Walleye in exhibition

KALAMAZOO — With two goals in the game’s final 90 seconds, the Kalamazoo Wings defeated the Toledo Walleye 4-2 in Toledo’s preseason opener Friday night at the Wings Event Center.

David Codd scored on the power play with 1:18 left in the third period to break a 2-2 tie that had lasted since midway through the second, and with Toledo forced to pull its goaltender, the Wings pounced on the empty net with a Zach Okabe goal to make it 4-2 with 27 seconds left.

The Walleye scored first on a goal from Carson Bantle with 4:17 left in the first period, taking a 1-0 lead into the first intermission despite being out-shot 9-5. Gabriel Seger scored 8:38 into the second, with Kalamazoo tallying before and after his goal to send the game to the second intermission tied 2-2.

Jan Bednar made 23 saves on 26 shots for Toledo before being pulled ahead of the empty-netter. Kalamazoo’s Jonathan Lemieux made 25 saves on 27 shots.

The game swung on special teams as the Walleye went 0 of 3 on the power play while the Wings cashed in on 2 of 4 power plays, including on the go-ahead goal in the third period.

The teams will meet again at 7:15 p.m. Saturday at the Huntington Center for Toledo’s lone preseason home game. The Walleye open the regular season Oct. 19 at the Bloomington Bison.