Jared Westcott sent the teddy bears flying after a goal in the third period but the Bloomington Bison faced defeat to the Toledo Walleye on Saturday night at Grossinger Motors Arena with a final score of 2-1.
8:29 into the first frame, Toledo established an early lead as defenseman Brendon Michaelian’s shot short hopped past goalie Hugo Ollas. Michaelian’s second goal of the season went unassisted. Ending the period, the Bison and Toledo held an even amount of shots-on-goal with ten shots each.
In a scoreless second period, Toledo continued to hold a 1-0 lead. At 2:44, the Bison had their first power play but failed to capitalize on the man advantage. The Bison successfully completed two penalty kills in the frame. The Walleye outshot the Bison by an 8-7 margin during the period.
At 8:14, Toledo defenseman Grant Gabriele stuffed the puck past Ollas to make it a 2-0 game. Forwards Griffin Ness and Josh Nodler assisted on Gabriele’s third of the season. The Bison continued to fight through the third period as Westcott’s wrist-shot put the Bison on the board at 14:50. Westcott’s first of the season was assisted by Linus Hemstrom and Chase Pauls. Even with late scoring, the Bison came up a goal short.
Ollas made 24 saves on 26 shots dropping his record to 2-5-1. Jan Bednar secured the win for Toledo making 26 saves on 27 shots. The Bison outshot the Walleye by a 27-26 margin. The Bison went 0-for-1 on the power play and successfully completed two penalty kills throughout the game.
The Bison return to Grossinger Motors Arena on Friday, December 20 at 7p.m. for 309 Night featuring $3 beers, hot dogs, and soda, $0 popcorn and a $9 specialty t-shirt. Single-game seats are available starting as low as $20! Group pricing with benefits and suite options are also available. Visit bloomingtonbisonhockey.com or call (309) 965-HERD for more information.
