Crags' Hat Trick Helps Walleye Sail Past Bison

It was quite a night for Toledo Walleye forward Sam Craggs, who scored a hat trick and picked up two assists to power the Toledo Walleye over the Bloomington Bison 8-1 at the Huntington Center in Toledo. A total of 11 Toledo skaters picked up points in the game.

It didn't take long for the Fish to get on the scoreboard. Trenton Bliss notched his 10th goal of the season 47 seconds in for a 1-0 Walleye lead. Brandon Kruse and Craggs were each credited with an assist.

Jalen Smereck added to the lead 2:33 into the period, his first of the season. Mitchell Lewandowski and Matt Anderson picked up helpers.

The Bison got their lone goal of the night from Blake McLaughlin at the 16:08 mark, who got a shot past a logjam in front of the net for his fourth of the year. Jake Murray got the assist.

It was as close as Bloomington would come. The Walleye exploded in the second period, with Kruse increasing the Toledo lead to 3-1 6:57 into the frame. Colin Swoyer and Craggs got helpers, while Kruse increased his point streak to four games.

Craggs, in his fourth season with the Walleye, finally potted an unassisted goal at 16:33 of the middle frame. Just over a minute later, Tyler Spezia scored the first of his two goals on a tip-in from Smereck for a 5-1 advantage. Anderson also got an assist.

Craggs picked up his second goal less than two minutes later, and Toledo skated into the second intermission with a comfortable 6-1 lead, with Craggs on the verge of a hat trick.

It came at 9:52 of the third period on a power-play opportunity, with helpers from Casey Dornbach and Kruse.

Spezia notched his second of the night at the 13:59 mark for the 8-1 final, with Grant Gabriele and Brandon Hawkins notching assists.

The Walleye outshot Bloomington 27-24, with goaltender Jan Bednar stopping 23 shots to earn the win.

Bison netminder Mark Sinclair had 19 saves in the loss, dropping his record to 6-5-1 on the season.

Bloomington falls to 8-10-1, while Toledo improves its record to 13-5-3. The two teams will face off again Saturday at Huntington Center, with puck drop set for 6:15 Pm ET.