Bloomington Bison loses first two home games against Toledo Walleye

BLOOMINGTON (25News Now/Bison) – The Bloomington Bison opened their inaugural season with back-to-back losses to the Toledo Walleye 2-0 Saturday night and 4-2 Sunday afternoon at Grossinger Motors Arena.

Saturday

There was no score in the first third with a total of 13 shots. Defenseman Jake Murray and forward Blake McLaughlin chipped in with two shots each for the Bison. The Bison were defeated by a margin of 9-7.

6:38 into the second period, Casey Dornbach found Colin Swoyer at the top of the slot to break the Walleye deadlock on a power play. The Walleye took advantage of three penalties against the Bison and outscored the Bison by a 14-7 margin in the second period.

The third period was an even game with each team scoring a total of 10 shots. The Bison were unable to capitalize on consecutive Walleye penalties that began 12:37 into the third period. In the final minutes, the Bison were still down by one goal and decided to add an extra attacker to tie the game. With the net empty, Gabriel Seager made a pass to Mitchell Lewandowski, who doubled the Walleyes’ lead at 19:10 in the third period and scored.

Mark Sinclair was the Bison’s goalkeeper and allowed one goal on 34 shots. Jan Bednar stopped all 24 shots to record the win and his first shutout of the year.

Sunday

In the first third, the Bison shined with 14 chances to score. Sahil Panwar, Chase Pauls, Thomas Stewart and Blake McLaughlin each contributed two shots on goal for the Bison. At 8:56, Toledo forward Carson Bantle scored on a pass assisted by Gabriel Seger. At the end of the period, the Bison outscored the Walleye by a 14-10 margin.

At 0:52 of the second period, Tyler Spezia found Trenton Bliss to extend the Walleye’s lead. However, Bryce Montgomery responded at 3:31, scoring the first regular season goal in Bison franchise history. Chongmin Lee and Jaime Engelbert assisted the defender’s goal, causing excitement in the arena. At 7:03, Brandon Hawkins and Trenton Bliss set up Spezia in the slot, extending the Walleye lead to 3-1. Despite trailing by two goals, the Bison outscored the Walleye by a 12-7 margin in the second period.

In the third period, Jalen Smereck connected with Seger in the Bison zone to extend the Walleye lead. At 7:20, Bison forward Blake McLaughlin was awarded a penalty shot but was unable to capitalize on the opportunity. The Walleye suffered a two-man penalty at 13:46, giving the Bison a five-on-three power play. Case McCarthy scored his first goal of the season on the power play. McLaughlin and Brett Budgell supported McCarthy. Despite using the goalkeeper for an additional attacker, the Bison were unable to overcome the deficit and lost 4-2.

Ruslan Khazheyev started in net for the Bison, playing 27:03 and allowing three goals on 15 shots. Mark Sinclair replaced Khanzheyev in the second period and allowed one goal on 12 shots.

Carter Gylander was the Walleye’s top scorer with 38 saves on 40 shots, helping the Walleye to their second win of the season.

Next

The Bison return to Grossinger Motors Arena on Saturday against the Iowa Heartlanders at 7 p.m. All fans are welcome to join in the Halloween celebration, which includes a costume contest. For more ticket information, visit Bloomingtonhockey.com, Ticketmaster.com or call (309) 965-HERD. To get the latest Bison news, sign up for the newsletter on the Bison website.

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