Teddy bears fly, but Walleye best Heartlanders Saturday

Coralville, IA –  The Iowa Heartlanders fell, 7-3, to the Toledo Walleye Saturday at Xtream Arena. Maxim Cajkovic made the teddy bears fly early in the second period as thousands of bears hit the ice. After a scoreless first period, he scored during a five-on-three power play goal 4:57 into the second period, assisted by Robbie Stucker and Brett Budgell, tying the game at one.

Toledo opened up the scoring 23 seconds into the middle frame. Brandon Hawkins scored top shelf from the right face-off circle with a feed from Trenton Bliss. After Cajkovic’s tying goal, Sam Craggs restored the Walleye lead at 8:27 after a cross-ice feed from Kirill Tyutyayev. Odeen Tufto capitalized on Iowa’s second five-on-three power play to tie the game at two, sneaking the puck past Jan Bednar at 11:39. Iowa trailed, 3-2, after Will Cullen scored the first power-play goal for the Walleye after a pass from Hawkins at 16:57. Bliss was credited with the second assist. 

Brandon Kruse made the most of Toledo’s second power play at 3:12 of the third period. Hawkins and Bliss were credited with the assists, taking their third points of the night. Just over three minutes later at 6:20 Craggs collected his second goal of the night cementing the Walleye lead at 5-2, tucking the puck behind Peyton Jones after a pass from Tyutyayev. Conlan Keenan notched Toledo’s third goal of the period at 11:48, furthering the Walleye lead at 6-2. Craggs tapped in a power-play goal 15:26 into the closing frame to get his third goal of the night bringing the scoring 7-2 in Toledo’s favor. After some roughing in front of the Walleye bench, Louis Boudon capitalized on a power play for Iowa, bringing the score to 7-3. 

Box Score 

On Sun., Dec. 17 at 2:05 p.m., the Heartlanders take on Toledo for Elementary School Day, pres. by MidWestOne Bank. The day also features a postgame skate pres. by The Family Dental Center.

The Heartlanders are home on Thurs., Dec. 21 at 6:35 p.m. against Fort Wayne. Iowa also hosts the Komets on Fri., Dec. 22 at 6:35 p.m. and Sat., Dec. 23 at 6:05 p.m.

Rose Club Memberships & Tickets Now Available For 2023-24 Season

Rose Club Season Ticket Memberships, Partial Plans, Mini-Plans, Flex Tickets and Single-Game Tickets are now available for the 2023-24 season, the Heartlanders’ third in the ECHL. Call 319-569-GOAL or visit iowaheartlanders.com/tickets for more information.