Bison Suffer Loss to Walleye

Bloomington, Ill. – The Bloomington Bison saw their home winning streak end with a 4-1 loss against the Toledo Walleye on Friday night at Grossinger Motors Arena.

5:35 into the first period, Toledo took an early lead behind Cole Gallant’s ninth goal of the season. Conlan Keenan and Billy Moskal recorded assists on the opening goal of the night. Continuing the early offensive start, Josh Nodler added another to the Walleye lead at the 6:03 mark. Will Hillman and Peyton Hoyt recorded assists on Nodler’s second goal of the season. The Bison were held scoreless in the first frame despite totaling 11 shots. 

The second frame mirrored the first, with Toledo striking early in the period at 3:53. During a powerplay, Mitchell Lewandowski extended the Walleye lead to 3-0 with his 24^th goal of the season. Brandon Hawkins and Jed Pietila recorded assists. The Walleye scoring continued at the 6:20 mark, with Brandon Kruse giving Toledo a 4-0 lead. Sam Craggs recorded the assist on Kruse’s eighth goal of the season to end the scoring in the period. 

Following a penalty that rolled over from the end of the second period, Lou-Félix Denis recorded his 11^th goal of the season with a shot from the slot. Patriks Marcinkevics tallied his first point as a Bison with an assist, and Carter Berger recorded the secondary assist. For the final three and half minutes of the period, the Bison pulled the goalie for an extra attacker. Despite the effort, the Bison were unable to record another goal and lost 4-1.

Dryden McKay stopped 23 of 27 shots in the loss. Carter Gylander recorded the win with 33 saves. Bloomington went 1-for-2 on the power play and killed one of two penalties.  

The Bison return to Grossinger Motors Arena tomorrow at 7 p.m. Fan Fest will begin tomorrow’s festivities from 3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. inside Grossinger Motors Arena along the corridor of the concourse.

Fans can enjoy the Bison inflatable goal, free face painting, cornhole, and Professional Magician Chris Walde. Live music and food and drink specials will be available. 

The first 1,200 fans, beginning at 3:30 p.m., will receive an Abe Bobblehead. In addition, fans will receive a raffle ticket to be entered to win prizes such as food giveaways from local partners, gift cards to local restaurants, an overnight stay in the executive suite at local hotels, tickets to Sesame Street Live, Bison autographed memorabilia, and authentic Bison jerseys.  

Following the game, fans can bid on the season-worn jerseys during a live auction. Winning bidders will get their photograph taken with the player and receive the autographed jersey following the conclusion of the season.

Tickets can be purchased by visiting bloomingtonbisonhockey.com or call (309) 965-HERD for more information.