Bloomington, IL – The Toledo Walleye defeated the Bloomington Bison by a score of 3-0 at Grossinger Motors Arena tonight, extending the series lead to 3-0 over Bloomington. Fourteen of 18 skaters recorded a point tonight, including two assists from Riley McCourt. Carter Gylander got the win in net, stopping 23 of the 26 shots he faced. 

How it Happened:

The Walleye got off to a quick start as Cam Hausinger got the Walleye on the board first for the third time this series, scoring just 44 seconds into the first period for his first of the postseason unassisted. 

Cullen Ferguson was called for the first penalty of the game, a hooking minor at the 5:13 mark of the first to give Toledo a power play chance. Michael Milne scored his third goal of the series on the power play 5:48 into the game to go up 2-0. Brandon Hawkins and Riley McCourt got the assists on the goal. 

Tanner Kelly added Toledo’s third goal of the period, scoring at the 13:55 mark of the first period and ending Dryden McKay’s night, scoring three goals on 12 shots. Tanner Dickinson and Garrett Van Wyhe got the assists on the goal. Nick Andrews scored another goal just over a minute later, putting Toledo up 4-0. Mitch Lewandowski and Jacob Truscott each got assists on the Andrews goal, his first of the playoffs. 

Mark Kaleinkovas got the Bison on the board at the 16:26 mark of the first, scoring his first of the playoffs and cutting Toledo’s lead to 4-1. Shane Ott followed up a minute and a half later with his third goal of the series, making it a 4-2 hockey game at the 17:59 mark of the first. 

Bloomington took the first penalty of the second period, putting Toledo on their second power play of the day as Shane Ott took a tripping minor 1:54 into the second period. The Bison killed off that penalty. 

Kyle Jackson took a tripping penalty for Bloomington, putting Toledo on another power play at the 5:21 mark of the second period. The power play was cut short as Mitch Lewandowski took a high-sticking minor, leading to 55 seconds of 4-on-4 hockey. Neither team scored on their man-advantage.

Reilly Funk was called for a holding minor, putting Bloomington on their second power play of the period at the 10:57 mark of the second period. Toledo killed this penalty off, but took another one in the form of a tripping minor by Jacob Truscott to go shorthanded again at the 14:40 mark of the second. 

Bloomington came up empty on their power play and took a penalty of their own, a hooking minor by Zach Faremouth to put Toledo on the power play again at the 17:25 mark of the second. 1:16 of the power play carried over into the third period.

Reilly Funk took a high-sticking minor at the 4:48 mark of the third, putting Bloomington on their first power play of the period. Chongmin Lee took advantage of the opportunity, making it a 4-3 hockey game at the 6:43 mark of the third. Kyle Gaffney responded 28 seconds later, putting the Walleye back ahead 5-3 over the Bison at the 7:11 mark of the third. Riley McCourt and Will MacKinnon got the assists on the goal. 

Toledo went on another power play with a cross-checking minor from Kyle Jackson at the 8:09 mark of the third, but did not convert on that opportunity. The Bison opted for the extra attacker with around two minutes to go, but Carson Bantle buried the puck in the empty net with three seconds remaining in regulation. Sam Craggs got the assist on the goal. Cam Hausinger and Ayden MacDonald each got 10-minute misconducts at the following faceoff.  The 6-3 score held final, as Toledo outshot Bloomington 41-26 in game three.  

Three Stars:

1 – F Shane Ott, BLM (1 G, 1 A)

2 – D Riley McCourt, TOL (2 A)

3 – G Callum Tung, BLM (L, 26 SVS)

What’s Next:

The Walleye will attempt to close out the series sweep against the Bloomington Bison on Wednesday at Grossinger Motors Arena, with puck drop set for 8:00 PM.