TOLEDO – The Toledo Walleye defeated the Bloomington Bison 4-3 on Saturday night at the Huntington Center in game two of the Central Division Semi-Finals, extending the series lead to 2-0.
How it Happened:
Carter Gylander and Dryden McKay loomed at opposite ends for the second time in as many games for Toledo and Bloomington respectively.
The Walleye wasted no time, as Brandon Hawkins celebrated his 32nd birthday with a lightning quick goal, lighting the lamp from Jacob Truscott and Kyle Gaffney just 31 seconds into the game.
Tanner Kelly then tipped-in a shot from Hawkins on the power-play with Riley McCourt getting a secondary assist at 4:39 of the first, giving the Walleye a 2-0 lead less than five minutes in.
Bloomington halved the deficit at 17:23 of the period when Shane Ott scored his first goal of the playoffs.
The two teams headed to the locker room with the Walleye doubling the Bison in shots, 20-10 after 20 minutes.
Just like the first period, Toledo came flying out of the gates in the second frame, as Michael Milne landed his second goal in as many games from Colin Swoyer and Tanner Dickinson at just 46 seconds into the period.
Another back-and-forth period ended with Toledo leading Bloomington 3-1 and outshooting the visitors 31 to 18.
The Fish struck early again at 2:37 of the third period, when Sam Craggs joined the party from Nick Andrews and Mitch Lewandowski, opening the gap to 4-1.
The Bison responded, as Brendan Datema put a rebound past Gylander at 3:24, followed by Ott’s second of the night at 10:36 on the power play.
The Walleye had a couple more power-play chances but came up empty.
It was a battle to the end, but the Walleye stood strong, taking a 4-3 victory and a 2-0 series lead. Toledo outshot the visitors 40-29 overall despite being outshot 9-11 in the third period.
Gylander stood tall in net, saving 26 of 29 shots on goal.
IBEW Local 245 Three Stars:
- F Brandon Hawkins (TOL) – 1G, 1A
- F Shane Ott (BLM) – 2G
- F Sam Craggs (TOL) – GWG
What’s Next:
The Toledo Walleye hit the road, taking a 2-0 series lead into Bloomington for game three of the series, Monday, April 27, 2026, with puck drop from Grossinger Motors Arena coming at 8:00 p.m.
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