Gresock lights lamp in loss to Kalamazoo

TOLEDO – The Toledo Walleye fell to the Kalamazoo Wings 5-1 on Saturday night at the Huntington Center.

What Happened:

The Toledo Walleye welcomed in the Kalamazoo Wings to kickoff Toledo Storm weekend on Labatt Hockey Night in Toledo.

Jan Bednar defended the home net for the Walleye. Matt Anderson got the start in his 100^th professional game alongside Michael Prapavessis on the defence, with Brandon Hawkins, Trenton Bliss and Alexandre Doucet leading the Walleye attack.

Hunter Vorva started between the pipes for the Wings. Jacob Nordqvist and Chaz Reddekopp manned the defence while Erik Bradford, David Keefer and Joshua Passolt staffed the Kalamazoo attack.

The action began with a Kalamazoo power play at 7:02 when Brandon Kruse was sent to the Toledo penalty box for Tripping. Toledo successfully killed off the first penalty of the evening.

That wrapped the first period action with the Walleye and Wings scoreless.

The Walleye outshot the Wings 16-5 in the period. Toledo did not have a power play chance in the period, while Kalamazoo was 0/1.

The second period action began with the Fish finding the scoreboard at 1:17 when Chase Gresock lit the lamp. Brandon Kruse and Sam Craggs added assists to the icebreaker.

The Walleye got their first power play chance at 4:27 when Bradford was sent to the Wings penalty box for Hooking. The Wings killed off the penalty.

Kalamazoo knotted the score at 1-1 when Passolt flipped one past Bednar at 7:01. Chad Nychuk and Keefer assisted the equalizer.

The Wings got their next power play chance at 9:48 when Kruse returned to the box for Hooking.

The game would drop to four-on-four at 10:11 after Cody Milan was sent to the Kalamazoo penalty box for Roughing.

Both penalties were killed off.

The Wings took a 2-1 lead at 13:37 when Keefer redirected the puck into the net. Derek Daschke and Bradford assisted the tally.

There would be four-on-four hockey to close the second period and begin the third period as Orrin Centazzo and Milan exchanged penalties at 19:01. Centazzo was assessed a Cross-Checking minor, while Milan was called for Roughing.

Kalamazoo grew their lead to 3-1 at 19:36 when Nychuk found the net. Passolt and Bradford added assists to the score.

The second period action wrapped with the Walleye trailing the Wings 3-1.

The Walleye outshot the Wings 12-10 in the period and 28-15 cumulatively. Toledo was 0/2 on the power play in the period while Kalamazoo was 0/1.

Riley McCourt and Reddekopp would scuffle after the conclusion of the second period, resulting in both receiving two ten-minute misconducts, effectively ending the night for both of them.

The Wings added onto their lead at 6:32, making it 4-1. Passolt found the net for the second time on the night, this time from Bradford and Jordan Seyfert.

Kalamazoo tacked on another as Luke Morgan hit twine unassisted to make it 5-1 Wings.

The horns sounded with the Walleye falling to the Kalamazoo Wings 5-1.

The Walleye were outshot 9-11 in the period, but outshot the Wings 37-26 overall. Neither team had a power play in the period, and both finished 0/2 with a man-advantage on the night.

Three Stars Sponsored by Local 245:

1. Joshua Passolt (2G, 1A) – KAL
2. David Keefer (1G, 1A) – KAL
3. Erik Bradford (3A) – KAL

What’s Next:

The Toledo Walleye will remain at home and welcome the Cincinnati Cyclones into the Huntington Center tomorrow, Sunday, January 28, 2024, with puck drop coming at 5:15 pm ET as the Walleye close out Toledo Storm weekend.