Game 4 Preview: Toledo at Iowa

Coralville, Iowa – The Iowa Heartlanders (1-1-1-0, 3 pts., 1st Central) and Toledo Walleye (0-1-0-0, 0 pts., 6th Central) face off Friday at 7:00 p.m. at Xtream Arena to kick off a back-to-back set. The Heartlanders have earned points in each of the team’s first two home games. Wednesday vs. Wheeling, the Heartlanders faced a pair of deficits for the second straight game and once again showed resilience to tie; Brett Gravelle evened the score at three with 90 seconds to go to force overtime in a 4-3 extra-session loss to Wheeling.The Heartlanders are 1-0-1-0 at home this season. The club is in the middle of a three-game home stand. After this back-to-back against the Walleye, the club travels to face Cincinnati and Indy for three games next week.Toledo has played one game this season; last Saturday, the club suffered a 5-2 loss at Kalamazoo. The Walleye made the 2019 Kelly Cup Finals. In 2019-20, the club was in playoff positioning when the COVID-19 pandemic struck and Toledo opted out of play in the 2020-21 season.Season ticket memberships, group tickets, mini-plans and flex vouchers are available for the Heartlanders inaugural season by calling 319-569-GOAL and visiting iowaheartlanders.com/tickets.Broadcast Coverage: Listen at Iowaheartlanders.com/listenlive or mixlr.com/goheartlanders. Watch on FloHockey.tv. NHL Affiliates: Iowa Heartlanders (Minnesota Wild/Iowa Wild) | Toledo Walleye (Detroit Red Wings/Grand Rapids Griffins)  Storylines:- Brett Gravelle scored two goals and added an assist to match the best individual performance in the Heartlanders’ three-game history. It’s the third time a Heartlanders player has had three points in a game; Ryan Kuffner and Kris Bennett each had three on opening night in a 7-4 win vs. Kansas City Oct. 22.- Jack Billings has had two multi-point games and registered a goal (2 pts.) in Wednesday’s overtime defeat vs. Wheeling. The Niagara University graduate has two goals and five points in three games. Last season, Billings tallied 13 points (7g) for the Purple Eagles.  - Toledo has made the playoffs in five straight full seasons, last missing in 2013-14. Head Coach Dan Watson boasts a 183-88-26 mark in 297 games at the helm. The Walleye play at the Huntington Center and were second in the ECHL in attendance in 2019-20.