Bloomington, IL – The Toledo Walleye net 2 power play goals, however fall 4-2 against the Bloomington Bison. 
How it Happened:
The first half of the first period was a clean period, with no penalty calls and no goals scored on either side. After what was originally called as a minor penalty, Tanner Kelly took a penalty shot against Callum Tung. Gloved by Tung, the game remained scoreless, with 10:15 left to go.
The Walleye took the first minor penalty of the night, at 19:31 into the first period, with a roughing call on Chad Hillebrand. With multiple scoring chances for the Walleye, goaltender Carter Gylander helped to keep the scoreboard even, saving 9 shots of 9 faced within the first. The Walleye outshot Bloomington 15-9, showing a slight offensive advantage after 20 minutes, with Tanner Kelly leading all skaters with 6 shots in the first.
After the start of the second period, the Walleye successfully killed off the penalty, handed to Hillebrand at the end of the first. At 2:33 in the second, the Walleye were presented with a power play opportunity after a slashing call against Bloomington. Just 30 seconds after the penalty was dealt, Chad Hillebrand cashed in on the advantage, with assists from Nick Andrews and Sam Craggs.
However, the lead would be cut by Bloomington, after an equalizer goal was netted, 9:09 into the second period. Just a minute later, two minor penalties were handed out to Darby Llewellyn and Bloomington’s Riku Ishida for roughing. After 2 minutes of 4-on-4 hockey, the score remained at 1 a piece for each team.
At 13:22, Bloomington earned the second penalty shot of the night. Bloomington’s Brett Budgell, faced off against Carter Gylander, sliding a puck past him, putting Bloomington up 2-1. Less than a minute later, the Walleye were presented with another power play chance, with Bloomington picking up a minor penalty for tripping at 14:04.
Nolan Moyle, thanks to the help of Tanner Dickinson and Brandon Hawkins, netted a second power play goal of the night for the Walleye, evening the score at 2, also making the Walleye 2 for 2 on the power play. However, yet again Bloomington was quick to respond, with an unassisted goal at 18:32 in the second, to give Bloomington the lead going into the second intermission.
The third period started with a minor penalty call against Bloomington for high-sticking. However, about 30 seconds into the power play, Bloomington would make a change at goalie after Tung suffered an injury, with Hugo Ollas taking over in between the pipes for Bloomington.
With 14:29 remaining in the third, Bloomington believed to tally another goal, however a Walleye challenge waved off the goal, due to high-sticking, keeping the lead at only 1 goal for Bloomington.
After a few scoring opportunities, the Walleye took their fourth look at the the power play of the night with a minor penalty call against Bloomington for tripping with 7:30 remaining. With 2:04 remaining, Toledo took Gylander out of the game, to gain a man-advantage in the offensive zone. After a faceoff win for Bloomington, Denis Smirnov was able to keep to goal in the zone, however Bloomington regained control of the puck and netted an empty net goal with 1:47 left in the game.
A late minor penalty for tripping against Conan Keenan was given with 30 seconds to go in the game. However, the game would remain at 4-2, with the Walleye being handed their first loss of the season.
Three Stars Sponsored by Local 245
- D Parker Gavlas, BLM (1 G, 1 A)
- F Chongmin Lee, BLM (1 G, 1 A)
- G Hugo Ollas, BLM (14 SV)